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One of the first guests at the Royal Wedding who caught my eye was Janina Gavankar, but I didn’t know who she was. BBC America identified Priyanka Chopra, Abigail Spencer and Janina as Suits actresses, only they didn’t give Janina’s name. It took some time before she was identified, and I just realized I know Janina from True Blood! (She played shapeshifter Luna in seasons 4-6, who dated Sam.) Janina has never been on Suits but she has a ton of TV credits and was on sitcom The League on FX, on which Meghan Markle had a guest role in 2009. Meghan and Janina have been friends for 15 years, having crossed paths earlier in their careers. Janina has an interview with Town and Country in which she gives details on her Royal Wedding outfit (it was 1930s vintage!) along with the ceremony and reception. It sounds like everyone had an amazing time and Janina’s love for Meghan and enthusiasm for her friend’s marriage really comes through. You can read the whole interview at Town and Country and here are some highlights:
Her dress was from a costume supplier and was selected to fit Royal protocol: covered shoulders, knee length
“Many of the Americans commiserated over how difficult it was to find dresses that fit all the requirements. We were told panty hose at some point but many American didn’t wear them. I did—I was so afraid of screwing up that I just followed all protocol, but there were some rebels in our group”On people not knowing who she was at first
“It’s so funny that a moment where I didn’t care if people noticed me is strangely the moment that people noticed the most in my life.“It wasn’t a priority for me to have my publicist announce I was going. My priority will always be my friend. I’m not there for you, I’m there for her.”
On how the crowds made the wedding special
“Once I was there, I got to see the people that were on the grounds with us. Sharing that with them was unexpected and heartwarming. I really thought that I would be shaken by how public the whole thing was, but I wasn’t.“One thing that made many of us giggle was that we could hear the wonderful people outside. When the vows were happening, they would cheer, and we could hear them. It was a very quiet chapel. We all followed the Queen’s lead. But we could hear everyone cheer and it was so heartwarming. Really, it filled our hearts.”
“If you were in the chapel, it felt like a small wedding because we didn’t see Meghan’s massive walk up the church aisle that preceded the [quire]. It felt like we were just right there with her, with both of them.”
On the reception and Harry’s speech
“We all danced until the wee hours. We partied and celebrated and ate sliders at 2 in the morning. It was such a beautiful day and a carefree night, and it was a very powerful day in history. And I think everybody felt it across the world.“The speech that Harry gave was so funny, self deprecating, filled with love, and that guy just has her back. I left feeling so solid for them”
Janina also said, of the wedding, that she “walked away feeling so confident that these two will put their combined power into the world for good,” which is how a lot of us feel so it’s nice to hear it from someone who was there and who is close to Meghan. I came away a little jealous that Janina got to attend the Royal Wedding, but the good thing is that there were guests who felt the same thing that we did at home, watching from our living rooms. Oh and the reception had tables which were named for foods pronounced differently in England and The US like “Potato, potato, tomato, tomato, oregano, oregano!” What I wouldn’t give to see video from the reception or even just photos of the decorations and spread. It’s making me hungry just thinking about it. There’s been an understandable lockdown on all of that but at least we can get these fun accounts of that night. We need more uplifting distractions like this.
Photos credit: Getty, Instagram and Avalon.red/Pacific Coast News
Yes…she stole the show in THAT DRESS…and I’m so tickled to see that it’s vintage (everything old is new again)…and I LOVED what she said about her girl Meghan…who seems to have some pretty solid friendships!
I also loved her dress! It moved amazingly too. I feel like modern tailoring so often doesn’t come close to vintage cuts and tailoring.
I don’t get why covered shoulders and knee-length or linger is tough though? There are many many many designs out there that fit that prerequisite.
I wish we had more details on the reception!! Is it true that none of her Suits co-stars except Abigail were invited? I wonder why not? I’d love to see more outfits and the photos of the set-up! Glad they got to let their hair down and party away from prying eyes though! Apparently Serena was the queen of beer pong (of course!)
no her suit costars were invited. Her tv husband with his real wife was there. His wife posted on her Instagram story of the women getting slippers at the reception.
