Prince Ludwig of Bavaria's royal wedding with Sophie Evekink was all the talk last weekend, from the bride's stunning lace wedding dress to her fainting mishap at the altar.
Princess Beatrix and Prince Luitpold of Bavaria's son and the Oxford student, who is currently researching for her doctorate at the Law Faculty, exchanged vows at the Theatiner Church in Munich on Saturday 20 May before heading to a reception hosted by Duke Franz of Bavaria at Schloss Nymphenburg. Like many brides, the new Princess of Bavaria chose to change into a second gown for her private evening celebrations, but she chose not to follow tradition when it came to the colour.
Instead of a classic bridal white gown, Sophie's "explicit wish" was to wear a pastel hue that she could recycle again in the future – and it tied in with her entire colour scheme. The Haus Bayern website explained ahead of the wedding: "The bride's evening gown will not be white, but Bavarian blue, since the dress for the wedding ceremony was specially made for the ceremony and not as evening wear.
"It was the bride's explicit wish - in close consultation with Duke Franz - not to wear another evening dress in white, but in light blue, which she can not only use once for the wedding, but also for special occasions. The dress comes from the Ukrainian house WONÁ Concept, as did the veil during the wedding ceremony."
Meanwhile, other guests were requested to wear tailcoats or long evening dresses for the celebrations, alongside tiaras for married women. In Sophie's case, she sported a leafy diamond headpiece that was originally worn by Prince Ludwig's grandmother, Princess Irmingard of Bavaria, at her wedding in 1950.
Earlier in the day, she had teamed the tiara with a lace wedding dress by Lebanese designer Reem Acra, chosen after she spent time in the Middle East. It featured a swooping neckline, an A-line skirt and gorgeous lace sleeves while incorporating elements of nature, such as leaves, vines and flowers. What was not visible was her sentimental 'something blue' from her grandmother, which was sewn inside her dress.
Next to behind-the-scenes photos showing the creation of her gown on Instagram, Haus Bayern explained: "Dressmaker Catarina von Lerchenfeld, a cousin of the groom, also designed a bespoke handkerchief for the church as the 'something blue', woven from fabric which came from the bride’s grandmother. The bride is very appreciative for all the hard work and love put in this."
Sophie finished off her outfit with a veil created by Ukrainian designer WONA, which included hidden Dutch, Canadian, and Bavarian elements including an embroidered Maple leaf, alongside drop earrings from her Canadian cousin John de Jong.
Meanwhile, Gabi Nitzl was the mastermind behind the Dupion silk outfits worn by her flower girls and page boys, which deliberately followed the traditional Bavarian white and blue colours, alongside the bride's favourite colour, light green.
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