Royal Wedding Rewind: Prince Philippe of Belgium and Mathilde D'udekem D'acoz

I know I was just complaining that I thought Kate Middleton's bouquet was (ever so slightly) too small, but here I think Mathilde's bouquet looks like she's hauling around a bush. WILL MY BOUQUET DEMANDS E'ER BE SATISFIED?

It's a VERY large bouquet!

This dress reminds me -- although it pre-dated it -- of Letizia's gown, with the stand-up collar.

Informative Caption here was SASSY: "Philippe Has a Close Look to Princesse Mathilde's Decollete Ahead of Their Appearance on the Balcony of the Royal Palace in Brussels Following Their Wedding." LEAVE THEM ALONE, INFORMATIVE CAPTION.

This lace veil is VERY beautiful. Hello's (excellent) wedding coverage told me that "The wedding gown's dramatic train was 15ft long, and was an elegant combination with Mathilde's treasured heirloom veil, which was made from finest Brussels lace and first worn 120 years earlier by the groom’s great-grandmother. Mathilde borrowed the delicate piece from Queen Paola, who had worn it for her own wedding to King Albert."

This is the civil wedding ceremony, which was officiated by the then mayor of Brussels, Francois-Xavier De Donnea, and witnessed by MANY tapestries.

Who doesn't enjoy a great royal gaze?

Yes, I downloaded more than one Romantic Royal Gaze shot!

It's funny; I have this pic but not the shot of the kiss, from the other side!

This coat/underdress situation also sort of reminds me of Sophie's wedding dress (or rather, Sophie's is reminiscent of Mathilde's).

(A) I think Philippe is more handsome now, and (b) I love that bridesmaid lurking back there.

This wedding truly did lean into the tapestries, AND into the holiday spirit!

Honestly, the controlled chaos here just made me laugh. It's a mess.

But how could it NOT be a mess? This is a MASSIVE amount of people to put into this shot! ALL of the women are wearing face-concealing hats.

We didn't get a TON of pictures of guests -- and also, this was 1999, well before a lot of the current royal couples had even met. Here, we've got Lalla Hasna of Morocco in a VERY pretty dress. She has an extremely reasonable and scandal-free Wiki.

(then) Crown Prince Nahurito and Crown Princess Masako

This is sad; they were just about to announce her pregnancy here, which they did, and then she unfortunately had a miscarriage. Poor Masako had a VERY difficult time of it and retreated from public life for quite a while; it's been lovely seeing her out and about again more recently, and I hope she is well.

Queen Sofia of Spain and Felipe

Felipe looks like AN INFANT here. (He was 31, so not that infantile)

And Prince Haakon here (next to his sister, Martha Louis) looks SO EXTREMELY YOUTHFUL. (He WAS only 26.)

Queen Silvia

I support this massive hat.

Grand Duke Henri and Marie Teresa

She looks quite chic here, but this hat was a real life choice.

Of COURSE Queen Margrethe went for the feathers in her cap.

King Carl XVI Gustav and Queen Silvia, Dutch Queen Beatrix and Spanish Queen Sofia

Seems feathers were a popular choice in December of 1999.

What did I just say!?! This is Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski with his wife Jolanta, standing with Portuguese President Jorge Sampaio and HIS wife, Maria Jose Ritta. Kwasniewski has a whole "controversies" section on his Wiki -- always a bad sign -- and is currently somehow tied up with Paul Manafort. His wife -- she of the feathered hat -- used to host a style network show and owns a costume jewelry company. (Jorge Sampaio seems, from what I can tell from a quick look at his Wiki, like a mostly reasonable person whose wife does not even HAVE a Wiki.)

Al and Chaz

"No, it's on your computer. You just tappety type and push a little button, and then your letter goes ANYWHERE, immediately!! It's called HOTMAIL. I say, Albert, it's really quite something."