0 Royal Fashion Minute: Cayetana Duchess of Alba Gets Married-The Dress, The Dish, The Guests, Video!

La Duquesa Se Caso!!!

Happy Couple: Duchess of Alba and her new husband Alfonso Diez

Yesterday, the Most Titled Woman on Earth got married. Yes, one of my favorite subjects here on my blog, the Duchess of Alba (one of her many, many, many titles), María del Rosario Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart y Silva, 18th Duchess of Alba de Tormes, 85 , got married to her civil servant "Boy Toy", Alfonso Diez, who happens to be 60. This is her third wedding. And Good For Her! The Duchess, as you may know is Spain's premier aristocrat, is a distant relative of King James II of England, Winston Churchill and even Princess Diana.

Considered to be one of the richest women in the world, she's worth an estimated (wait for it) 5.5 BILLION Dollars. As a result of this, her children were not very happy when she decided to re-marry, this "late in the game" and to a less-wealthy younger man. So, she decided to give her inheritance to them early--so they would basically shut up. They did. Now, let's get to the Spanish Wedding of the Year:

A Palatial Wedding: Secene of Duchess of Alba's Wedding, Las Dueñas Palace in Seville

The Location: It happened at her Palace in Seville, Las Dueñas, a 16th-century Renaissance estate, which covers 9,542 square meters in the heart of the city. Supporters, well-wishers, fans of the Duchess--as well as press, of course, had gathered there to show their love for Cayetana. (she is ADORED by her country!).

No Shows: Eugenia de Irujo, the Duchess's one and only daughter (left)

Wedding DISH: Her one and only daughter, Eugenia de Irujo (above left with her mother and future father-in-law) DID NOT attend because supposedly--and conveniently enough--she came down with chickenpox THE NIGHT BEFORE, and was in a hospital in Madrid when her dear mother was getting married. Also, one of her sons, Jacobo also did not show up. He was in France "on vacation" with his wife. Why? It seems that the Duchess was asked last minute if she had any "questions" regarding her children's love for her. And she answered--as she always does--very honestly and basically said "I HATE Jacobo's wife...she's jealous of me and my happiness and fortune!". At-a-Girl. Done and done. Well, I guess that's why someone did not RSVP!

Duchess of Alba's Wedding Dress, by Victorio & Lucchino

Her Wedding Dress: Cayetana, who's known for her quirky and sometimes very eclectic sense of style, decided to go subdued, cocktail and with a hint of an Homage to her beloved Seville. She wore a custom pale pink silk gauze dress by Spanish designers Victorio & Lucchino, favorites of all the Spanish aristocrat Divas, former Miss Spain's and movie stars, as well. It featured delicate applique' and multi-tiered Andalusian ruffles at the hem, 3/4 bishop sleeves, a lightly blouson top and a green velvet waist tie. Finished off with matching pink ballet flats.

Post Wedding Flamenco: Right after saying "I Do", Cayetana and her new husband, walked out of the Palace to greet all the well-wishers and the 85-year-old Duchess broke out into an impromptu Flamenco dance! As Alfonso held on to her, she even kicked off her shoes and began the arm and hand flourishes Flamenco is known for. Well, as you can imagine, the crowd went insane! Olé!

The Madrina, or Matron of Honor, Carmen Tello, flanked by Designers Victorio & Lucchino

Guests: Other than the two No Shows from her only daughter and one of her sons, the rest of her children were there. It was a small private affair with less than 40 guests (No King Juan Carlos or Queen Sofia or even Crown Princess Letizia, their not really her friends darlings). Her oldest son, Carlos acted as Padrino, and gave her away. And Cayetana's best friend, Carmen Tello was the Madrina. She's the wife of a famous bullfighter.

Her daughter's former husband, the handsome Francisco Rivera (above) attended. She still considers him her son-in-law.

