Royal Couture....Royal Wedding of Andrea Casiraghi and Tatiana Santo Domingo in Switzerland, Valentino Couture Wedding Gown + More!

Couture Wedding: Andrea Casiraghi, second in line of succession to the throne of Monaco and Tatiana Santo Domingo (in Valentino custom Haute Couture)--wedding in Gstaad Switzerland

Last month a "Royal Wedding" occurred to not much fanfare: the wedding of the second in line to the Monagesque throne, 29 year-old Andrea Casiraghi (Princess Caroline of Hanover's eldest son) and Tatiana Santo Domingo, heiress and socialite, in a Roman Catholic wedding in the village of Rougemont in Switzerland. Tatiana's father who passed away in 2009, was listed as the second richest man in Colombia by Forbes , and her mother is from Brazil.

South American-Euro Royal: NY-born Colombian-Brazilian Tatiana Santo Domingo and Andrea Casiraghi of Monaco

Civil Wedding Pretty: This was Andrea and Tatiana's second wedding as they had already held a civil wedding service in Monaco in August (above photo)

Wedding Gown--and Cape--for Tatiana Santo Domingo by Valentino Haute Couture custom

The beautiful 30-year-old bride wore a bespoke Valentino Haute Couture gown and an elegant cream fur cape. Her long dark hair was swept into an chignon and held in place with a glittering tiara.

Monaco's royal Andrea, 29, who arrived at the church by car, sported a smart grey suit. The 11th century church had been transformed into a winter wonderland,
adorned with boughs and urns of flowers, some of which came from Paris.
Candles added to the magical atmosphere. Andrea and Tatiana, who are a notoriously private couple, had made every
effort to keep the wedding an intimate affair and Monegasque police
stood guard outside. Guests, who included, Andrea's mother Princess Caroline, Prince Albert...

Charlotte Casiraghi (above photo), Princess Alexandra, Pierre Casiraghi and his
girlfriend Beatrice Borromeo, all arrived in cars with blacked-out
windows. The wedding party were also shielded by dark umbrellas. Representing Tatiana's side of the family were her mother Vera Rechulski
and younger brother Julio Mario Santo Domingo as well as numerous
relations. Her brother was thought to be giving her away as Tatiana's
father Julio Mario Santo Domingo passed away in 2009.

Hooded Haute: Photo of the Bride, Tatiana Santo Domingo and her wool crepe hooded coat/cape from Valention Haute Couture

Tiara Bride: Tatiana Santo Domingo in the car on the way to her wedding, looking every bit a "Royal Bride"--Could she be the next "Monaco Princess"? That multimillion dollar tiara tells me yes, possibly.

Beatrice Borromeo: Girlfriend of Pierre Casiraghi (brother of Andrea, the Groom) and member of the ancient aristocratic House of Borromeo. Borromeo wore a custom-made camel-colored coat and golden silk gown from Armani Prive, naturally:

Armani Prive sketches of Beatrice Borromeo's coat and gown--Tatiana Santo Somingo and Andrea Casiraghi's Wedding

Princess Caroline of Hanover--the Groom's Mother--wore Chanel Haute Couture. Princess Caroline featured a long boucle coat and gown from Chanel Haute Couture Fall 2012 collection:

Chanel Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2012

Many Bouquets to the Happy Royal Couple!

RUNWAY REPORT.....Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week: Valentino Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2014, Pics + Runway Video

 Valentino Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2014

The Look: According to Style.com: "Fifty-five looks for fifty-five operas. The Valentino designers Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli were after
something new for Couture this season, and they found it in the age-old
tradition of opera. The show opened with a nod to La Traviata;
Giuseppe Verdi's score was embroidered in black on the long, full skirt
of a parchment-colored tulle dress. After that, Chiuri explained, "we
wanted to describe the character of each [opera's] protagonist in a
primordial way." By the end, they had called out all the greats:
Puccini's La Bohème inspired an elegant navy cashmere cape and silk crepe sheath. Bizet's Carmen produced a pleated bronze tulle gown with silver-gray guipure lace embroideries."



After seeing all the photos and runway video (at the end of the post) I thought it was a STUNNING collection. One of the BEST of this Paris Couture Week. I especially LOVED the monastic caftan-silhouette gowns. Simple, elegant and very Roma Alta Moda COUTURE! Bravo.



Colors: Green, sienna, mahogany, gold, black, ivory, silver, gray.

Valentino Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2014

Trends: Monastic simplicity; loose tunic/caftan gowns; ballerina dresses; sheer/see-through; capes; heavy laces (above); fuller dress shapes with fitted top sections.



Collection Highlights:

Valentino Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2014

Valentino Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2014

Valentino Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2014

Valentino Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2014

Valentino Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2014

Valentino Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2014

 Valentino Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2014

 Valentino Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2014

 Valentino Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2014

Click Below for Full Runway Video of Valentino Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2014:

WHO WORE WHAT?.....70th Annual Venice Film Festival, "Valentino Ball" Red Carpet at Palazzo Volpi

Couture Knightley: Actress Keira Knightly and her recently-wed British musician husband James Righton at the Valentino Vall, Palazzo Volpi 2013 Venice Film Festival

This past Wednesday night was the "Valentino Ball", a party to celebrate the 70th Venice Film Festival. The bash was hosted by Valentino's creative directors/designers Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli.  The grand affair dates back to 1932 when Count Giuseppe Volpi di
Misurata, also the founder of the Venice International Film Festival,
threw the inaugural ball in...

 The Volpi Palazzo

The annual bash was held until the late eighties (naturally!) and then it ceased to happen. But this year, Chiuri and Piccioli resurrected the grand ball to highlight elegance, the grand palazzo and of course, the Valentino Empire.

