The Royal Wedding is Coming: What Local Wedding Experts Are Predicting

If you didn’t already know, you should know by now that we are kind of obsessed with all things “royal.”

We won’t get into it, but…Lindsey truly believes she was Anne Boleyn in a previous life, but that is just a small reason why we’re covering the royal wedding between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle this week. Unless you live under a rock, you can expect non-stop coverage not just from us, but from every other media outlet out there. We’ve got ourselves an American beauty marrying into the royal family!

We partnered with The Addison in Boca Raton to bring you a countdown to the royal wedding—LLScene style, with royal fashion, beauty predictions, and interviews with top wedding professionals in South Florida. In true fashion, The Addison styled a day fit for a royal with tea, scones, pearls, flowers, and so much more.

Our very own royal expert

As much as we claim to be “royal experts” The Addison’s director, Zoe Lanham, puts us to complete shame with her knowledge.

“Growing up in England, you do get to experience royal traditions,” Lanham said. “But I do have a brother-in-law, Chef Danny Davies of The Future Chef Project, who was a military chef and served the princes when they were younger.”

One of the reasons we have loved Harry throughout the years is because he’s been known to break the rules every now and again. Since he isn’t required to invite Heads of State, Lanham said that means the couple will be swapping out celebrities and politicians for children they have met and worked with from charities all over the world. The couple met and bonded over their love for children and charity, so it’s no surprise that in lieu of wedding gifts, they have asked guests to make donations to their favorite charitable organizations. Rule breaker or not, Meghan will be required to partake in all of the British royal wedding traditions, one being her bouquet.

“There’s a tradition that goes back to 1840 when Queen Victoria walked down the aisle with a little sprig of myrtle, and since that day every single royal bride has carried a sprig of myrtle in their bouquet, so I can guarantee Meghan Markle will have myrtle represented in her bouquet,” Lanham told us.

Also, a British wedding day timeline is very different than an American one, being that British wedding ceremonies typically take place in the morning, followed by a wedding brunch directly after until the reception that night.

 “A British wedding tradition will always include a hat when referring to style. Every woman in attendance this Saturday will be wearing a hat, there is no doubt about that. It’s important they also have structure and simplicity when choosing an accompanying dress to go along with that hat. The dresses for the wedding brunch will also have straps and a hem length to the knee before changing into their evening gowns for the reception that night,” Lanham added.

The royal wedding cake

Founder and CEO of Earth and Sugar in West Palm Beach, Janderyn Makris is up to date and ready to share her expertise on the wedding royal cake.

“Meghan is very earth conscious, so a lot of her dessert choices will revolve around that. Being that she was raised in Los Angeles, I would also expect her cake to be organic and seasonal, and Claire Ptak is known for that,” Makris said.

Ptak is an American-turned-British baker after relocating to the U.K. from California, and she has been the confirmed baker for the royal wedding cake.

“Meghan and Harry will want something light and airy for their spring wedding. Elderflower and lemon are both flavors currently in season, which is why the couple will be including that in their royal wedding cake,” Markris commented.

 

Hair and makeup fit for a princess

We can’t cover the royal wedding without talking about Meghan’s hair and makeup, because that is one of the few topics no one really knows about. But, we’re still going to guess! Sitting down with Alissa Westcott, one of the Lead Artists at Face2Face Studios in Fort Lauderdale was eye opening! She confirmed some of our predictions and also threw in a couple of her own.

“It’s really common for us to see [Meghan] with loose, bouncy waves, but she’s also been known to embrace the ‘un-done look’ with a loose updo,” she said.

When it comes to makeup, there’s no doubt she will have that natural bridal glow about her.

“We’ve been seeing a lot of brides want more of a natural look opposed to the ‘glam bride’ of the past,” Westcott said. “I can definitely see Meghan Markle going with more of a natural, dewy look for her wedding. Do I think she’s going to pull a Kate Middleton and do her hair and makeup herself? Absolutely not, but I believe she will enhance her look with stylists she’s worked with on-set and is comfortable with.”

 

 

A wedding gown for an all-American princess

One of the biggest questions of the hour, who will design Meghan’s wedding dress, is another category none of us will know anything about until she gets to her ceremony, but we’re having fun and sharing what we think with co-founder of Margate’s Wonderland Bridal Couture, Alicyn Munoz.

“One thing you can expect is that Meghan Markle will be wearing a dress with sleeves to the ceremony. You won’t see a bride, guest or even spectator step foot into St. George’s Chapel without sleeves this Saturday,” Munoz said.

There’s no telling who will design the dress, but we can tell you it’s going to be magnificent. Similar to our beauty predictions, we anticipate that she will stay true to her personal style, while implementing a little glam to appease the royal family and occasion.

“It was rumored that Alexander McQueen was out as a potential designer for Meghan, since he designed Kate Middleton’s dress in 2011. It’s clear Meghan has her own style and way of doing things, so I would be very surprised if she went that route,” Munoz added.

Maybe Meghan will shock us all and go with a designer who is completely off the map? Nothing says “career launch” like designing the American princess’s wedding gown. Have we mentioned how charitable she is?

How to watch the wedding

4 a.m. ET: Charity workers, school children, employees of the queen, and other special guests appointed by authorities to be represented for the royal wedding will arrive inside the grounds of Windsor Castle. This also includes most of the national media outlets covering the wedding.

4:30 a.m. ET: Buses carrying the guests with official royal wedding invitations to attend the ceremony at St. George’s Chapel will begin arriving. This is when you’ll want to pay attention to what people are wearing and who is attending—we expect some A-list American celebs in this group!

6:20 a.m. ET: Here comes the royal family! Some will be on foot, others will arrive by car. This is also around the time Prince Harry and Prince William will enter on foot to greet everyone located within the grounds of Windsor Castle. Harry will then greet 200 special guests from his charities in the Horseshoe Cloiste. All while, Meghan will start to make her way to Windsor Castle with her mom after spending the night with her at the Cliveden House Hotel.

7 a.m. ET: Meghan will make grand entrance down the aisle and the service will begin. Lasting about an hour, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby will officiate the wedding and the Dean of Windsor, Bishop David Conner, will put on the service. Presiding bishop and primate of the Episcopal Church, American Michael Bruce Curry, will give the address.

8 a.m. ET: The service will end and Harry and Meghan will exit the church as a married couple, greeting the same guests of Harry’s charities and close family members on the West Steps. They will then enter their Ascot Landau carriage for a 25-minute traditional procession as newlyweds waving to the crowds of people wishing them well, followed by a reception brunch hosted by Queen Elizabeth II at St. George’s Hall in the castle.

What next…?

This is where the details get hazy because Kensington Palace hasn’t publicly announced the details about how the rest of the day will run for the newlyweds. All we know is that they will leave Windsor Castle after the luncheon for a private sit-down dinner for 200 people hosted by Prince Charles at the Frogmore House, a 17th-century manor on the castle estate. It might look familiar because it’s where the royal couple posed for their engagement photos.