Behind the scenes at Meghan and Harry’s wedding as they celebrate anniversary

It's been a year since Meghan Markle said her wedding vows to Prince Harry and started her new life as a member of the Royal Family.

The new Duke and Duchess celebrated in style in Windsor with a stunning ceremony followed by two glamorous receptions with their nearest and dearest.

And while people around the world celebrated with street parties and events of their own, those working behind the scenes had a very, very busy day.

Journalists, bakers, florists and musicians worked their socks off to ensure everything ran smoothly.

There were a few hiccups along the way – including towed cars and last minute changes – but everything worked out in the end and all their efforts definitely paid off.

Here's just a small insight into how things looked behind the scenes on May 19, 2018.

Best photos from Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's wedding as they celebrate anniversary

Philippa Craddock, florist

Philippa was the woman behind Meghan and Harry's incredible flowers, and her gorgeous displays completely transformed St George's Chapel.

She somehow managed to feel relaxed on the day and really enjoyed it, thanks to weeks and weeks of preparation.

She told Country Living: "I have an incredible team of people around me and it went very smoothly –there was nothing to be nervous about. It was really, really enjoyable – lots of hard work, but it was fun rather than being stressful.

"In floristry, there are lots of things you can't pre-empt and you have to be adaptable. One thing was the weather – it was much warmer than we were expecting it to be but, having said that, I guess we didn't have too many different expectations.

"There was a particular flower that we weren't able to use but we substituted it for something else. Keeping really relaxed was important."

Clare Waight Keller – wedding dress designer

Givenchy designer Clare Waight Keller shared her memories of the big day to mark the first anniversary. She shared a clip of Meghan's arrival at the chapel

Sharing a clip of Meghan's arrival at St George's Chapel, she wrote on Instagram: "Happy Anniversary to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex <3 – watching this clip again exactly a year later all the emotions of this day come flooding back…….every moment from the instant she stepped out of the car and I walked over to arrange the dress and veil, to the roar of the crowds, the sound of the trumpets.

"That special moment when she looked back to me to see if the veil was ready and admire the crowd. Then you can see me as I went up the side of the steps to St George’s Chapel and slipped in to the right of the aisle for the final arrangement of the dress as they shut the gates to start the service. The way the sunlight was just so perfect in the Chapel that day <3 Her smile.

"A day and an event in my life I will never forget, it was truly so extraordinarily beautiful and an honour and privilege to be part of a moment in history and their lives. Truly humbling x x"

Patrick Hill – Reporter at the Sunday Mirror

"While Meghan and Harry were waking up ahead of their big day, I was already outside the Windsor Farm Shop on the outskirts of the town waiting for their well-heeled guests to arrive there.

"The inside had been transformed into a secure hub where guests underwent security checks – including airport style scans – before being driven by bus to the castle three miles away.

"However, there were to be no such privileges for myself and a small pack of newspaper colleagues standing on the road outside while trying to catch a glimpse of the happy couple's famous guests, including Sir Elton John, the Beckhams and the Clooneys.

"After ensuring everyone was inside, we decamped five minutes down the road to a completely empty Toby Carvery where we sent over what we had to our newsdesks while watching the wedding on a small TV alongside some uninterested looking bar staff.

"The world remembers the day for Meghan and Harry's vows, Bishop Michael Curry's wonderful sermon and The Kingdom Choir's rendition of 'Stand By Me' during the ceremony.

"But my most vivid memory harks back to shortly after the ceremony when I discovered my car had been towed away on the orders of the police for being parked on the main road leading to the farm shop.

"'This is a VIP road today Sir… you can't park here,' an officer told me later. "'he wedding may be taking place miles away, but the Royal family will be using this road today!'

"And what a day it was…"

Claire Ptak, Violet Cakes

The job of making Meghan and Harry's wedding cake went to Claire Ptak.

Unsurprisingly a lot of preparation went into the design in the weeks leading up to the wedding, including tastings with the couple.

She told Vanity Fair: "We had to leave so early to avoid the traffic.

"We met at 5 A.M. to head down to Windsor. At one point, I looked at the back seat and two of my bakers were asleep."

Her main concern was how the buttercream was going to survive hours in a warm reception room.

She said: "I needed to be sure the icing was going to stand up to the atmosphere it was in. I knew the fresh buttercream was going to be hard to keep looking stable in a warm room with 600 people.

"It’s so soft and so fresh that it was the most stressful part of [making] the cake. I had nightmares about it sliding off the table."

They started to set up three-and-a-half hours before the service, and it took them two hours to put it all together.

The cake was a huge hit and many of the guests even asked for seconds.

Kingdom Choir

Meghan and Harry were very clear on what they wanted for the musical performance at their ceremony.

Kingdom Choir produced 12 different versions of the song for the couple to make sure they were completely happy with.

They didn't hear the final version until the day itself.

Conductor Karen Gibson told the Evening Standard: "Gospel is a big, flashy sound, it’s bells and whistles. I had to learn quickly to get off my high horse.

"The version everyone heard was the 12th version, and even now I don’t know if it was exactly what they wanted since we had simply run out of time.

"At the time I didn’t understand why they kept saying no but of course they were right. The version they got was pure. And it absolutely suited the style of the wedding."

Emily Retter – Senior Features Writer at the Daily Mirror

Source: Read Full Article