as I have already promised, I am showing you some pictures that have been shot there and then for the civil marriage, the "church" wedding and for the buffet afterwards or the firework show (see program of the events here)...all exclusively shot by a Monegasque. Mrs. Andree Pelassy and I were discussing about this event even before the engagement and last year brought new excitement for us, because we knew Monaco would be a wonderful place to be during this princely period.
Our expectations were met, and because she had the honour of participating in most of the events, I took advantage and kindly asked her to send some pictures which I could post here for all of you to see.
For the buffet, she told me, there were a lot of fruits, plus local specialities such as the Monegasque Barbagiuan or South African fish and meat dishes. Around ten bars were there only for the serving of Champagne, which made the event even more pleasent.
Here you can see the compostable and biodegradeable plates I told you the prince had chosen, due to his ecologically friendly attitude.
Here's a bit from the fruit-bar.
The Jean Michel Jarre concert was really amazing, here are some pictures from the fireworks.
And the next day the guests arrive for the wedding ceremony,...here's Naomi:
Accompanied by her dad, H.S.H. Princesse Charlene of Monaco is making her way to her prince...
And there they are both before getting into the car to be driven to the church Sainte Devote...
So, in the end, I must say a very big MERCI BEAUCOUP, ANDREE! and I really hope that you have enjoyed seeing these pictures.
Here's a video I found on bits of the civil marriage and the speech H.S.H. Prince Albert de Monaco held afterward, also a speech from the mayor of Monaco presenting a gift from the people to the newly wedded couple.
The Official Engagement Picture (Picture Source: http://www.monaco.mc/webdav/site/monaco-telecom/shared/_Actu/photos/06%202010/AC-09449-Portrait%20Shoot.jpg)
Today Monaco celebrates an event which has been long awaited in the small Principality, an event which most Monegasque people were wondering if they will get to see it. This event gives the small country a new stability and a view of its future: H.S.H. Albert II of Monaco will marry his fiancee, Miss Charlene L. Wittstock, an African swimming athlete.
All eyes are already on the Principality, as two long hard days are announced. There will certainly be comparisons to the wedding in London in April, but above all one has great expectations for the future princess, because she must win the hearts of the people, not just stand in the shadow of the memory of Grace Kelly. And she is on the right track there, with 48 hours of party announced and over 200 public events taking place - this will really create an atmosphere of closeness to the people, an idea which the Prince was keen on.
The official program, with the Monaco time looks like this: First of July 2011 - 17:00 - Throne Room of the Prince's Palace - Civil Marriage 18:00 - Palace Square - Evening Buffet 20:00 - Port - Reception 22:00 - Port Hercule - Jean Michel Jarre Concert Second of July 2011 - 17:00 - Courtyard of the Castle - Church Wedding 18:30 - Saint Devote Church - Ceremony of the Bridal Bouquet 21:00 - Opera Garnier - Official Dinner and Ball 22:00 - Louis II Stadium - Eagles Concert 23:30 - Monaco Bay - Fireworks, Pyrotechnical Arrangement by Jacques Couturier After the civil ceremony on the first day, the prince and his princess along with 7618 Monegasques and their companions will take part in an evening buffet. The hotel chain Fairmont took responsibility for the food offered then, and the menu is selected symbolically: fairmont Zimbali in South Africa will offer typical African dishes and Fairmont Monte Carlo will help with the local touch.
Because the prince is known for his environmentally friendly behavior, compostable and biodegradable plates and cutlery have been chosen for this event. Even the vehicle of the couple is special! The 23 June 2011 specifically for the wedding delivered Lexus LS 600h L is a hybrid. The prince has long been a supporter of hybrid or electric cars and he promises a huge tax credit for everyone in Monaco, who chooses to purchase such a vehicle.
Also the menu of the official dinners should be made simple, durable and environmentally friendly. For this, the most starred Chef in the world, Alain Ducasse, has been chosen, together with his team from SBM. Alain Ducasse and his around 350 helpers will prepare the dinner for about 450-500 guests, making sure it has a strong local Mediterranean flair. The ingredients should be locally (this approach is environmentally friendly and also relies on ethics), therefore vegetables and other plants were seeded long time ago in the garden of the Grimaldi family, and tomorrow these will be used for the official gala dinner. The fish will be fished along the coasts of Monaco on Saturday morning by one of the last fisher families in the Principality. Although he has not officially released the menu of the dinner, Alain Ducasse has revealed some of it: for the reception of the guests he will serve fried dumplings filled with vegetables - probably the Monegasque dish Barbagiuan.
Afterwards, the Chef reveals that the fish for the main dish (red mullet, scorpion fish and others) will be cooked in fish broth and will be accompanied by red South African wine. For the sweet ending of the evening, Alain Ducasse will use the milk from the cows in the property of the prince. Foie gras, truffles or caviar are in the period of an economic downturn not welcome, the luxury now is being ecological.
Even if you don't come from Monaco, but you are near the happening, I advise you to be there. On July 1st at12 o'clock local time all parking lots in Monaco start to be without charge and more trains than usual will hold in Monaco. The concert of Jean Michel Jarre is the free and one should also not miss the fireworks at the end of two days, because Jacques Couturier can leave one speechless with his work.
