Saturday 30 April 2011

Storytelling Sunday....................A Royal rendevous.

Yesterday I was chatting with Sian and telling her my idea for today's post, and she said ''Go with it''. So here goes.

So 2 days a go we were all either watching or avoiding the Royal wedding and about 30 years ago I was watching the wedding of William's mother to HRH Prince Charles. It was such an amazing day and the country were so into Diana, Princess of Wales that they decided to do a tour of her gown.

 The wedding gown designed by David and Elizabeth Emmanuel.

My family, me, Rachel, the mother, the father and my mum's parents had all gone down for a holiday near Looe in Cornwall. We were staying in a pre-Centre Parcs type outdoor log cabin park with views over the lake. It was beautiful. Anyway one day we planned a trip to Truro especially to see Diana's dress. My mum, me, Rachel and my nan queued for several hours outside the exhibit. We entertained ourselves until we got in, I dont know how cos it did seem like forever. But eventually we got to the front of the queue. My poor nan didnt go in in the end cos she was so sore and uncomfy from standing, she'd only recently had hip troubles, so just me, mum and Rachel went in. All the bridesmaids and pageboy outfits were on display in glass cases along with the piece de resisdence that frock. It was amazing to actually get close enough to see all the tiny details on the dresses. The extra special bows, and embellishments which the TV and magazines couldn't show you. We oohed and arhged as we went around. We then had to go back and tell my nan all the details.



The dress, bridesmaid's dress and shoes etc.

Several years later, my girlfriends and I had the opportunity to visit Kensington Palace on my friend's hen weekend to see a similar display of the Queen's and other Royal dignitary's wedding gowns. If I remember rightly we saw the Queen Mother's, Queen Victoria's and I think Princess Margaret's dresses.




I remember we were all really impressed again by the detail and workmanship which had gone into these beautiful pieces. Evene though they were such personal dresses to the bride, they were also a mark of British work and craft history. Just like Kate Middleton's dress on Friday there were elements of national and personal significance.  To be able to see those dresses up close was n exciting opportunity to feel like a part of history. If you ever get the chance to see any of the Royal exhibition where dresses are central, give it a go, you'll be impressed I can assure you.

It was a really great way to start a hen weekend as well. We then went to see ''Mamma Mia'' which is always worth a return visit. Happy Sunday.

20 comments:

  1. as a former sewer, I know I would really appreciate the detail and would love to see them up close!

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  2. Ooh, I'd love to see all those fabulous gowns together, all in one place - wouldn't that be something?! Maybe the V&A museum might get them in for an exhibition some time.

    Catherine Middleton's dress was really lovely and very much in keeping with the tradition of dresses created for British royal brides. The hand-made, hand-attached lace details, the way the dress was shaped, fitted and styled, the train (albeit a small one by previous standards!), the fact that it was quite a modest dress - especially by modern standards, yet it was still beautiful, stylish and fashionable. It was a fabulous frock and I'm sure Kate was as delighted with it as the rest of the world seems to have been! I hope she keeps it for always (even if she lends it out to be shown to people).
    I'd like to go to the Royal Exhibition - something to plan for next winter perhaps.

    Thanks for sharing your story of the lovely dresses - it's great!

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  3. OOhhh how lucky of you, I'd so love to see all the Royal wedding dresses - yes, I'll certainly keep a look out.

    Wasn't she just beautiful yesterday - I've been stocking up on all the newspapers today.

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  4. That sounds fab Jo, I would like to go to a royal museum one day. I found myself being even more interested in the royals lately - I suppose that's what a jolly good wedding does to you :)

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  5. I'd also love to see an exhibition like that - all of the gowns are so detailed and beautiful, Catherine's was no exception.

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  6. Happy Sunday to you too Jo! This is a perfect story for today, and the best bit is I can hear your voice telling me the story as I read it here today. And did I tell you how envious I am? I would LOVE to see those dresses. Maybe the new one will be exhibited and I'll get a chance to see it someday.

    Thank you for joining in today Jo and thankyou for the call. Always a pleasure!

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  7. What a wonderful thing to have seen! Love your beautifully put together story. There is something special, I always feel, about seeing up close a garment that someone actually wore, lived in, breathed in ... Yes, and I loved Kate's elegant simplicity too!

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  8. Another one over here who would love to see 'the dresses', and I loved Catherine's gown, my thoughts echo Alexa's: elegant simplicity. Oh and I loved your story, it was so topical I got carried away with the dress! sorry x

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  9. Oh how wonderful to see them close up. I loved Kate's dress - it was so perfect for her don't you think? J x

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  10. How super being able to see all those dresses. I'll have to check that out next time we're over in England. I thought Catherine's dress was so elegant looking.

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  11. What a great story Jo! I love the thought of two versions of you visiting the dresses - first with your mum and the on a hen's weekend!
    Rinda

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  12. How wonderful to have seen all those beautiful dresses up close. Thanks for sharing your topical story.

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  13. On the day of that wedding we were flying to Italy....and kept popping in to watch bits on the TV as we did our last minute packing.

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  14. Now that's an exhibition I could really enjoy(all the royal dresses I mean) I really hadn't liked Diana's and was so glad to see how beautiful Kate's was
    Alison xx

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  15. How lucky to see Diana's dress close up like that. Sorry to hear that your Nan didn't make it though. I thought Kate's dress was stunning.

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  16. It is indeed special that you were able to see Diana's dress and all the others too. I applaud Catherine that she somehow managed to maintain her own style amid all the media attention and tradition of the royals. Hers was a simple, elegant, and timeless gown, and she wore it with the very best of style.

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  17. I hadn't even realised you could see any of the Wedding dresses exhibited anywhere wow! Great story Jo thanks xxx

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  18. Lovely topical story - I was one of the crowd lining the streets when Diana & Charles got married and would have loved to see the dress close up.

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  19. I also would love to see some of the vintage dresses close up. I never really liked Princess Diana's dress or Sarah Furgerson's but thought that Kate's one on Friday was outstandingly elegant.

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  20. I too would love to see that. I think nowadays there just aren't enough times when so much attention is paid to detail. It's rare and that's a little sad.

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Hello and thank you so much for stopping by. It is always a pleasure to read the comments I receive and to meet new friends. I try and reply to comments on friend's blogs as much as possible. I hope you have enjoyed reading my blog and look forward to seeing you here again soon. Love Jo xxx