CULTURE

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Wedding Flowers Are Revealed (and They’ll Help Save the Bees)

The Kensington Palace Instagram announced the couple’s plans for sustainable floral arrangements in a post Sunday.

by Katherine Cusumano

Prince Harry And Meghan Markle Visit Edinburgh
Photo by Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images

As Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s impending wedding draws closer, the couple is locking down all the critical details for the big day. They set a date (May 19); they revealed their wedding cake, to be served at the reception at Windsor Castle (a lemon-elderflower confection decorated with buttercream and fresh flowers, despite previous rumors it would be a banana cake); and they set the venue (St. George’s Chapel, a frequent location for royal weddings but one that sets them apart from Kate and William, at least).

The latest development: the selection of flower arrangements, which will be designed by the London-based florist Philippa Craddock and feature buds in pink and white sourced from the Crown Estate, Windsor Great Parks, and the Royal Parks, as the Kensington Palace official Instagram announced Sunday. (One can only assume—or hope—that the flower arrangements will coordinate with the flower-themed cake.) Craddock, who established her namesake floral design studio in 2009, is well known among the British fashion elite—she operates a shop out of Selfridge’s, and her clients include Alexander McQueen, Dior, Jo Malone, Hermès, and Lancôme, in addition to the British tea brand Fortnum & Mason. She teased the composition of the arrangements on her own account, writing that they “will be using plenty of locally sourced greenery and seasonal flowers including peonies, garden roses and foxgloves.” (Peonies are, apparently, Markle’s flower of choice.)

The wedding is shaping up to be a sustainable spring-floral fever dream, what with the flower-topped cake and the abundant flowers that will garnish the event. The cake will emphasize seasonal ingredients, while the floral arrangements will “reflect the wild and natural landscapes from which many of the plants will be drawn,” the Kensington Palace Instagram announcement wrote. Wild and natural, right down to the tree branches (beech, birch, and hornbeam, a species best known from the pages of Harry Potter) that will apparently be interspersed throughout the flowers. Topping it all off, the Royal Parks are sending over some of their finest “pollinator-friendly plants,” which “provide a great habitat for bees and help to sustain a healthy and biodiverse ecosystem.” Didn’t you know the bees are dying?

Most generously, the royal couple plans to donate the arrangements to charity, even though it’s not entirely clear how a charity might put them to use. In any case, we will be waiting with bated breath to see the outstanding details: the catering menu and, obviously, the gown.

Related: Is Meghan Markle Really Breaking So Many Royal Traditions?

The Most Photogenic, Over-the-Top, And Globe-Spanning Weddings of the Year

Hannah Bronfman and Brendan Fallis during their wedding at La Mamounia resort in Marrakech, Morocco, May 2017.

@brendanfallis

Brendan Fallis and Hannah Bronfman celebrate their first day as a married couple in the best way possible—crystal blue pool water and a bright green inflatable lime.

@hannahbronfman

Tommy Hilfiger’s wife Dee Ocleppo captured the wedding of her stepdaughter Ally Hilfiger and longtime boyfriend Steve Hash, with whom she already has a daughter, Harley.

@mrshilfiger

An intimate shot of Ally Hilfiger and Steve Hash before their wedding on the private island Mustique.

@allyhilfiger

And for the ceremony itself—she captioned this one “OUI OUI OUI”—Courtin-Clarins opted for a straight-off-the-runway Jacquemus tunic and straw hat, quite the fashion-forward alternative to the classic white wedding dress.

@clairecourtin

Beauty scion Claire Courtin-Clarins celebrated her wedding in Mykonos, Greece, last month.

@clairecourtin

Pippa Middleton and James Matthews after their wedding at St. Mark’s Church in Englefield, England, May 2017.

WPA Pool/Getty Images

Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge, leads the pack of children at the ceremony in Englefield, England, May 2017.

Samir Hussein/Getty Images

Tracee Ellis Ross attended the wedding of her 29-year-old brother Ross Naess, June 2017.

@traceeellisross

Ross Naess married girlfriend of 11 years Kimberly Ryan, with whom he was then expecting his second child, at a camping-themed, “shoes optional” ceremony in the woods last month.

Kimberly Ryan / Instagram

Zac Posen designed Arden Wohl’s ethereal, antique-looking wedding dress for her wedding to art star Jonah Freedman in Williamsburg, New York, June 2017.

@zacposen

Director Tara Subkoff was also in attendance at Arden Wohl and Jonah Freedman’s Williamsburg wedding—and she made sure to document the ceremony.

@tarasubkoff

Domino Kirke poses with sisters Jemima and Lola, both actresses, at her civil ceremony wedding to Penn Badgely in Brooklyn, New York, February 2017.

@lolakirke

Victoria Swarovski, the Austrian singer and heiress to the crystal fortune, married mogul Werner Mürz in Portopiccolo, Italy, wearing a dress designed by Dubai-based designer Michael Cinco, featuring 500,000 Swarovski crystals and a five-meter train.

@victoriaswarovski

Victoria Swarovski at a fitting for her Michael Cinco-designed dress for her wedding to Werner Mürz, June 2017.

@michael5inco

Lucilla Bonaccorsi at her wedding to Filippo Richeri in Sicily, Italy, June 2017.

@lucillabonaccorsi

Actress Fiammetta Cicogna and guests at the wedding of Lucilla Bonaccorsi and Filippo Richeri in Sicily, Italy, June 2017.

@fiammettacicogna

Lucilla Bonaccorsi and Filippo Richeri at their wedding in Sicily, Italy, June 2017.

Filippo Richeri/Instagram

Lucilla Bonaccorsi and Filippo Richeri, newlyweds, ride off into the sunset after their wedding in Sicily, Italy, June 2017.

Filippo Richeri/Instagram

Nina Dobrev and Maude Hirst attend Julianne Hough’s wedding to Brooks Laich, the “most fun wedding I’ve ever been to,” according to Dobrev, in Coeur D’Alene, Idaho, July 2017.

@nina

Actress Maude Hirst with newlyweds Julianne Hough and Brooks Laich in Coeur D’Alene, Idaho, July 2017.

@maudehirst

Julianne Hough and Brooks Laich wed in Coeur D’Alene, Idaho, July 2017.

@juleshough

Miranda Kerr with Maria Grazia Chiuri of Christian Dior, who designed her custom couture gown for her wedding to Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel.

@mirandakerr

Model Miranda Kerr and Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel on their wedding day—Kerr in a custom Dior couture gownand Spiegel also in Dior.

@mirandakerr

Sarah Staudinger of Staud at the wedding of former DJ Cassie Coane in upstate New York, with fellow bridesmaids Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen and Harley Viera-Newton, July 2017.

@staud

In another outtake from the same group portrait, Harley Viera-Newton captioned, “We all got married!!!!”

@harleyvnewton

“When your wedding vision is George Harrison finding God in India,” Lily Waronker captioned her Instagram from Coane’s wedding.

@lilywaronker

Naomi Campbell in Hussein Bazaza for the wedding of Carol Sabbagha in Beirut, Lebanon, July 2017.

@husseinbazaza

Naomi Campbell in Ralph & Russo at the wedding party of Carol Sabbagha in Beirut, Lebanon, July 2017.

@merhebmandy

Sophie Lasry’s wedding to Alex Swieca may have been the only one this summer to feature two Clintons, J.Lo, and a real housewife, despite its quotidian location at Cipriani Wall Street.

@selasry
1/30