Pippa's Guests to Change Mid-Wedding
For tomorrow's almost royal wedding between Pippa Middleton and James Matthews, much has been made of the couple's apparent request for guests to wear different outfits for the daytime and evening portions of their celebrations.
But Pippa is hardly the first bride to ask her guests to change mid-wedding. She and James are following in the - admittedly large - footsteps of the six couples below.
Prince William and Kate Middleton
At the 2011 royal wedding, the post-ceremony reception buffet was hosted by the queen at Buckingham Palace, and included just 650 of the 1,900 people who were invited to the ceremony at Westminster Abbey. For this daytime portion of the celebrations, guests wore traditional royal wedding finery - military uniforms or morning dress for men, and daytime formal with hats for women. Attendees then took a break before the evening festivities, when just 300 invitees returned to the palace for a dinner reception hosted by Prince Charles. For the black tie event, Kate wore a second ivory McQueen gown with silver embellishments, and William changed from his Irish Guards uniform into a tuxedo and bow tie. Pippa substituted her famous bridesmaid dress for an emerald green Temperley London gown, and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall swapped her water-color Anna Valentine ensemble for a cornflower blue tunic dress.
Caroline Sieber and Fritz von Westenholz
When stylist and Chanel ambassador Caroline got married in 2013, the church ceremony in Vienna was immediately followed by a drinks reception at Palais Pallavicini. A black tie evening reception followed thereafter, for which the bride exchanged her dove gray Karl Lagerfeld gown for a white netted Christopher Kane creation, which was embroidered with violets. Meanwhile, popular wedding guest Pippa Middleton exchanged her coral dress and peach jacket by Matthew Williamson for a slinky black floor-length number. In addition to the two outfit request on the day, guests were also asked to deck themselves out in traditional Austrian attire for the dirndl and lederhosen rehearsal dinner the night before.
Prince Albert of Monaco and Charlene Wittstock
The 2011 Monégasque nuptials were suitably lavish, and the guest's packing requirements - multiple outfits, military paraphernalia and tiaras - reflected that. For the daytime religious ceremony in the palace courtyard, attendees wore traditional royal wedding fare, with the men in military attire or morning suits and the women in gowns and hats. The bride wore crystal and pearl encrusted Armani, Naomi Campbell chose Alexander McQueen mint and cream ombre, and representing the British Royal Family, Sophie, Countess of Wessex wore a cappuccino-colored cocktail dress. For the black tie evening reception the bride changed into a second shimmering white Armani gown, while Naomi Campbell chose white Givenchy stitched with green jewels, and the Countess of Wessex returned in midnight blue teamed with the her wedding tiara.
Salma Hayek and Francois-Henri Pinault
Back in 2009, the movie star and the fashion CEO had a low-key civil wedding in Paris, followed two months later by a star-studded extravaganza in Venice. Festivities took place at La Fenice Opera House, where Salma wore a traditional white Balenciaga creation for the ceremony, and a fuchsia gown for the reception. The bride's best friend Penelope Cruz wore cobalt blue for the ceremony and black for the reception, and Charlize Theron transformed her slinky taupe floor-length gown into a mini-dress for the evening festivities. Thwarting guest's hopes of traveling light, there was also a masked rehearsal dinner the night before.
Pierre Casiraghi and Beatrice Borromeo
The 2015 wedding celebrations of Princess Grace of Monaco's grandson Pierre and aristocratic TV personality Beatrice will be tough to beat, since guests needed a total of five formal outfits for two separate wedding days. Wedding number one was held in Monaco and started with a small civil ceremony where the bride wore blush Valentino, and guests decked themselves in traditional summer wedding attire. This was followed by a giant garden party for 600 people hosted by the groom's uncle Prince Albert, where the couple and their guests wore traditional costume. Finally, there was the black tie evening reception hosted by the groom's mother Princess Caroline, where the bride wore a white tulle Valentino gown hand-stitched with silver glitter clouds. The following weekend featured the religious ceremony held in the bride's native Italy, where she wore an elegant Armani Chantilly lace gown for the ceremony, and a dramatic sweeping white Armani for the black tie evening reception. Just to reiterate the sense of occasion, there was also a cocktail party the night before where the bride wore white Alberta Ferretti in keeping with the (comparatively) relaxed dress code.
Kate Moss and Jamie Hince
The bride wore a lacy Galliano creation for her 2011 wedding, while guests wore a fashion-forward take on classic wedding attire. Moss's best friend Sadie Frost chose a gray structured cocktail dress, while Daphne Guinness favored oyster satin and a cloth headdress. The bride then changed into her "first dance" dress - a gray Stella McCartney glittering with steel beads, and guests took advantage of the "second looks" tent with its folding screens and mirrored dressing tables. Sadie changed into a long black spangled gown for the evening's festivities, while the bride chose a golden backless Stella McCartney number. And still it wasn't over: at 4:45 a.m. Kate appeared dressed for dawn in an original 1930s silk tulle wedding dress.
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