Elements of the royal wedding, including Meghan Markle’s wedding dress, have had a lasting impact on the choices made by brides across the country today.
The Royal Family are among some of the most influential figures in the world, so the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle was always bound to influence bridal trends in some way or another. Barely a month after their nuptials, industry experts already claimed the effect had taking hold in a big way.
Speaking to the BBC shortly after the royal wedding, couture bridal designer Phillipa Lepley predicts a trend for simpler, more classic styles inspired by Meghan’s dress.
“I think it will make people braver to wear a clean dress,” she said. She predicts direct copies of the dress and the embroidered cathedral veil.
Bernadette Chapman, from the UK Alliance of Wedding Planners, said their members are seeing more brides choose a cathedral veil, as well asbuying a second outfit for the evening reception. It’s even been reported there’s been an increase in couples asking for the same lemon and elderflower cake as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
One of the most effective ways to measure up-to-date trends is through analysing data from online search engines. According to Google, searches for ‘boat neck’ clothing increased by 269% in the week following Harry and Meghan’s wedding.
Searches also rose for Givenchy and Stella McCartney, the latter of whom created the halter-neck dress Meghan wore to her evening reception. Other aspects of Meghan Markle’s big day saw a spike in interest, too. Searches for ‘bowl food’ rose by 121% and ‘gospel choir’ searches were almost 300% higher.
The influence is plain to see in the online world, but are Harry and Meghan’s choices actually affecting the brides of today?
Speaking to the BBC, Ceriann August, from Aberdare in South Wales, changed her mind about her dress after watching the royal wedding. “My picture board was all finished and I was ready to start ordering, then I watched the royal wedding,” said Ceriann, who will marry fiancé William in September.
“I changed my wedding colours after loving her flowers. Her wedding oozed class and inspired me to go with nature.” She’ll now be wearing a cream dress with a 3ft train, cathedral veil and an ‘English rose’ make-up look.
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