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The Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara was a gift for Queen Mary on her wedding day in 1893. Originally purchased from Garrard, Queen Mary passed it down to Queen Elizabeth II, her granddaughter on her wedding day in 1947. Queen Elizabeth II wears the tiara frequently, usually without its base. Interestingly, it was designed so it could also function as a necklace.

Curtesy of www.royalcollection.org.uk

Described as “a diamond festoon-and-scroll design surmounted by nine large oriental pearls on diamond spikes and set on a bandeau base of alternate round and lozenge collets between two plain bands of diamonds,” it was speculated that Duchess Catherine may have been offered it to wear to her own wedding.

What do you think of the tiara? Would you consider wearing a tiara to your wedding?

With all the talk of the Royal wedding, one of the biggest trends and utterly British traditions that were talked about—almost as much as the dress—were what hats would be worn to such an event?  Will hat designer extraordinaire Phillip Traecy design them all?  What kind of hats will the guests wear?  More importantly the Queen?

With all this talk from across the pond on traditions and hat wearing, much talk and debate came across the Atlantic and settled on the shores of the States.  Would wearing hats to big parties, events and weddings become a tradition in America?  Would Americans embrace or reject this outrageous and all fantastic idea?  There is only one place that has had a long standing tradition of tame to outrageous styles of hats worn by women whom attend the festivities and the range of their hat choices is spectacular.

What event could this be?  Well, it is the Kentucky Derby of course!  No other such event in mainstream America requires such pomp and circumstance as this horse race.  After all, we have no royal weddings or other such related festivities to attend!  From the wildly outrageous, to the gorgeous and understated, each year a bevy of hats surround one of the most famous horse races around.  From feathers to polka dots, hats are a must when in attendance for this event.  Hats adorn everyone from the posh socialites, to celebrities in attendance to the most modern folks. 

With spring and summer coming, along with the help of the royal wedding as inspiration, hats, or adornments worn on the head—headbands, fascinators, alike, are becoming one of the fastest growing trends.  Are Americans embracing yet another British trend?  Looks like it!  Even bridal wear is getting in on the act and creating beautiful fascinators and other such head pieces to replace or renovate the long standing tradition of wearing a bridal veil on your big day.

With a colorful array and seemingly endless designs, head pieces are one way to spice up your wardrobe for this season!    

Catherine Middleton may be the newly minted Duchess of Cambridge, along with her Prince, the Duke of Cambridge, but her quintessential style and love of classic yet modern has had the whole world watching.  On her big day, Catherine donned a pair of gorgeous pave diamond earrings, a wedding day gift designed by her parents, Michael and Carole Middleton, and yet again, another trend has ensued.

What is the newest trend that Middleton has inspired, well a globe?  Her simple drop earrings for her big day!  They are stunning, and were designed by her parents to match her borrowed tiara from the Queen.  The stunning pair incorporates Middleton’s new life as a Royal, as well as her “old” life as a commoner.  The main design of the earrings is an acorn shape, which is predominate in the Middleton’s coat of arms.   

What exactly makes this a new and hot trend for wedding jewelry?  Incorporating your personal style and taste, as Middleton loves classic, clean, designs is a huge factor in her personal life.  By adding the earrings to her wedding garb, Middleton has added one of the biggest personal touches to her big day beside the wedding ring of Princess Diana of becoming the newest Royal.  So, be ready to add your personal flair, style and class to the biggest day of your life!  Whether it be classic, lovely drop earrings like Catherine’s, or your wedding band jewelry, be sure to make a bold, yet very personal statement!

With the whole world watching the beautiful and beaming couple gave the adoring crowds, not one, but two kisses to seal their fate on the big Royal wedding day.  The dapper William, dressed in traditional garb and his bride Catherine, dressed beautifully in Alexander McQueen were recently pronounced man and wife at traditional Westminster Abbey, not long before their balcony kiss.

With great pomp and circumstance the couple has steeped their nuptials in great tradition and grandeur.  With all the littlest details

Courtesy of People

 taken care of with the slightest of care, the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton, now known to the world as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, went off without a noticeable hitch.  So, with a ceremony filled with immense tradition, luster and grandeur, who would expect that one of the longest standing traditions, would be slipped upon Ms. Middleton’s finger?

That’s right, one of the oldest and longest standing traditions within the Royal family is the gold wedding band in which Prince William slipped upon his gorgeous bride Catherine.  The band itself may seem plain and ordinary.  However, the tradition of its creation, and where exactly the gold is from, has a history of almost a hundred years. 

The wedding band itself is made with Welsh gold.  With William and Catherine’s new home being in Wales, this band also holds quite a bit of significance to the couple as well.  The wedding band was made by a family owned and operated business, in Wales, who has a long standing tradition of making the wedding band for the Royal family.  Wartski Company is the jeweler who crafted the band, and was founded in 1865.  Prince Harry has had the simple, yet stunning, gold band since its completion, sometime on Thursday until its big moment on the day of the Royal wedding. 

It has been a long standing tradition with Royal brides to receive a gold band made of   Welsh gold on the day of their wedding.  The importance and value of this particular gold is due to its rarity and overall quality.  Welsh gold has been in use for Royal brides and Royal weddings since 1923 and has adorned such fingers as the Queen herself and William’s late mother, Princess Diana. 

Traditionally, a simple gold nugget has been used from the Clogau Gold Mine for crafting the bands, or in this case band, as William has chosen not to wear one for giving on the wedding day.  However, due to its scarcity, the mine has since closed, and only silver mining remains.  The Queen was gifted with a small portion of the gold from the Welsh mine for particular use in Royal weddings.  Queen Elizabeth was bestowed with this gift by the British Royal Legion, prior to the mine closing.  Since William and Catherine’s engagement announcement in November 2010, Queen Elizabeth gifted her grandson with a Welsh gold nugget in order to craft Catherine’s wedding band. 

And the rest, well now, is history!  Prince William slipped the beautifully crafted gold band on Catherine Middleton’s finger earlier today, as the celebrations continue through out the night at Buckingham Palace.  Congrats to William and Catherine, the new Duke and Duchess of Cambridge!