Bride vs. Bride
How does Kate Middleton’s wedding stack up against the past ‘weddings of the century’? Our guide to the most regal pairings in recent history.
From left: Prince William and Kate Middleton at Whitton Park in Darwen, England.; Prince Charles and Princess Diana on their wedding day.; Prince Rainier III of Monaco weds Grace Kelly.; Tricia and Ed Cox at their wedding in the Rose Garden at the White House. (From left: Chris Jackson / Getty Images; AP; Maxppp-Landov; Paul DeMaria / NY Daily News Archive-Getty Image)
Kate Middleton
Date: April 29, 2011
Nickname: Waity Katie
Groom: Prince William
Dress: The latest speculation holds that the dress will be McQueen
Location: Westminster Abbey
Cake: A fruitcake by Fiona Cairns and a chocolate biscuit cake by McVitie’s
Audience: 2 billion (TV, est.)
Ring: Princess Diana’s ring
Splurge: The couple will travel in the 1902 state landau built for King Edward VII
Mishap: Looking at you, Harry and Pippa
Personal Touch: Will and Kate will have their first public kiss on a Buckingham Palace balcony
Honeymoon: The couple is rumored to have plans for Corfu and Mustique
Happily Ever After? Here’s hoping
Diana Spencer
Date: July 29, 1981
Nickname: The People’s Princess
Groom: Prince Charles
Dress: Designed by Emanuel, ivory silk with a 25-foot train and 10,000 pearls
Location: St. Paul’s Cathedral
Cake: Five-tier fruitcake, five feet tall, took 14 weeks to make
Audience: 750 million (TV)
Ring: Made by Garrard, 14 diamonds around a sapphire
Splurge: Diana arrived in a 70-year-old glass-top coach
Mishap: During her vows, Diana called Charles by his father’s name
Personal Touch: Diana broke tradition, declining to say she would “obey” Charles in her vows
Honeymoon: 11 days cruising on the royal yacht
Happily Ever After? Divorced in 1996
Chelsea Clinton
Date: July 31, 2010
Nickname: Secret Service: “Energy”
Groom: Marc Mezvinsky
Dress: Strapless ivory silk organza by Vera Wang, plus $250,000 in jewelry
Location: Rhinebeck, N.Y.
Cake: Nine-tier vegan cake, four feet tall, weighed 500 lbs.
Audience: Not broadcast
Ring: Emerald-cut diamond, rumored to cost $1 million
Splurge: Reportedly spent $15,000 on Porta-Potties
Mishap: Locals were incensed by the circus. The couple apologized with bottles of wine.
Personal Touch: The couple’s first dance was a well-choreographed tango
Honeymoon: Safari in Africa
Happily Ever After? So far, so good
Grace Kelly
Date: April 18-19, 1956
Nickname: Gracie
Groom: Prince Rainier III
Dress: Dress designed by MGM’s Helen Rose, took six weeks and 36 seamstresses
Location: St. Nicholas Cathedral, Monaco
Cake: Six-tier cake, cut diamond
Audience: 30 million (TV)
Ring: Cartier 12-carat emerald-cut diamond
Splurge: Kelly’s parents paid a $2 million dowry
Mishap: MGM taped the ceremony, and Kelly hated the bright lights
Personal Touch: Kelly gave her bridesmaids jewelry given to her by the shah of Iran, a former suitor
Honeymoon: A cruise aboard Deo Juvante II, the prince’s wedding gift to Kelly
Happily Ever After? Very much so
Jacqueline Bouvier
Date: Sept. 12, 1953
Nickname: Jackie
Groom: John F. Kennedy
Dress: Made of Battenberg lace, created by Ann Lowe
Location: Newport, R.I.
Cake: Five tiers. Jackie chose flowers to top the cake.
Audience: Not broadcast
Ring: From Van Cleef & Arpels. She put it on JFK’s finger at his funeral.
Splurge: Tenor Luigi Vena sang Gounod’s “Ave Maria”
Mishap: Jackie’s father, Jack Bouvier, got drunk in his hotel and missed the wedding entirely
Personal Touch: A special blessing from Pope Pius XII was read before the wedding mass
Honeymoon: Acapulco, then up the California coast to San Ysidro Ranch
Happily Ever After? Widowed in 1963
Princess Elizabeth
Date: Nov. 20, 1947
Nickname: Her Majesty
Groom: Lt. Philip Mountbatten
Dress: Designed by Norman Hartnell. Elizabeth paid for the material with ration coupons.
Location: Westminster Abbey
Cake: Four tiers, nine feet tall, 500 lbs. Depicted scenes from their lives.
Audience: 20 million (radio)
Ring: Made from nuggets of Welsh gold from Clogau St. David’s mine
Splurge: The two royal kneelers wore rose-pink silk
Mishap: On the morning of the wedding, Princess Elizabeth’s tiara snapped
Personal Touch: The couple received 2,500 wedding presents and 10,000 telegrams
Honeymoon: At Broadlands in Hampshire; the princess brought her corgi
Happily Ever After? Still going strong
Sarah Ferguson
Date: July 23, 1986
Nickname: Fergie
Groom: Prince Andrew
Dress: Ivory silk, by Lindka Cierarch, with a 17-foot train. Emblazoned with an A for Andrew.
Location: Westminster Abbey
Cake: Six feet tall, adorned with pastel flowers
Audience: 500 million (TV)
Ring: A Burmese ruby, chosen to match Fergie’s hair
Splurge: They filled the Abbey with 30,000 flowers
Mishap: Fergie repeated Andrew’s middle name twice while saying her vows
Personal Touch: The queen lent Fergie a diamond tiara for the ceremony
Honeymoon: The Azores
Happily Ever After? Divorced in 1996
Tricia Nixon
Date: June 12, 1971
Nickname: The Cover-Girl Bride
Groom: Ed Cox
Dress: The dress flew first class to the White House with designer Priscilla Kidder
Location: White House Rose Garden
Cake: White House pastry chef Heinz Bender made a 350-lb. lemon cake
Audience: Not broadcast
Ring: A sapphire-and-diamond ring worn by Cox’s grandmother
Splurge: Planned an entire second wedding in case of rain
Mishap: It rained all day leading up to the wedding, but stopped just in time for the ceremony
Personal Touch: The Marine Band played “Lara’s Theme” from Dr. Zhivago at the party
Honeymoon: Camp David
Happily Ever After? Live quietly in N.Y.C.