Princess Nathalie's Wedding: HSH Princess Nathalie of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg
Congratulations to Princess Nathalie of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg -- daughter of Princess Benedikte, niece of Queen Margrethe of Denmark and Queen Anne-Marie of Greece, and cousin to half of the princes and princesses in Europe -- on her wedding day! Nathalie is technically already married -- she and Alexander Johannsmann had a civil wedding in May of last year, a few months before their son, Konstantin, was born.
But today is Nathalie's religious wedding ceremony, and with that comes the sparkles: the Khedive of Egypt Cartier Tiara, to be more exact! Here's a little history on the rather romantic tiara, which first belonged to Crown Princess Margaret of Sweden. Today, its owner is Nathalie's aunt, Queen Anne-Marie. It's one of my favorite tiaras -- so delicate and unique!
All female descendants of Queen Ingrid of Denmark have worn the Khedive on their wedding days: so far, the tally of wearers is Queen Anne-Marie, Queen Margrethe, Princess Benedikte, Princess Alexia of Greece and Denmark, Princess Alexandra of S-W-B (Nathalie's older sister), and now, Princess Nathalie. Next in line? Princess Theodora of Greece and Denmark, Countess Ingrid von Pfeil und Klein-Ellguth (Alexandra's daughter), and Princesses Isabella and Josephine of Denmark.
The other heirloom aspect of Nathalie's wedding ensemble is her veil, which was first worn by Crown Princess Margaret at her wedding in 1905 at Windsor Castle. It's been worn by many of the family brides since, including Crown Princess Mary.
As for the dress: well, she certainly looks happy to be wearing it! 
PHOTO CREDITS: REUTERS/Ina Fassbender
Beautiful tiara, and she certainly does look happy wearing her dress!
Beautiful tiara. Unfortunate dress. I blame Mabel for this.
I love the tiara, although it looks really tall here (or is that just me?). The dress, well... The less said the better, IMHO.
She loks wonderful. I think it's so nice to have such a nice tradition in the family with the tiara, and that so many brides have had the chance to wear it. Long may it continue! I actually love the dress. It's very reminiscent of the frocks popular in the 1960's.
Bless her, she looks so happy. Congratulations all round.
Anne-Marie's Wedding Tiara, stunning!
This is one of my favourite tiaras OF ALL TIME! I do hope it goes back to the DanishRF after QueenAM goes to the big ballroom in the sky. Is it me or have they made the tiara more circular and higher? I didnt realize it was so adjustable
That is one gorgeous tall tiara with a great deal of provenance so suitable for a statuesque lady. And the long clean lines of the gown emphasize Nathalie's figure so well. Unfortunately the top does resemble a thickly embroidered bedjacket, but she looks happy indeed on her wedding day. I do love that long veil, though.
One of my favourite tiaras. I love everything from the neck up, and the waist down. And, a smile is always the best accessory.
Ahh she looks radiant and happy bride.
U
Unforch her dress does remind me of my Aunty Anne's chain store job from 1962. Never mind...
And sorry for that exessive carriage return there?!
The gorgeous veil, which is priceless, doesn't look to be the same color as the dress, which appears cream to the veil's white. Like some of you, I think the dress is "unfortunate."
The tiara is beyond beautiful and looks just right on her head.
I'd rather go back to Royal Ascot now.
OK, can you spot the deliberate mistake? What's missing? The bouquet! She left it behind and someone had to come running with it
She looks gorgeous in the tiara, but those sleeves are not terribly flattering. The dress is lovely shape, the skirt's gorgeous, but the top isn't really working. The veil looks lovely from behind",
Flaming links:
Rear-ish view of the veil: http://5.t.cdn.belga.be/picture:27735900:preview:watermark?v=1309cabca86
Lady coming to the rescue with the flowers: http://0.t.cdn.belga.be/picture:27736027:preview:watermark?v=1309cabca86
The whole thing loses some of its punch for me, knowing she had a child and was married last year. I will try to ignore that, the tiara is beautiful.
