A ROYALLY ROYAL WEDDING
By Kim Devore Entertainment Writer
Sure, you can spend a lot of fun-filled hours covering Hollywood royalty, but what about the real thing? When a gorgeous German girlfriend of mine agreed to marry an equally gorgeous German prince and invited me to the regal nuptial bash in Deutschland, who could refuse? So I made my way to a sumptuous schloss in Kronberg where the fairytale hochzeit would be held.
The gasteliste was a who’s who of international royalty and everyone had an alphabet soup of initials before their names: IIHH Graf and Grafin Marcos von Oeyenhaussen Sierstorpff, IIKKHH Prinz and Prinzessin Bernard von Baden, Principe and Principessa Giovanni Aldobrandinie, Conte and Contessa Aldo Brachetti Peretti, IIKKHH Prinz and Prinzessin Ernst Agust von Hannover (better known to Americans as Princess Caroline of Monaco), ID Furstin Gloria von Turn und Taxis, mother of the bride IH Grafin Adelheid von Faber-Castell, the dashing groom Heinrich Prinz Donataus von Hessen, and beautiful bride Floria Franziska Marie Louise Erika von Faber Castell.
Aside from fashion maven Jil Sander, I seemed to be the only untitled person in the place.
The hearty party kicked off at a spacious, modern kunstgallerie, where security was tighter than a 10-year-old’s lederhosen. We made our way up a red carpet to a lush outdoor garden where we were offered fresh passion-fruit juice, champagne and, of course, German beer. The dinning room was decked out in white satin. The enormous tables were set up with towering 4-foot flasks filled with gem-colored liquids topped with hundreds of roses, hydrangeas and orchids in matching colors.
The following day, we filed into the historic part of town where a beautiful Gothic church was filled with 6,000 brilliant orange, pink and purple rhododendron blossoms. Floria wore a dazzling tiara and a spectacular gown complete with a 10-foot, 90-pound train, which had to be carried by a team of flower girls. The bride was followed by a procession of adorable royal toddlers who scattered their royal rose petals from royal wicker baskets.
The must wear at this affair-hats! There were hats galore, serious hats in every imaginable shape, size and color. Huge hats shaped like flying saucers, salad bowls and swimming pools; massive headgear festooned with flowers, feathers and fishnet.
After the “I dos,” it was back to the castle where a reception was held for 650 close personal friends. There was just enough time for a congratulatory glass of champagne before we had to suit up for the white-tie wedding bash to follow. This was one very swelligent fete with pink and red peonies, white roses, fresh fruit and flickering silver candelabras everywhere.
After a feast fit for a king, the unveiling of the royal wedding cake, a recounting of tales and toasts to the bride and groom, it was disco time. Exhausted from all the excitement, I headed for bed hoping for a good night’s schlauf. On the way, I ended up being hijacked by handsome Herr Dr. Martin from Hamburg. Well, Marty turned out to be a real German dance machine and I found myself up whirling, twirling and tangoing until well past three.
It was an unforgettable evening and the end of a positively dreamy week. I soon found out that these once-in-a-lifetime royal bashes require a bit of recovery time. After all the bubbly, music and merriment, it was good to get back to my little piece of paradise and a quiet night at Guido’s.