A Princess Bride

By now the whole world has heard about the engagement of Prince William and Kate Middleton. They are set to marry in the spring or summer of 2011. William proposed with his mother's beautiful sapphire engagement ring which is just stunning. I think they make an adorable couple and Lord knows Kate has waited a long time for this engagement.

I must admit as a lover of all things wedding I am super excited about this wedding. I cannot wait to read all the stories and see all the pictures and assuming it's televised (which is a pretty safe assumption) I will be glued to my t.v. to watch. I was only a year old when Charles and Diana got married so I can't wait to finally get to watch a royal wedding on t.v. like our parents did back then.

The big talk of course is what Kate's dress will look like. Bride's have enough pressure picking out their "perfect" dress but when your dress is going to be seen by billions of people and your wedding will be one of the most photographed and publicized weddings ever the pressure must be enormous!

It will be interesting to see if Kate wears a more conservative gown that appears to be the standard for royal weddings. I decided to dig up some pictures of past Royal weddings to check out the dresses and the overwhelming theme seems to be sleeves or at a bare minimum the shoulders are covered. Granted most of these weddings happened 20 or more years ago so I can't help but wonder if Kate will stick to tradition or wear something more modern.

Prince Charles and Princess Diana had easily the most publicized wedding of our time. I can't say I'm in love with her dress. Granted it was 1981 and puffy sleeves were all the rage but I just hate the top of her dress. It just makes the 20 year old Diana look very matronly in my opinion. I love the skirt and that train is insanity but the poof sleeves would have to go if this were my dress.

Princess Sarah Ferguson's dress is a bit more my speed though again the sleeves could be toned down a bit. I'm in love with her Cathedral length veil and the neckline is quite flattering.

Here is a picture of William's grandmother Queen Elizabeth. I actually love this dress. Would I wear it now? Probably not, but for the time period I think it's beautiful and OMG that train! Stunning!

Here is a picture of Princess Victoria of Sweden who just got married this past June. I think this is a good guide for what Kate Middleton may wear for her royal wedding. Gone are the puffy sleeves but her shoulders are still covered and she has a more modest neckline. I think this dress is very elegant and classic though I wouldn't have minded a bit more bling. Afterall she IS a princess.

And of course you can't write about royal wedding dresses without including Princess Grace of Monaco. I am IN LOVE with this dress. Despite the high neckline I think it's gorgeous and I just die over the lace which is probably obvious considering my dress was all lace. I know some brides think lace dresses are old fashioned but I think they are timeless and classic. Of all the royal brides Grace would be the one I would want to emulate the most if I were marrying a Prince.

So which of these royal dresses is your favorite? Are you excited about Prince William's wedding?

**All images via Google images**