bitchy | What was up with the plywood platform at Hugh Grosvenor’s wedding? -

Here are more photos from the Duke of Westminster’s Friday wedding. Hugh Grosvenor married Olivia Henson in Chester, England. This was supposed to be the social event of the year, the wedding of one of the richest and most eligible men in the country. And the whole thing just looked… rather budget, right? I’ll be nice – Hugh and Olivia seemed genuinely happy and I’m sure the bride loved her dress. But this satin was a poor choice for a modern wedding dress, especially since Olivia knew she was being photographed by the national and international media! It looks like a cheap knockoff wedding gown you would find in a flea market. The blue clunky shoes were not working either.

So, let’s talk about the cardboard or plywood or whatever it was. Olivia and Hugh were married at Chester Cathedral and it looks like the Grosvenors or the church decided to be especially accommodating to Olivia’s dress, so some kind of barely elevated “runway” was put down outside of the cathedral. Some suggested it was done so that Olivia’s dress and veil wouldn’t snag on anything. But… it genuinely looked as if the church threw down some cardboard sheets outside for a woman marrying a billionaire! Did no one think this through? Did no one ask “hey, that elevated platform isn’t beige, right? It doesn’t look like cheap plywood, right?” These are the same people (not Hugh, I’m talking about the class of people) who looked down their noses at Meghan Markle for being hyper-organized about her wedding planning. Meghan’s wedding photos were gorgeous – Olivia and Hugh looked like they were standing on discarded pizza boxes. There’s already been talk about how the platform was for wheelchair access… but that makes no sense given the layout of the entrance? Even if there’s a legitimate argument to be made about accessibility, once again, there were ways to make a temporary platform which didn’t look like raw plywood.

What else? Climate activists turned up at the wedding too. The Just Stop Oil activists “sprayed powder paint from orange fire extinguishers into the air from the crowds of wellwishers outside” of the church when Hugh and Olivia exited. Police quickly diffused the situation and the activists were booed by the crowd.

The wedding reception was held at Hugh’s 11,000-acre home Eaton Hall and there was a “no phones” policy in place. According to Hello Mag’s sources, the food was good, “the burrata was exceptional,” and there was a bicycle with a little ice cream freezer, where any guest could pick up an ice cream treat at any time. They had a full orchestra and a huge fireworks display. It sounds like they put all of the money into the reception and not the actual wedding ceremony.