Victoria's Bouquet and Wedding Shoes: Queen Victoria's Wedding (Part 12)

Bouquet of SnowDrops
Photo Credit: ColourBox

Back in the Chapel, it's unlikely that Prince Albert allowed his eyes to stray from his bride's lovely face. However, the Queen Dowager Adelaide, standing to the left of the altar, must have scanned Victoria's features, from her flower-adorned hair to her dainty hands.

Clothed in white kid gloves, likely with a slit in the left finger to facilitate donning the ring, her demure hands held a lace-edged handkerchief and a simple posy of white snowdrops. Though February is the prime season for snowdrops, Victoria likely chose them because they were Albert’s favorite flowers.

Queen Victoria's Wedding Shoes
Photo Credit: Wikipedia

As Prince Albert stepped forward to escort Victoria to her seat on the right side of the altar, one might have caught a brief glimpse of her demure wedding shoes. Made of a creamy-white satin and trimmed with bands of ribbon, the flat ballet-like slippers featured ribbons at the instep which were worn tied around the ankles, a popular custom of the time.

Affixed inside the sole of each shoe is a label, perhaps you might consider it a calling card, from Gundry & Sons. As the owner of the Silk Damask blog states, “the label is a proud ‘brand’ of the company, listing (cramming, actually) as many royal clientele as possible into the oval.” {48}

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