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

ROYAL COUTURE.....Princess Madeleine of Sweden and fiancé Christopher O'Neill Official Pre-Wedding Portraits

Blushing Almost-Bride: Christopher O'Neill and Princess Madeleine of Sweden, Official Pre-Wedding Portrait

Last year, it was announced that King Carl XVI Gustav of Sweden's youngest child--after Crown Princess Victoria, 35, and Prince Carl Philip (the Hottie McSwedish Hottie!), 34--Princess Madeleine, 30 was engaged to British-US financier Christopher O'Neill, 38.

 Official Engagement Photo--Princess Madeleine of Sweden and Christopher O'Neill

Their wedding is coming up on Saturday June 8th. The engagement--and pairing of the two--did not come as a surprise, since the couple had been a New York "item" since the Swedish princess' sojourn in Manhattan in late 2010. Just last week, the "Official Portraits" of the soon-to-be-Bride-and-Groom were released. In them, Princess Madeleine, who also hold the titles of Duchess of Hälsingland and Gästrikland, is wearing a mint green suit of crepe and intricate lace with a peplum and satin waist belt detail.

Princess Madeleine looks positively radiant in the photos, as should a bride-to-be.

THE DISH: Who Is Christopher O'Neill, the Groom...

Christopher O'Neill was born in London, England and is the son of Paul Cesario O'Neill and Eva Marie O'Neill. His father moved to London in the 1960's to help establish the European headquarters of New York investment bank Oppenheimer & Co. Chris' mother is Austrian. The soon-to-be  husband of a Swedish Princes is a product of a very wealthy environment (you don't think for a minute she would marry MIDDLE CLASS darlings!), he attended the Institut auf dem Rosenberg boarding school in St. Gallen Switzerland, received his BA in International Relations form Boston University and then got his Master's in Business Administration from the Columbia Business School in NYC.Today, he is a Partner and Head of Research at Noster Capital, an investment firm with offices in London and NY.

Blond Madeleine--Princess Madeleine of Sweden

Also, just shy of ten days ago, the Groom announced that he would NOT be taking a royal title upon his marriage to the Swedish princess. It was assumed by "royal watchers" that he would be titled “HRH Duke of
Gastrikland and Hälsingland” upon his marriage to compliment Madeleine’s
title but nope, no thank you, he said: “Mr. Christopher O’Neill has respectfully asked to remain a private
citizen and not be granted royal status,” read an official statement,
released on 17 May.

Princes Madeleine's Wedding Gown:

Royal watchers are going (Fashion) mad over the Wedding Gown Speculation--What designer will she be wearing? Her mother wore a Custom and very Couture design from Christian Dior Haute Couture designed by then-designer Marc Bohan:

 Queen Silvia and King Carl XVI Gustav of Sweden Wedding, 1976--Queen Silvia wore Christian Dior Haute Couture by Marc Bohan

 Crown Princess Victoria in Pär Engsheden wedding gown

Princess Madeleine has worn Swedish designer Pär Engsheden in the past and he is a major favorite with the Swedish royal court (Crown Princess Victoria got married in his design, as seen from the above pics). But the Couture House of Valentino has been a favorite with the Euro Royals as well as the Couture "arm" of Giorgio Armani, Armani Prive (Hello Princess Charlene of Monaco!). Well, we will find out in two weeks.