Xpose Royal Wedding 2018

If you tuned in to tonights episode of Xpose on TV3, you would have spotted my feature on recreating Meghan Markles / The Duchess of Sussex, wedding looks.

There were 3 looks all available from Kadee Bridal in Athlone.

Before we get in the looks – here are the credits! (All pictures are at the bottom!)

Photography – Elaine Barker Photography

Hair – Elaine Murphy Bridal Hair

Make Up – Tara Power make Up

Venue – Luttrellstown Castle

Bridal Shop – Kadee Bridal

Accessories – Debenhams Ireland

Model – Carlha from Catwalk Models

Look 1:

I recreated that iconic scene of Meghan on the steps walking in to St Georges Chapel. I went with a Suzanne Neville gown called Geddes. For me, Suzanne Neville is almost like an architect of bridal wear. She constructs and builds dresses in to perfectly fitted gowns. Neville’s dresses are all about the fit.

I adore this dress. It is made using Italian crepe and this is important as its a thicker material. This ensures that the dress drops to the ground and weighs down to avoid ruffling. There is a tailored band around the waist which defines the waist line. The skirt is fitted but has a really nice soft fishtail bottom.

It is so simple and structured like Meghans Givenchy Dress by Claire Waight Keller. On this particular dress, we used the lace open back to give it a little more flare but you can get it filled in. There are pearl buttons up the back and this gives the derrière a really nice shape.

The veil is bespoke from The Shine Collection at Kadee Bridal. I loved the symbolism on Meghan’s veil. As a mark of appreciation of being accepted in to the Royal family, she had a flower from each of the 53 Commonwealth countries plus one from her home town embroidered in to the bottom. Both Meghan’s and Kadee’s are 2 tier and 5m in length.

Meghan was so lucky to get her hands on Queen Mary’s bandeau tiara. This tiara is by Jon Richards for Debenhams.

I matched the earrings as close to the Cartier style that Meghan wears, again, these earrings are by Jon Richards at Debenhams.

I finished the look with a beautiful pair of Jenny Packham closed toe bridal shoes from Debenhams.

Look 2:

Many people were divided by Meghans look. Some felt it was too simple but we have to remember that Meghan’s general look is very simple, tailored and structured so it was highly unlikely that she would deviate from this. She is also very petite so a big elaborate dress would have been too much on her.

With this look, I have built upon the key features on the original dress. This is also a Suzanne Neville gown named ‘Swanson’ but we are going sleeveless and bringing the skirt out. This dress has a striking closed neckline and also nods to Meghans Audrey Hepburn inspired bateau neckline. It is tailored to perfection on top and nips in at the smallest point of the waist. The A-line skirt bursts here and this really gives a princess look. The full skirt gives the top part of the body a real slimming effect. The material is whats called Silk Pique and it feels very luxurious. The back has a geometric cut out and I feel that this gives what would normally be a traditional style dress a really contemporary feel. The Swanson gown also has pockets.

I changed the head piece to an Alan Hannah for Debenhams bandeau tiara with pearls to complement this look.

Look 3:

This is the final and one of my favourite looks. As we all know, Meghan wore a halterneck dress by Stella McCartney for her party look. I took this gown ‘Campanile’ from Kadee Bridal by Sophie et Voila. She is a Spanish designer but draws inspiration from French fashion. Meghan and Harry both looked like they just stepped out of James Bond film. Dee in Kadee suggested that we modernise Meghan’s look by adding a strong metallic belt. When this all came together I fell in love. It just shows how you can bring a look to life with a good accessory.

You could have an ivory satin belt on this for the wedding ceremony and then a silver belt in the evening. The dress is made with silk tulle and I matched this look with some satin open toe t-bar wedding sandals from Jenny Packham at Debenhams.

Meghan also changed in to drop earrings for the party and I have opted for some Jon Richards tear drop cubic zirconia from Debenhams.

The Beauty:

The beauty look was matched to Meghan’s actual look on her wedding day. Her hair was loosely pulled back in to a chignon. Some hair fell casually around her face.

To recreate Meghan’s iconic hair look, Elaine kept it very simply. She ran a slight curl throughout the bottom and tucked the hair in to a nice loose chignon. She pulled forward two strands at each side of the face.

Her hair and make up combined was £18,000…….wowser!

Tara used the following to create Meghan’s look:

Base: Irelands own Kinvara Active Rosehip Day Cream to moisturise. Stilla One Step Bronzing serum as a primer. Foundation is Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk and to conceal and brighten, YSL Touche Eclat. MAC ‘Give Me Sun’ bronzer and Nars ‘Orgasm’ blusher was used to brighten. Mary Lou Manizer from The Balm was used as a highlighter.

Eyes: Micro Brow pencil in Espresso. MAC eyeliner in Teddy. Charlotte Tilbury eyeshadow ‘Shade 2 Enhance in the ‘Golden Goddess’ palette. Mascara was Christian Dior’s ‘Iconic’ in extra black.