Francisco's brother, Spanish matador , the even more handsome Cayetano Rivera was also there, along with his girlfriend, the beautiful Eva Gonzalez, TV presenter, model and former Miss Spain.

Felicitaciones Cayetana and Alfonso!

Click Below for Video of Guests Arriving to the Wedding:

Click Below for Video of Cayetana and her Post Wedding Flamenco Dance:

0 Royal Fashion Minute: Upcoming Wedding of Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart, 18th Duchess of Alba

Bow Down To The Diva...

In less than two weeks, there's going to be another Royal Wedding. Well, it won't be of the William-and-Kate Royal Wedding proportions, but it will be somewhat "royal". You see, the 18th Duchess of Alba, Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart is going to be betrothed...for the third time on October 5th at the Palacio de Dueñas in Sevilla. In case you are not up to speed with the Euro Royals--well, other than yes, William and Kate!--Cayetana is the most titled royal in the World. She is a Duchess about seven times, a Marchesa about 19, a Countess 23 times, as well as Viscountess and a Baroness.

It is rumored that when Queen Elizabeth greets her, the Queen has to bow to Cayetana! Well, just on that, she gets my "At-A-Girl" Nick Points! Oh, and did I mention she probably owns most of Spain and is supposedly one of the wealthiest women in the world. And yes, this famous and priceless Goya painting:

She's the 13th Duchess of Alba and a relative, and Cayetana owns it. And she's also a Fashion Doyenne, who has been wearing Haute Couture from Ungaro to Balenciaga for ages. She's famous now more for her very Boho Eclectic sense of style, mixing prints, textiles and bright colors.

Cayetana Duchess of Alba, 1956

Cayetana, Duchess of Alba, wearing a Mantilla...and VERY big pearls!

But let's get back to her upcoming wedding. It's very controversial. You see, she's 85 and she has decided to marry again--much to the dismay of her children--who basically live off of the "House of Alba" trust fund.

The lucky guy, a man by the name of Alfonso Díez Carabantes (above), a civil servant who runs his own pr firm and is (sit down) 24 years her junior (At-a-Girl Part DOS!). Even though the family and even King Juan Carlos were opposed to their marriage (of course, people said that Alfonso was only after her millions, if not BILLIONS). As of last year, the duchess decided to proceed with the marriage, overcoming her children's opposition by giving them their inheritance in advance, although Díez has formally renounced any claim to her wealth. The wedding is coming up and naturally, there are already Wedding Souvenirs being hawked on the streets of Sevilla, the site of her wedding:

The T-shirt

The pins

Their wedding will be a fabulous affair for Spain--and hopefully for the happy couple. I can't wait to see what she wears--and the reaction on her children's faces...
Will King Juan Carlos show up??? I wonder... hope Crown Princess Letizia shows up!! Stay tuned...

1 Wedding Red Carpet: The Wedding of Rafael Medina, Duke of Feria and Laura Vecino, in Toledo Spain

Spanish Bridal DIVAS:

Cover Exclusivo: The Wedding of Rafael Medina and Laura Vecino, exclusive on iHOLA! Magazine

In October, a FABULOUS Wedding took place in Spain, which went pretty much unnoticed here in the US, since it involved Spanish nobility which no one, except Spain and Latin America, really care about. I didn't even know this wedding--and the "Red Carpet Fashion Show" that was part of it--had occurred until my mom mailed me a copy of ¡HOLA! Magazine (my mom LIVES by that magazine!) which then enlightened me on what I had missed...

And GIRL, it was a lot:

El Couple Elegante: Rafael Medina, Duke of Feria and his new bride, Laura Vecina

The wedding was between the Model-Handsome Rafael Medina Duke of Feria and the beautiful Laura Vecino, an architect. This was dubbed "The Wedding of The Year" in Spain (they say that like FOUR times a year at every other semi-royal wedding there!) and of course, made the cover of that aforementioned iHOLA! Magazine my mommy sent me--and the 85+ page spread inside of it!!