Knightley wore a gold leaf applique-over-black silk organza gown from Valentino Haute Couture Fall 2013 collection (above). She pretty much wore it as it was shown on the runway --transparency and undergarments showing. This gown (if ordered) costs around $100,000.

Knightley's husband was seen at the Venice Airport carrying the garment
bags that held the gown. Let's just hope, he took great care...

Also there, wearing Valentino of course were...

Diane Kruger in Valentino Resort 2014--Actress Diane Kruger showed up with her hubby, Joshua Jackson, wearing a pink and nude sequined applique tulle gown from Valentino Resort 2014 collection. The gown had some hidden side-seam pockets, as you can see from the photo of Diane.

Golshifteh Farahani in Valentino Ready-to-Wear Fall 2013--Iranian actress Golshifteh Farahani (she lives in Paris, France) attended and wore a beautiful creme silk organza applique high-neck gown from Valentino Ready-to-Wear Fall 2013 collection. The original gown features a convertible shirt collar but for Golshifteh, it was removed and made into a mock-neck.

 Valentino Creative Directors Pierpaolo Piccioli (left) and Maria Grazia Chiuri (right) with Italian film director and screenwriter Pappi Corsicato (center)--Valention Ball Palazzo Volpi

ROYAL COUTURE.....Wedding of Princess Madeleine of Sweden and Christopher O'Neill, the Valentino Haute Couture Wedding Gown!

Mr. and Mrs: Princess Madeleine Duchess of Hälsingland and Gästrikland and her husband, American financier Chris O'Neill --Storkyrkan (The Great Church) Stockholm Sweden

This past Saturday, on June 8th, Princess Madeleine Duchess of Hälsingland and Gästrikland, 30, married wealthy Manhattan banker Christopher O'Neill, 38, at the Royal Palace Chapel and Storkyrkan (The Great Church) in Stockholm, Sweden. Princess Madeleine is the youngest child and second daughter of King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden. The King--according to some rumors--footed the bill for the entire thing (not surprised). The wedding was a MAJOR Royal Wedding with over 500 guests, including many Euro Royals, naturally; they LIVE for this stuff (and so do I!).

Madeleine is known as the Swedish Princess with the "Hollywood Starlet" good looks. For most of her life, she was a blond but just a few years ago, she went brunette, I guess signaling her "I'm more serious and ready to get married" phase of her life. She has now met "the love of her life" in London-born, American financier from a wealthy family, the dashing Christopher O'Neill.  

Happy Couple: Princess Madeleine, Duchess of Hälsingland and Gästrikland and her new husband, American financier Christopher O'Neill, in one of their "Official Portraits"

Supposedly, Madeleine and Chris will make their home in New York. Not sure what the Princess will do in NYC but supposedly Chris will continue his financier work (yeah right! He's going to have his calendar full with way too many royal weddings and pr appearances). Speaking of Christopher...he passed up the offer for a royal
title, which would have required he become a Swedish citizen, and essentially will remain Mr. Chris O'Neill, no Duke of this or Prince of that.



Now, let's discuss THE WEDDING GOWN:

Sweet Alta Moda: Princess Madeleine in Valentino Haute Couture Custom wedding gown

Hold Up That Couture Train Boys: Princess Madeleine in her Valentino Haute Couture custom wedding gown and Chris O'Neill

Valentino Haute Couture fashion illustration/rendering--provided by the House of Valentino

The Wedding Gown: 

Princess Madeleine of Sweden's wedding gown was a pleated silk organza gown with ivory-colored Chantilly lace detailing. It was designed by the retired Fashion Icon, Valentino Garavani. Talking about working with Princess Madeleine, Mr. Valentino said it had
been "just so easy. She is a very lovely girl. She is modern, full of
energy and enthusiasm, and she is so beautiful! It has been a pleasure
and an honour."  I predicted HERE that The House of Valentino would probably create her wedding gown and I was correct. But it is quite an honor to have the retired designer actually create something special just for you! The Italian fashion house is very friendly with the Euro Royals so it comes as no surprise. The upper section of the bodice was lace with a deep-cut back. Narrow
vertical pleats opened up from the accentuated waist, above the wide
skirt, which ends with a train that measured over 4 yards.

The Veil:

Madeleine's incredible veil was also made from silk organza and it trailed almost five yards long. The beautiful veil was also edged with tulle scattered with point d'esprit dots and small Chantilly lace orange blossom.

The Price:

In case you are wondering what a gown like this would cost, normally Valentino Haute Couture Wedding Gowns go for about $100,000 and up so...

The Shoes, Hair:

Madeleine wore shoes in ivory white organdie with woven point d'esprit dots
and her tiara, which is privately owned, was decorated with sprigs of
orange blossom. An oversized bun that sat at the nape of her neck finished off the elegant effect.

The Bouquet:

The bridal bouquet that Madeleine carried consisted of classic white
garden roses: Austin roses, Schneewittchen, Winchester Cathedral and
Alabaster, as well as lilies of the valley and the traditional myrtle
from Sofiero. All the flowers were white, and the bouquet was tied into a
round shape.

Wedding Portrait: Princess Madeleine of Sweden and Christopher O'Neill--and their family

Royal Kiss: Princess Madeleine and Chis O'Neill kiss, after their wedding

Click Below for Video of Princess Madeleine Entering the Church in her Wedding Gown:

Click Below for Video of the Newlyweds boarding their boat to take them to the Drottningholms Palace outside Stockholm:

***Up Next: The Royal Guest COUTURE from Princess Madeleine of Sweden and Christopher O'Neill Wedding