
Princess Diana’s wedding dress was designed by Elizabeth and David Emanuel, but when they saw her getting out of the car at church, they were “horrified” at the sight of her.
Image: Getty Images)
Lady Diana Spencer’s wedding dress became one of the most famous fashion items in history – but not everyone was happy with how she looked that day.
The 20-year-old stepped out of her car at St. Paul’s Cathedral on July 29, 1981, wearing a stunning ivory silk taffeta and antique lace dress designed by husband and wife Elizabeth and David Emanuel.
The couple spent months creating the royal wedding dress, going to great lengths to ensure the design was kept under wraps.
When completed, it would have cost nearly £9,000 and featured over 10,000 beads and classic puff sleeves made from six different fabrics.
The fabrics included 25 yards of silk taffeta, 100 yards of tulle crinoline, and 150 yards of netting for the veil.
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It was then followed by a train made of 25 feet of hand-embroidered silk.
But when the designers saw Diana in church, they were horrified by the crinkling of the dress.
Elizabeth recalled the moment she saw Diana getting out of her wedding car during an appearance on ITV’s Royal Wedding Invitation in 2018.
She said: “We knew it would crease a bit, but when I saw it coming to St Paul and we saw the crease, I actually felt weak.
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“I was horrified, really, because there were a lot of creases.
“It was a lot more than we thought.”
They had done a dress rehearsal beforehand, but they had used a different fabric, so it wasn’t at all as wrinkled as it was on the day.
In addition to the famous dress, David and Elizabeth have created a backup in case it is needed in an emergency.
David told People: “At the time, we wanted to make sure the dress was a surprise.
“We didn’t try it on Diana. We never even discussed it. We wanted to make sure we had something there; it was for our own peace of mind, really.”
Diana called David after the ceremony to thank him for his work on the dress, according to HELLO!.
“After all the pictures they went to have the wedding breakfast and I went back to my studio in Mayfair. All my working ladies were there so we had a glass of champagne,” he said .
“We had a little party and just as I’m about to close the door the phone rings…I thought who was calling? It was Diana! She said, ‘I just wanted to tell you thank you very much for the dress. I loved Prince Charles loved him. The whole family loved it.'”
He added: “It couldn’t have been more special for me to hear from the client. When you design for a bride, you want her to be happy. As long as the bride is happy, that’s All that matters. The fact that she took the time before she went on her honeymoon…that’s real kindness.”
However, that was not the only disaster of the day.
Diana’s makeup artist claims that just before she walked down the aisle, she accidentally spilled Houbigant Paris Deux Fleurs perfume on her dress, according to InStyle.
Makeup artist Barbara Daly said she frantically tried to clean the dress but the perfume still left a big stain.
So the only thing she could do was tell Diana to hold the dress close to the stained area so it looked like she was just trying to avoid stepping on it.
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