That's a Train: View of the Giambattista Valli-designed wedding gown

In case you are "out of the loop" when it comes to Euro-Aristocracy, they are the "celebs" of Europe, where tabloids and magazines track their every move, rate all their fashions and yes, cover all their weddings, which the public--and my Mom--EAT up! The dirty little secret is that a lot of these European nobles survive on the money the tabloids give them for exclusives on their weddings, vacations, announcements, etc. It's like when People Magazine pays Carrie Underwood for the exclusive of her wedding...well, same here. So, needless to say, Rafael and Laura probably made a KILLING from iHOLA! Magazine and enjoyed their honeymoon in the Maldives very nicely.

What Did The Bride Wear: Laura wore a custom gown by Designer Giambattista Valli. It featured a fan-pleated silk chiffon strapless base that had a detachable Silk Brocade Ball Gown skirt with a HUGE tulle-and-organza petticoat which held the very heavy skirt up. For the "Wedding Reception", she removed the Ball Gown Skirt and partied in the fitted and very sexy fan-pleated gown that was underneath (see photos above).

Good Genes: Naty Abascal and her dashing two sons

Who Is The Groom: Rafael Medina is one of the two GORGEOUS sons of Naty Abascal, former Duchess of Feria. Abascal was a former model from the 1960's, who quickly became part of the Euro A-List Circle and a yearly fixture on the World's Best Dressed Lists and a Muse of Valentino. She even made a brief cameo in his documentary "Valentino: The Last Emperor".

Speaking of the Italian Couturier, he "came out of retirement" just for this one time to design Naty her Haute Couture Valentino sea-foam green silk crepe gown with Batteau neckline, 3/4 sleeves and waist-tie bow. Of course she finished it off with the traditional Spanish Peineta and Mantilla. Diva Fashion Points: Off The Chart!

And now to the "Red Carpet" Parade of Guests:

Of course, Fashion Designer Valentino Garavani was there, looking very dapper in a black tuxedo tailcoat, vest and tie ensemble--and his perpetual tan.

Spanish supermodel and TV hostess Nieves Alvarez wore Fall 2010 Chanel, without the fur Sasquatch boots, thank goodness.

Rosario Domecq, wife of Spanish Matador/bullfighter "El Juli", wore a red ruffled peplum dress from Lanvin by Albert Elbaz.

Former Miss Spain, model and TV presenter María José Suárez wore a very sexy chocolate brown silk charmeuse dress with gold-and-black belt from Spanish Fashion Designer Miguel Palacio.

Carolina Herrera (the daughter), and wife of another Spanish Matador/bullfighter, Miguel Baez "El Litri" (her momma done taught her well, kids!) wore a navy blue ensemble designed by her Venezuelan-born mother, Carolina Herrera, of course. Her hat was from Philip Treacy for Reyes Hellin.

Former wife of Cayetano Martínez de Irujo y Fitz-James Stuart, Count of Salvatierra and youngest son of the Duchess of Alba, Mexico-born Genoveva Casanova, wore a silver-gray very 50's style suit from Christian Dior by John Galliano, looking very Evita Peron.

Finally, the biggest applause from the crowd viewing the Rafael Medina and Laura Vecino Red Carpet Wedding Spectacle (yes, huney, there was an audience, just like the Oscars!) went to Spanish Society Doyenne, Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart, who just happens to be in the Guinness World Records for holding the most noble titles in the world! In other words, the King and Queen of Spain--as well as the Queen of England--basically have to bow down to her as opposed to the other way around. Her descendants, by the way, are the ones in the iconic Goya paintings. The 84-year old 18th Duchess of Alba wore a red jacket and multi-tiered skirt ensemble, matching red flats, a turquoise evening bag, and fishnets and attended with her much-younger boyfriend. Gotta love her!

Click HERE for video of the "Wedding Red Carpet" and the illustrious guests: (it's in Spanish, by the way)