@PJ25 -- It is a very adjustable tiara -- in fact Crown Princess Margaret often wore the tiara flat across her bodice almost like a stomacher.
I am so glad to get to see a picture of this Royal bride! The tiara and veil are stunning, as is her apparent happiness. It is infectious!
This is defnitely a very beautiful tiara - but I don't like that you can see the base. It should have been covered a little more by her hair.
As for the dress - I don't think it is unfortunate. Yes, it reminds a little bit on the 60ies around the top, but the shape is very flattering for her. I have seen worse dresses...
Divine tiara and veil! I wonder if the bodice of this dress looks better in real life, and is one of those things that just doesn't photograph well...because let's face it, it really doesn't photograph well. Maybe it's vintage...?
Lovely photo here, Ella. She seems so happy and this is a year after she was legally married.
I found this photo that shows the dress full length from the front:
http://www.daylife.com/photo/06na4408ZxaBg?q=princess+Nathalie
I don't especially dislike the bodice, it's just a bit different. Not amazingly great but not stupendously bad.
The odd thing is that the bride's exposed shoulders aren't the same colour as her neck. Now that's naughty (ballerinas aren't allowed to sunbathe so they have skin that's the same colour all over), especially in these days of spray tan.
Now, here's another odd thing - her aunt Daisy is wearing a top that's very similar to the bride's bodice!
http://www.daylife.com/photo/0gvicUk5TG7HC?q=princess+Nathalie
Where are the hats at this wedding? I would think there would be at least one!
No hats because it was an afternoon wedding (so guests were in evening attire, as the reception would continue into the night). Hats would only be worn for a morning wedding, usually.
As for the lack of tiaras on anyone but the bride, I'm guessing that was clearly stated in the dress instructions on the invitation. The men are all in white tie, and that's usually when women wear tiaras, so I assume they decided that would be too opulent.
I think the bodice is Venetian lace which can be quite heavy and certainly looks so in the photographs but considering the beauty of the antique lace veil, I would have gone easy on lace anywhere else. Motifs of the bodice lace are scattered on the skirt where they look lovely and don't compete with the veil.
Neck up: stunning.
Neck down: no comment.
But overall I really just don't understand this. I know in Europe it's not uncommon to have both a civil and a religious wedding, usually on successive days. But I honestly don't get why they're going through all the hoopla a YEAR after they married civilly. It just seems to weird, and fake. It's as though they purposely waited so she could wear a fancy dress without the bother of a baby belly, which seems vain and at odds with the entire idea of a religious ceremony (all cart-before-the-horse stuff aside.) It just doesn't sit right with me somehow.
What am I missing?
You are missing seeing a truly blushing bride, so to speak. Hopefully someone will let us know when one shows up.
Just a quick reminder that we're concerned with headgear here and not life/religious choices. Thanks, everybody.
The lace is quite pretty if you zoom in on the photo, I think it just doesn't photograph well from far away. In any case, her smile and apparent happiness is the most beautiful accessory any bride can have.
This tiara has only recently been put on a frame and that's why it looks so much taller. I love it - it is so pretty and delicate yet still substantial. I actually like the dress very much and it's very flattering to Natalie. I saw an interview with her and she came across as charming and down to earth, not pretentious at all. She loves horses and dressage and works very hard at it. May she win a gold medal in a future Olympics.
I enjoyed the link to the many photos of the wedding. She is lovely; I think the dress is stunning; the lace, veil and tiara dramatic.
She looks so much like her Auntie Daisy!!! I LOVE IT ! ! !
Hi! I'm from Argentina and I've become addicted to your blog since the royal wedding...great work!!
Check this other blog I've found... some great tiaras!!
http://dinastiasreales.blogspot.com/2010/05/tiaras-y-joyas-reales.html
Love!
D