ROYAL WEDDING: Kate Middleton's sister Pippa's party plans peeve Buckingham Palace
We are not amused: Pippa Middleton's plans for a vibrant young party are alarming the courtiersKate Middleton's sister and chief bridesmaid Pippa has put Palace noses out of joint with her arrangements for the post-wedding celebration.
The events organiser, who also works for her parents' online party business, has taken a fortnight off work to oversee final details for her sister.
But her enthusiasm for the task has seen her at loggerheads with Buckingham Palace staff over both the catering and what sources say is her determination to introduce a younger atmosphere to the royal couple's evening reception.In particular, courtiers are said to have shuddered over her suggestion to erect glitter balls in the throne room where a post-wedding breakfast disco is going to be held. In the end, Pippa won the day.
Pippa, 27, Kate's younger but more vivacious sister, works three days a week for leading party planning organisers Table Talk.
The other two days she writes an online magazine on party planning for her parents' website, Party Pieces.
Shehas been utilising her company connections to help organise every last detail of the party being thrown on Friday evening for 300 of William and Kate's closest friends and has even arranged for her boss at Table Talk, JoJo Browner, to work behind the scenes at Buckingham Palace on the big day.
The sourcesaid: 'Pippa has taken two weeks leave from her job at Table Talk spendtime with Kate and take full control of organising the wedding reception.
More...
- Armed police among royal wedding congregation as 5,000 officers turn the Abbey into Fortress Westminster
- STEPHEN GLOVER: I'm no fan of Blair, but this is an insult to democracy that damages the monarchy
- Bums like this ARE invited to the royal wedding as fury erupts over snub to Brown and Blair
- English wine on the table fo! r Kate a nd William's big day... and it only costs 8.50 a bottle
The Duchess of Cornwall was all smiles yesterday as she emerged from a top London salon with her hair dyed and trimmed. Clearly Camilla was pleased to get rid of her grey roots in time for the wedding
'Originally they wanted to use their own caterer, but then Prince Charles, who is funding the entertainment, stepped in and demanded they use his favourite, Mosimann's.'It didn't go down well with the caterers Kate and her sister were intent on using, but there was nothing they could do.
CAROLE'S LAST-MINUTE SALE
Anarticle singing the praises of the traditional British streetparty has been posted on the website of Party Pieces, the business set up by Miss Middletons mother Carole in 1987.
It has online links to products such as themed bunting, platters and flags for canapes.
Thearticle deliberately avoids mentioning Fridays wedding, simply urging readers to organise a traditional British street party to celebrate the arrival of spring.
Butits appearance just four days before the wedding will inevitably invitecriticism that they are trying to cash in on the marriage. 'Pippa's choice of turning the throne room into a nightclub set-up also went down like a lead balloon with Palace aides, who tried to have it stopped.
'But William stepped in and insisted that he wanted the evening event to be very different from the! formal champagne and canap reception being thrown by the Queen immediately after the wedding.
'He wants to it be very young and cool, so the old guard caved in and gave their approval.'
According to one well-placed source, Pippa and her sister have plumped for a muted colour scheme with blue-grey napkins and armfuls of creamy-white flowers.
But the entertainment will be 'full on' with vans parked up in the Palace quadrangle serving 'bacon butties' and ice creams.
A Palace source said there was little staff could do as the evening event was down to Kate and the staff at Clarence House.
So buoyed is Pippa by her success that she is apparently planning to start her own party planning business later this year in conjunction with her parents.
Comments