But if you can not be there, 1500 journalists will be there for you, reporting from Monaco and you can watch the wedding live on the internet (on www.palais.mc, euronews, etc.)
Only a few hours left until the dream wedding begins...
Friday is almost here and before you start watching the show while slowly sipping some great quality Champagne (my recommendation for the weekend...), you should check some facts related to the event or to the future princess or the prince Albert.
What makes us all curious is of course, the wedding gown: how will it look like? Probably very simple and elegant, one thing is sure: the designer who will dress the princess for this wonderful occasion is Giorgio Armani, one of her favourites, and the dress will belong to the Haute-Couture Line "Armani Prive".
Another interesting fact is that Charlene will have changed her religion for this wedding. The former Protestant has become Catholic in April, making it possible to marry her prince. The small state of Monaco has Catholicism as official religion and the royal family has been brought up in a strong Catholic environment.
Charlene will wed her prince twice. Yes, you've read this correctly. And I am not referring to the fact that she will have the church ceremony/wedding one day after she has the civil marriage, but there will also be a more private wedding in South Africa, on the 7th of July, according to the "Sunday Times". Together with around 200 guests the two will be again wed and have a beach party at a five star hotel called the "Oyster Box" near Durban. The menu will be created out of South African delicacies to which they will be drinking "the best champagne", according to the manager of the hotel.
(Picture Source: via http://www.oysterboxhotel.com/gallery)
Another thing you might want to know: Charlene loves children. The twenty years younger bride-to-be than her future husband is thinking of having children of her own once she gets married. But Albert already confessed being father of two children so far: Jazmine Grace Rotolo born on the 4th of March 1992 and Andre Coste, born on the 28th of August 2003.
And one more thing for today, before we wake up to Friday, the day of the royal wedding: the official dress-code for ladies states that at the ceremony on the 2nd of July the hat is an absolute MUST.
Some decades ago, Monaco was preparing for a dream royal wedding: a prince marrying a star. It was like a fairytale and for many the confirmation that princesses can be made with love, and not just born. Grace Kelly (Gracia Patricia) is even now omnipresent in Monaco with the love she had to offer and the beauty she had and which she transmitted to other. One of my favourite places in Monaco was the rose garden, a garden in Fontvieille with various species of the flower Grace Kelly called her favourite.
Years after she disappeared from the living, a new princess is about to be born: Charlene Wittstock seems like the perfect match for H.S.H. Albert II and her stunning resemblance to the former princess might even shock - but maybe that is what Prince Albert cherished most: beauty, grace, love, elegance and down-to-earth...just like his mother.
The wedding we are all expecting in Monaco this weekend has launched a series of initiatives from mainly French brands to create products related to this event. Two of them I would like to mention are Laduree and Fauchon...in one word: YUMMY!!!
Laduree has chosen a more personal approach in my opinion, creating a limited edition "coffret" with eight macarons, four being linked to the preferences and roots of the future Princess Charlene and the other four being linked to the likes of H.S.H. Albert II: Guava macarons for her and Anise-Raspberry for him. Hers are made of an almond shell and light cream flavoured with pink guava from South Africa and his are made of an almond shell and raspberry jam spiced with star anise. The colours of the macarons are resembling the colours of the Monegasque flag, and the box is fitting the rest of the limited edition items which are on the market for this wedding. Designed in the shades of white and gold, it bears the Grimaldi family coat of arms and the monograms of the spouses (A and C). I have previously written about Laduree and its macarons and limited editions, so if you would like to have a more in-depth view on it, check my other entry here.
The other sweet surprise for this wedding comes from Fauchon, the gourmet food shop. On July 1st, when Charlene will say YES to her prince, around 8000 Monegasque people will be there to watch and to join the so-called "Cocktail for Residents" in Port Hercule, where, in co-operation with the caterers, Fauchon will introduce its limited and new version of the éclair. This dessert is even more Monaco than the one from Laduree, its covering glaze wearing the colours of Monaco, red and white, in a checkerboard arrangement. Inside the pastry will be a bourbon vanilla cream and strawberries from Carros scented with rose - a perfect mix of flavour and refinement that is meant to melt in your mouth. The lucky Monegasque people will enjoy the pastry at the event, but everyone else will be able to buy it for a limited time after the wedding. You can find it in the Fauchon boutique in The Metropole mall, Monaco.
And if after reading this you're in the mood for even more goodies, check out the following blog entries on the wedding: even more information to come with the countdown! Stay tuned!!!
Tomorrow we will be the witnesses of another Royal Wedding which the whole world is looking forward to see, and one of two of this kind this year. It is a moment when people tend to be distracted from their daily problems and look towards something which for them is just a dream. But recent years have shown that royal weddings can also become reality for someone who was born as a "normal" citizen. Just like the one last year, when the princess married her fitness instructor. This is maybe why popularity has grown so much.
