THE WEDDING DRESS

The wedding dress
The wedding dress was a design of the Belgian designer Edouard Vermeulen of the House of Natan, who earlier designed the wedding dresses of Princess Mathilde of Belgium and Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands. The off-the-shoulder wedding dress was made of white silk while the upper part of the dress was made of chantilly lace from Calais in the same design as the veil.

The Tiara
The bride wore an antique tiara, a gift from King Albert II and Queen Paola. The tiara held in place the veil of Brussels lace.

The Veil
The bride wore a three-metres-long veil of Brussels lace, dating from the second part of the 19th century. It was made in Brussels appliqué from linen yarn - with bobbins and needle - on cotton tulle bobbinet. The veil was restored in 1984 by Mrs Van de Sande. It was fully restored again in October 1999 by Mrs Colette van Steyvoort, who has extensive experience in the field, having worked for the Lace Museum for many years.

The veil was worn for the first time on 18 July 1877 by Laura Mosselman du Chenoy (1854-1925), the Belgian great-grandmother of Prince Laurent (grandmother of Queen Paola) at her wedding to Don Beniamino, Prince Ruffo di Calabria. The mother of Queen Paola, Luisa Gazelli, Countess of Rossana and of Sebastiano, wore the same veil at her wedding to Don Fulco, Prince Ruffo di Calabria, in 1919. Queen Paola also wore this veil on her marriage to King Albert II, held on 2 July 1959 in Brussels. Princess Astrid wore this veil at her wedding to Prince Lorenz, Archduke of Austria-Este, on 22 September 1984 in Brussels. And it was also worn by Princess Mathilde on her marriage to Prince Philippe, on 4 December 1999 in Brussels.

Prince Laurent's Attire
Prince Laurent was dressed in full Naval Gala Uniform of a Frigate Captain.