The Princess Diaries

By Fifi Haroon

What goes into making a wedding dress fit for a Princess?

Many hours of intense manual labour, exquisite fabrics like a specially designed jacquard weave manufactured in Cuomo, Italy, and infinite personal touches and motifs to remind the bride of her journey to the altar.

This year, we were treated to two weddings in Britain’s royal family, both in the Windsor castle chapel. First Prince Harry and Meghan Markle tied the knot in May and now Princess Eugenie, daughter of the Duke of York and Sarah Ferguson married her long-time partner Jack Brooksbank in an unusually warm October.

While Meghan, now the Duchess of Sussex, opted for a rather simple, elegant dress from Givenchy and minimal make-up at her nuptials, Princess Eugenie’s sweeping, layered wedding gown from the design duo Peter Pilotto and Christopher De Vos couldn’t be more different. If you could dream up a perfect princess wedding, surely this would be it.

So what lessons can Pakistani brides take from what was obviously an expensive, picture-perfect wedding and adapt them to suit their own special day?

Princess Eugenie chose to order from a label she had been wearing for years. Clearly, it’s advisable to go with a designer that you may have worn before and someone whose designs sense you are familiar with. If you’re looking for something more customised, Studio by TCS can arrange that for you with your choice of designer.

For jewelry, Princess Eugenie wore the Greville Emerald Kokoshnik Tiara, lent to her by her grandmother the Queen and matching drop earrings that were a gift from her intended husband. Now I’m not suggesting you wear a tiara at your wedding, that might be a bit OTT. But the idea behind it is wonderful; wearing something that belongs or once belonged to your grandmother. And pairing that with a present from your fiance. So – the point is make it personal, meaningful and simple rather than a display of how much jewellery you got in your jahez.

Don’t try to hide your imperfections, in fact why not celebrate yourself? The low back of her wedding dress was requested by Princess Eugenie, who had surgery, aged 12, to correct scoliosis. The condition causes the spine to bend to one side, and can make the shoulder blades appear more prominent and the back looks more rounded. Before the wedding, the princess said in an interview: “I think you can change the way beauty is, and you can show people your scars and I think it's really special to stand up for that.” She makes absolute sense – the motto is, be the best you and to hell with everyone's expectations.

Also remember it’s YOUR wedding day. Not your mother’s, sister’s or mother-in-law’s (though it’s okay for the bridegroom to nod approval). But it’s paramount that you are happy with the choices. Designer Ali Xeeshan said to me recently in an interview for the BBC. “It has to be a special and memorable day for the bride. She’s not just there for show. Brides are told not to laugh too much or break decorum. Why? She should be able to enjoy one of the most special days of her life.”

So with the coming wedding season, if you need our help at Studio by TCS, let us know now and our style team can start advising you on how to achieve what you are looking for. We have a wonderful portfolio of designers who specialise in bridal couture and being a multi-brand website we can source a variety of options for you from the more traditional to something a little off-beat.

And remember, every girl is a princess on her wedding day.