Royal Wedding

Picture and text below from BBC.  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13235599

After weeks of speculation Kate Middleton's very British wedding dress has been revealed.

Designed by Sarah Burton of Alexander McQueen, it has a lace applique bodice and skirt, and veil. The bride is wearing her hair down, with a tiara.

Ms Burton said creating the royal wedding dress had been the "experience of a lifetime".

Prince William is wearing the uniform of colonel of the Irish Guards, as well as his Royal Air Force wings.

The lace on the bride's dress details a rose, thistle, daffodil and shamrock, and was hand-made by the Royal School of Needlework at Hampton Court Palace.

The bridal train measures 2m 70cm, and along with the lace, all other fabrics used in the creation of the dress were sourced from and supplied by British companies.

The lace motifs were pinned, "framed up" and applied with stab stitching every 2mm to 3mm around each lace motif.

The designer said she enjoyed every moment of making the royal gown Workers washed their hands every 30 minutes to keep the lace and threads pristine, and the needles were renewed every three hours, to keep them sharp and clean.

The veil is held in place by a Cartier "halo" tiara, lent to Miss Middleton by the Queen.

The bride's earrings were a wedding day gift from her parents, Carole and Michael Middleton.

The earrings were the bride's "something new". For her "something blue", a blue ribbon was sewn into the interior of her dress, while her "something old" was the traditional Carrickmacross craftsmanship used to create the bridal gown.

Made by Cartier in 1936, the tiara was purchased by the Queen's father, the Duke of York (later King George VI) for his Duchess (later Queen Elizabeth and the Queen Mother) three weeks before he succeeded his brother as King.

The tiara was presented to Princess Elizabeth (now the Queen) by her mother on her 18th birthday.

The bride's bouquet is a shield-shaped wired bouquet of myrtle, lily-of-the-valley, sweet William and hyacinth. It was designed by Shane Connolly.