Meghan Markle’s two very different weddings, from ‘marijuana party bags’ to controversial speech

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry were the picture of happiness on their wedding day as they tied the knot in front of family and friends.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex married on Saturday, May 19, 2018, at St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle. Meghan looked beautiful in a simple white wedding dress designed by Givenchy and she smiled as she walked down the aisle to where Harry stood.

The day was watched by millions of people around the world and was attended by celebrities such as Victoria and David Beckham and Amal and George Clooney. The ceremony was very different from Meghan’s first wedding to Trevor Engelson.

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The former Suits star dated film producer Trevor for seven years before they married in Jamaica in 2011. The couple said ‘I do’ in front of around 100 close family and friends, a far cry from the 600 guests at Harry and Meghan’s wedding.

Meghan’s father Thomas Markle Snr later claimed his daughter and former son-in-law presented guests with an unusual gift after their wedding in Jamaica: marijuana party bags. He claimed that a small sachet of the drug was presented to guests in a cloth pouch with a special note from the bride and groom.

“It’s illegal, but in Jamaica it’s not a problem. It’s almost common there. I don’t smoke weed and as far as I know, neither does Meghan,” he told the Daily Mail.

It is believed that Thomas attended his daughter’s wedding to Trevor and made her walk across the sand to get married. He later missed Meghan’s wedding to Harry, with a statement revealing he had to miss the ceremony due to health issues.

Meghan and Trevor got married at the Jamaica Inn in Ochos Rios and booked all 55 rooms at the luxury property. Their wedding invitation read: “Cheers to love, cheers to laughter, cheers to happily ever after.”

Meghan’s maid of honor at her first wedding was her once best friend Ninaki Priddy. The two women became fast friends when they were just two years old, but drifted apart when Meghan landed a starring role in Suits.

The final nail in the coffin was Ninaki’s disapproval of Meghan’s divorce from Trevor, when she tried to talk to the Duchess but found herself shutting her down and refusing to acknowledge Trevor’s pain from the breakup. Speaking to The Daily Mail in 2017, Ninaki said: “The way she handled it, Trevor definitely had the rug pulled out from under him.”

Trevor and Meghan’s romance wasn’t meant to be and their marriage lasted just two years before they split in 2013. At the time, they were trying to maintain a long-distance relationship.

Due to the long distance, Meghan and Trevor did not live in the same city when they split, so Meghan sent her wedding and engagement rings back to Trevor. After their divorce, Trevor moved on with nutritionist and multi-million dollar heiress, Tracey Kurland.

When Meghan moved on and married Harry, the late Queen Elizabeth bestowed the couple with the titles of Duke and Duchess of Sussex. It was estimated that their wedding cost a whopping £32 million, with most of the money spent on security.

Harry and Meghan shared some behind-the-scenes photos from their wedding on their Netflix docuseries, Harry & Meghan. Speaking about the lead-up to the ceremony, Meghan said she went to a “really quiet space”.

“I don’t know how I was so calm,” she adds. “All I wanted was a mimosa, a croissant and the song ‘Going to the Chapel’ to play.” Meghan said she found the whole thing completely “surreal.”

Gospel group Kingdom Choir performed at the wedding, with Elton John also performing and Idris Elba doing a DJ set at the happy couple’s reception. The special event ended with an incredible fireworks display.

Meghan also revealed the speech she gave at her wedding to Harry, which was seen as controversial. In her Netflix show she said: “On to the core of why I wanted to speak tonight. First of all, it’s been a while. But most of all I wanted to share a story, a story I wrote about the man I love and the way we met. Let’s call this a modern fairy tale.

“Once upon a time there was a girl from LA, some people called her an actress, and there was a guy from London, some people called him a prince. All those people didn’t quite understand, because this is a boy’s love story and a girl who are meant for each other.

“They meet on July 3, 2016 in London and they giggle endlessly, so the next day they have their second date and he brings her cupcakes because it’s the Fourth of July, a bittersweet celebration he says, ironically actually, her country’s independence of his country, yet at this moment they know that they do not want to be independent of each other.

“And after a month of long-distance courtship, they settle into the tranquility of Botswana, and amid the momentary worries that creep in, they look at each other and think ‘whatever world we’re in.’ They would love and gardening and traveling and laughing and racking up more airline miles than any couple could possibly have.

“And when the tides were rough, they pressed each other tighter. Nothing can break us, they said, for this love she was a fighter.’ Meghan added that “love wins above all,” as she described Harry as her “sweetheart.”

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