A day after their civil wedding, Prince Albert has married the former Olympic swimmer Charlene Wittstock in a Catholic ceremony in Monaco.
As Charlene Wittstock swept along the red carpet on her father’s arm. In her sumptuous boat neck gown by Giorgio Armani Prive, her hair pulled back in a swirling French twist and with only the lightest touch of makeup, she seemed to channel the effortless elegance of Grace Kelly.
But while Princess Grace turned to Hollywood’s MGM studio for her wedding gown, Princess Charlene opted for one of her longtime favorite designers, Armani, for Saturday’s wedding gown.
The “petites mains” or seamstresses of his haute couture atelier put more than 2,500 hours of work into the dress, a strong-lined, made-to-measure concoction of more than 140 yards of different silks, 40,000 Swarovski crystals and 20,000 mother of pearl beads.
The six-yard-long train. which dwarfed the demure little train at the summer’s other royal wedding (that of Britain’s Prince William and Kate Middleton), proved difficult to negotiate. At one point, Charlene got stuck and Albert had to tug at the long silk flourish to free her.
At the dinner that followed the religious service, the princess wore another Armani creation – a white silk chiffon gown with a broad neckline and embroidered four-tier train.
For Friday’s civil ceremony, the princess wore a silken blue jacket with ankle-length palazzo pants, an outfit press handlers said she designed herself and that was made by famed fashion house Chanel. For the evening’s light-and-sound show, she wore a strapless blue gown with a flowing skirt and a statement necklace.
It is reported that she will be turning to a third fashion house- Christian Dior – for the outfit she will wear to Sunday’s brunch, the last of the wedding events.
AP-CBS /Newsroom
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