As this year all eyes are set on UK and then on Monaco, I have selected some clips of the former weddings in those regions. Each one had a different story to tell and each surprised in its own way.
On the 20th November 1947, former Princess Elizabeth, now Queen Elizabeth II, married Philip of Mountbatten. The times were harsh as they were in the shadow of the war and the government allocated two dressing coupons for the Queen to pay for her dress. But the population wouldn't have it and they all sent in via mail their dressing coupons so their queen could have one of the most wonderful dresses there ever were. And the two were then happily married in the cathedral of Westminster.
In the south, in Monaco, Prince Rainier III got married on the 18th of April 1956 to his Hollywood Princess Grace Kelly after a short engagement period. She became the princess of the hearts in Monaco and everywhere else where she went, and her tragic death made everybody extremely sad. Nevertheless, her beauty still impresses people today and her spirit is still over Monaco. The Monegasque people still look up to her memory and wonder if the future princess can be at least 50% of what her "mother in law" was.
On the 29th of July 1981, Prince Charles of GB got married to his first wife and the mother of his two sons, Diana Spencer, in the Saint-Paul cathedral in London. 2500 guests and over 800 million viewers witnessed what was to be one of history's mistakes and the beginning of a tragic life. Tomorrow, their son William will marry Kate, who is wearing the same engagement ring as Diana did, and their wedding will be a world spectacle, which can be seen also broadcast-ed live on the internet (for the first time at the royal wedding, they say). I hope people will sometime soon stop to compare her with Diana or she will probably have a tougher life than Diana did.
After years and decades of love in secret and after being divorced for other years, Prince Charles finally married his true love, Camilla Parker Bowles, at the Windsor Castle. The ceremonies were a total understatement and it showed that both were mature enough to leave all that glamour behind, due to two most obvious reasons: the age (how would she have looked in a 10-meter long dress?) and the public reaction (people still consider Diana as their true princess and don't want her replaced). The two received their blessings at St. Georges Chapel in Windsor and then registered their marriage at Guildhall, also in Windsor.
We should hope that Kate is more fortunate than Diana, at least we know for sure that there won't be financing problems for her wedding gown as her grandmother in law had. We hope that William will have chosen indeed from his heart and not due to a matchmaking process and that the two of them will live happily ever after.
And for Albert II of Monaco, there is a hope that his wife will be around for more years than Grace Kelly was for her husband, and that Charlene will capture the hearts of the Monegasque people without any difficulties.
And for us...there is the dream which can become reality, this is what we need to say to each-other every day. There are still eligible princes and princesses in the world. But then again, they are all just normal people, and there are people all over the world. You just need to look around. Maybe your prince is just around the corner.
While some are distracted by merchandise such as the above, others try to make a statement while choosing brands and the way they use objects for a royal wedding. This is also the case of the Principality of Monaco. Although at the moment everybody's eyes are towards London and that future Royal Wedding in April of Kate and William, on the Mediterranean there are also preparations being done for the 2nd of July of this year, when Prince Albert II of Monaco will say yes to his fiancee, Charlene Wittstock. So this is why there was a selection of vehicles made for this event, and no, it's not a carriage, but it is this Lexus LS600h, which has already received the "MC 01" license plate and flashing lights. It is another occasion for HSH Prince Albert II to make a statement for the environment, and he is making it loud and clear by choosing Lexus also as the Official Supplier to the principality. The car which will be used at his wedding will be used at a parade pace on a pure electric mode and this is why he again shows how determined he is about environmental issues. It is widely known that he is very supportive of this matter and he has been offering Monegasque citizens the opportunity to engage in this eco-friendly step by offering massive tax credit to anyone who would choose to buy an electric car in the Principality.
After having had an education in Business Administration in Bucharest and Berlin and written the first Bachelor thesis on luxury in Romania, I decided to embark further on the luxury adventure, by doing a Master in Luxury Goods and Services in Monaco, from which I have graduated in June 2009.
I have specialized in Hospitality, but my main focus has been Communication and Marketing in the luxury industry. I have done a communication plan for SBM, the most important company in Monaco, have been an organiser for Amber Lounge and the Elton John Aids Foundation (for an auction), am a winner of an entrepreneurship contest in Monaco (also luxury-related business) and have started recently my work in Product Management at Montblanc International, Category Management Watches.
Life and Luxury does not claim ownership of any of the images or movies/short films shown here (unless stated otherwise) and tries to credit them as good as possible. If you are the owner of a photograph, gif, movie, short film etc. which you find here and you want to have it removed or credited, kindly contact me and I will proceed accordingly. Thank you. The text is intellectual property of Life and Luxury, unless stated otherwise. In case a text has not been credited as it should, kindly contact me and I will proceed accordingly. Thank you.
Our expectations were met, and because she had the honour of participating in most of the events, I took advantage and kindly asked her to send some pictures which I could post here for all of you to see.
Here you can see the compostable and biodegradeable plates I told you the prince had chosen, due to his ecologically friendly attitude.
Here's a bit from the fruit-bar.
The Jean Michel Jarre concert was really amazing, here are some pictures from the fireworks.
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