The Spencers

[Airlie (not the Countess)]

She looks exhausted:

That one is not flattering to either of them. She looks like she's trying too hard to pull a sultry pose and he looks like an awkward old man. Actually he comes across as pretty awkward in all of them.

[Lady G]

I'm going to go against the tide and just say it - I LOVE the dress, it's absolutely stunning and she looks beautiful. But as for this marriage...yikes. As the old saying goes, you marry for money, you earn every penny. And she says she wants children? Why would you bring children into the world who's father might not be around that long? Each to their own but 

[Miss Marple]

Money and power might be indeed an issue. Remember she is a British upper class girl where money, power and estate very often play crucial roles in marriages. Her granddad had to break off the engagement with Lady Anne Coke because they thought she passed on a disease and married 18 year old Frances Roche (he was 12 year older). So she would be very familiar with that kind thinking and it does not seem to be as strange to her as it is to us.

But I can also see the issue of stability. She grew up in a very unhappy home, her mom was batteling various problems and her dad did close to nothing to emotionally support his children and he seemed to have re-enacted his granddad's quest for having an heir after three girls. So maybe she ended up marrying the father figure she never had.

Let's face it. She is 30 and mostly known for "being the niece of Princess Diana" - she gained some recognition for modelling, but the business is cruesome, she is "too old" (you all know what I mean) and this career will come to an end. Plus she is more in the "Claudia Schiffer classical beauty line" which does not seem to be the thing anymore.

Children? Of course. Her spouse has three already and sadly she will have to claim a streak for herself "in the name of the children". Children are part of this game.

[Eliza B]

She's accustomed to a certain lifestyle, won't get a huge inheritance, and has daddy issues.

I mean it's written in the stars. Doesn't mean he's a bad guy and doesn't make her happy and visa versa. 

[anneboleyn]

She's accustomed to a certain lifestyle, won't get a huge inheritance, and has daddy issues.

I mean it's written in the stars. Doesn't mean he's a bad guy and doesn't make her happy and visa versa. 

This is true!

[shoshanah]

She looks exhausted:

Ridiculous.  All that money wasted on five dresses and in five years (if that) they will be divorced.

[Gemsheal]

She looks exhausted:

Ridiculous.  All that money wasted on five dresses and in five years (if that) they will be divorced.

LOL, he doesn't look much better than poor tired baby Kitty!   Wonder if his hand's cramped from writing all the checks.   

[GoodGollyMissMolly]

She looks exhausted:

Ridiculous.  All that money wasted on five dresses and in five years (if that) they will be divorced.

She’s a spokesperson for D&G. She likely didn’t pay for any of the dresses or got them heavily discounted.

[Cordelia Fitzgerald]

She looks exhausted:

I had a different take which I won’t share, but ICK!

I'm pretty sure we had the same thought 

Once I shook that image out of my mind, I also thought she looks like she's having stomach cramps and he's trying to soothe them.  Such a cringy picture that gives me the willies + second-hand embarrassment.  She's clearly trying to look sexy, and he clearly didn't hear that instruction.

In the other pictures, the construction of the dress makes her look very wide/bottom-heavy.  I'm all for a crinoline or a small waist/full hip silhouette, but this just looks hefty.  And she's so slim.  It's weird.

[shoshanah]

She looks exhausted:

Ridiculous.  All that money wasted on five dresses and in five years (if that) they will be divorced.

She’s a spokesperson for D&G. She likely didn’t pay for any of the dresses or got them heavily discounted.

The venue the food the photographers the videographers etc.

[Cordelia Fitzgerald]

re: how ostentatious the whole wedding was — but that is the Dolce and Gabanna brand in a nutshell. Their whole brand is showy, conspicuous consumption, flamboyant. That wedding, even in Italy, perfectly represents the brand. Obviously, that was what Kitty signed up for, and she nailed it.

So much about using her wedding as an ad for D&G just rubs me wrong on nearly every possible level, but she definitely nailed the vibe of D&G.

I also got such a kick out seeing how two guests were in the same showy gown (to me it looked Versace circa 90s/00s, but it was probably D&G in keeping with the theme) because one was a young 20-something who just radiated "social media influencer" and one was a lady of the same age (roughly) as Elon Musk's elegant mother! 

[esther angeline]

I for one don’t understand having a lavish wedding in the stifling heat of Rome in July.  I would have chosen late September.

[CyrilSebastian]

Would it have been nice if Lady Kitty's sister Lady Charlotte could have been a flower girl?

[jnozak]

I apologize, I haven't figured out how to post pictures... On page 48, that picture of her in the strapless blue floral dress - doesn't the necklace she's wearing look a lot like the one Catherine has? Slightly different in the settings around the rubies and diamonds, but the same general shape?

[Eliza B]

I apologize, I haven't figured out how to post pictures... On page 48, that picture of her in the strapless blue floral dress - doesn't the necklace she's wearing look a lot like the one Catherine has? Slightly different in the settings around the rubies and diamonds, but the same general shape?

Yes very similar but Kittys (loaned?) are better