Princess Charlene's wedding
Charlene Wittstock, now The Princess of Monaco, married Prince Albert on July 1, 2011, in a civil ceremony in the Throne Room of the Prince's Palace. On July 2, they wed in a religious ceremony in the courtyard of the Prince's Palace. It was conducted by the Archbishop of Monaco, Bernard Barsi.
Princess Charlene wore a custom Armani wedding dress, but she forwent a tiara. Instead, she wore a diamond hair piece from Princess Charlotte - the grandmother of Prince Albert. The off-white silk dress was more of an off-the-shoulder gown with embellishments on the bottom. It was made of 80 meters of silk organza and 50 meters of silk Duchesse. It took 2,500 hours to make! It also had 20,000 mother of pearl tear drops and 40,000 Swarovski crystals.
Charlene changed in to another Armani creation for the reception following the ceremony, held at the Opera Garnier. This one was white, sleeveless, and had a sheer top. It featured ruffles at the bottom. Charlene also wore a tiara for this portion of the wedding, made for her by Lorenz Bäumer, which has been named the Bäumer Aigrette.