Märtha Louise of Norway was literally glowing on her wedding day to her partner of five years, shaman Durek Verrett, last weekend.
Her wedding dress designer, Tina Steffenakk Hermansen, made sure of this.
"Her dress was embroidered with gold pearls so that it really shone in the sunlight of the Geiranger mountains," Tina told HELLO! in our exclusive chat. "We even did the couple's monogram on the back of the dress in pearls."
© HELLO!The bride's three outfits
The Norwegian designer has been working with the European royal family for 20 years, ever since she founded her eponymous brand. As well as dressing Märtha Louise, she has also created dresses for her sister-in-law, Crown Princess Mette-Marit, and one of Märtha Louise's daughters, 19-year-old Leah Behn.
"The royal family are really good at championing Norwegian designers, it's so important to them," says Tina. "This wedding is definitely the biggest event I've ever worked on. I'm very honoured to be associated with it."
Märtha Louise first approached Tina to design her wedding day looks before Christmas, with the duo working on three separate outfits for the three-day extravaganza, starting with a Latin American-themed party on the Friday evening.
"She wanted to feel fantastic, so we made her a dress in pink and ivory," Tina said. "We literally sewed it onto her body. It was a little bit shorter in the front, with a split in the skirt, so that she could dance and have fun."
© HELLO!Creating 'The One'
When it came to her wedding dress, Tina and Märtha Louise didn't look to the runway or any other brides for inspiration, but instead talked about what suited the princess and what she liked.
"She said, 'Tina, you could just wrap fabric around my body and you'd make it look good.' She was so trusting. She's very cool. She dares to do things others might not."
© GettyThey settled on a sleeveless duchesse silk gown, a silhouette that the princess also wore for her first wedding to her late ex-husband Ari Behn in 2002. "We didn't talk about her first wedding," shared Tina. "She is so focused on the here and now and who she is today."
The final design was a sleeveless chiffon and silk gown featuring not only pearl embroidery but also a three-metre-long train, "to make it feel more majestic," explained Tina.
"We wanted to do something classic, elegant and sophisticated, but also with a little twist, which is why we added 3D embroidered chiffon and silk floral appliqués to the bodice. They were inspired by the mountain blooms of Geiranger."
The hidden detail
For her "something blue" Märtha Louise asked Tina to embroider Durek's symbol, 'Quinterium', (described as the divine emblem that opens your sensorium, expands consciousness, and balances energies), in blue underneath the train of her dress, so that when it was removed for the evening party, it could be seen – a hidden detail about her very special gown.
"She wanted to wear the same dress all night long and have fun with it," explained Tina. "So we made it so she could take the train off."
On Sunday, Märtha Louise wore Tina's third and final design, a pink jacket dress with gold and white floral details to tie in with the pink – white and gold being the theme of the weekend – and "inspired by a dream of the mountains and the flowers," she said.
The bridesmaids' dresses
The bridesmaids – who included the princess' closest friend and business partner Anne-Kari Bøhaugen – wore a beautiful bias-cut silk gown in a blush pink, something specifically chosen by Märtha Louise, but which was a tricky colour to get right according to Tina.
"We created a very special custom colour for the bridesmaids, one that was flattering on all of their skin tones."
Meanwhile, the bride's three daughters, Maud, 21, Leah, 19, and Emma, 16, all wore a champagne-coloured version, while the three flower girls wore silk chiffon dresses made with tulle skirts with gold and floral details like the bride, and carried pink purses.
© Getty"I also made 'love' bracelets with the couple's monogram on for Märtha and her bridesmaids," said Tina. "And customised purses for each event too."
In total, Tina designed at least 13 wedding party looks, not to mention multiple outfits for some of the guests, too – and it wasn't even the only wedding she was working on that weekend!
So, how does Tina feel now that it's all over? "It's kind of sad now it's finished. It was a lot of fun to work on. But everyone was happy so I'm happy too!"
To read the full exclusive interview with Märtha Louise and Durek and to see the full wedding album, pick up the latest issue of HELLO! on sale in the UK. You can subscribe to HELLO! to get the magazine delivered free to your door every week or purchase the digital edition online via our Apple or Google apps.
