Catherine's Royal Bouquet

Well, it was tradition with a twist!  Catherine's bouquet to me, at first, was a little bland.  But the more I looked at it the more I LOVED it.  It had class, it was the perfect size, and it followed the 'Language of Flowers' as origined by Queen Victoria.


Here's a formal Royal press release about the bouquet:  "The bouquet is a shield-shaped wired bouquet of myrtle, lily-of-the valley, sweet william, and hyacinth.  The bouquet was designed by Shane Connolly and draws on the traditions of flowers of significance for the Royal Family, the Middleton family and on the Language of Flowers."


You will never believe how much this bouquet actually ties into the Royal Family and their traditions...the bouquet featured myrtle extracted from a bush planted on the British Isle of Wight by Queen Victoria in 1845, as well as a sprig from a plant grown from the myrtle used in Queen Elizabeth II's wedding bouquet!


The lily-of-the-valley was featured in all ceremony flowers of the bride and attendants - a flower that was used in Carol Middleton's bridal bouquet.


In keeping with tradition, the Duchess of Cambridge will be placing her bouquet on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, a practice started by the Queen Mother in 1923.


Now, I mentioned the 'Language of Flowers'...so what do all the flowers in her bouquet 'say'?  Well here's a breakdown:


Hyacinth (white) - loveliness
Lily-of-the-Valley - sweetness; return to happiness; humility
Myrtle - Love
Sweet William - Gallantry; Finess and Perfection (and I think a tribute to Wills himself)


What I loved about this bouquet was it's reflection of Kate herself.  This bouquet was demure, suttle, and well thought out - a true representation of the new Duchess.  It was perfectly proportioned to her tiny physique and followed the simple rule that it should NOT outshine a bride's dress and NEVER be larger than the bride's head.  It was definitely a modern twist on tradition.  It stepped away from the heavy, and overdone bouquets that we have seen royals carrying in the past.  Rumour has it, Princess Diana's cascading bouquet weighed 6 lbs.  That's a heavy bouquet to be lugging around, along with the weight of one's dress!


This bouquet was a perfect fit with the 50's style that Kate wore - mimicing the look of Grace Kelly's dress in '56.  Everything about Kate was perfect today.  A true beauty.


I don't doubt that future brides will be requesting bouquets similar to that donned by Kate today.  I don't doubt that she has just set a trend!