The slippers were distributed after or during the lunch time reception. For the evening one I have not seen any note or picture that her suits Co stars attended. At least the guy who plays Louis Litt was singing in a bar somewhere while the evening reception happened. If you think that only 200 people attended the evening bash that means each got to invite 50 plus their plus ones. Not a lot so I am not surprised not all colleagues made the list. Very surprise Clooney did though.
Aw every story about the reception just makes me so jealous I wasn’t invited, LOL. I love a good wedding reception! And I agree that I would love to see pictures. I don’t need to read a transcript of Harry’s speech or anything, but pictures of the décor would be great to see, without any person in them.
Isn’t she the one that walked with the other actresses and then walked again on her own? I was confused. So much for not wanting attention lol
Yeah I was confused by that.
She was my best dressed guest. The way she looked and the walk with Abigail and Priyanka was fire. I’m glad Meghan has close people in her life that are loyal and have her back.
Abigail was the only former Suits costar that sat in the inner portion, probably because she also has known Meghan from before Suits.
Meghan’s friends really love her.
https://youtu.be/a8EZTB0FX4Q
Honestly, I don’t even like to wear dresses, but I would love to wear that one!
Her whole high five moment with the guard was awkward as hell though.
I love her dress! I could stare at it all day.
And her comments are lovely. Nice to see Meghan does have some great people in her life (no wonder she was able to ditch her crappy family)
I always laugh when people say things like “the whole world was watching,” “the whole world felt it.” Like, nah. Yes, it’s fun and pretty and whimsical and I loved looking at pics and reading articles, but the privilege of that statement makes even me roll my eyes. Nah, the world was doing other things, I promise. IDK, just one of those phrases that has always irked me, along w those clickbait articles that say, “this mom just DESTROYED Paul Ryan’s attack on social security.” Um, can you destroy something if the other person isn’t even aware of your existence?
That being said I think Janina is beautiful but I can’t decide if I like her dress or not. Cute idea to go to a costume supplier! LOL at being nervous and following ALL the protocol. I’d do the same thing in a situation like that. Better safe than sorry.
This comment is so true! The hyperbole online is a bit much sometimes.
Re: the royal/wedding protocol, I don’t understand why there is so much hate for pantyhose. They definitely used to be terrible; back in the 80’s my mom got the cheap ones that were always too dark and a funky shade of orange or tan.
But they have come a long way! There are some brands such as Wolford and Donna Karan that are wonderful. They’re so sheer, and they feel like makeup for my legs. No one ever even knows I’m wearing them, and it avoids me worrying about having pasty-looking legs. They just make my legs look so much nicer and smoother, like foundation does for your face. The control-top is a bonus, and Donna Karan even makes a toeless version to wear with open-toed shoes.
I love them and was happy in 2011 when Kate seemed to make them trendy again for about five minutes but they seem to be widely despised.
I don’t hate pantyhose, I hate women being made to wear them even when it is hot outside or when they don’t want to. I like my legs, if I want to have them bare I should be able to. Short skirts and covered shoulders in a church – okay fine. But why must we wear nude pantyhose?? I mean they are nude and mimicking what the bare leg lzooms like anyway. Is our flesh so dirty that we have to wear invisible barriers over the top? I don’t get it. For women who like wearing them: all power to you!
Yes, being REQUIRED to wear them to cover up a woman’s body is the part that seems weird, or borderline sexist. I was once convinced to interview at an old-fashioned ladies’ makeup company–not for a consumer-facing job, but as a lowly graphic designer who would likely be squirrelled away with my legs under a desk all day–and was told that I (like all female employees) would be required to wear dresses and nude panty hose with heels every day. I immediately knew it wasn’t the place for me because that just sounded uncomfortable and poorly prioritized.
I’m actually in the camp of not loving to reveal my bare legs because my skin is pasty white and sensitive, so I can go for hose or black tights in winter for special dressy occasions, but I prefer pants and don’t need to be treated as if my legs are someone else’s business.
@Lorelei If you are not white finding a shade of pantyhose is really a major thing. Nude isn’t nude for everybody. I know that among my friends, that is where a lot of the hate comes from.
Well it was almost 2bn watching which is a pretty big chunk of the world. Those numbers are crazy – it must feel like the whole world to those being watched.
More than a quarter of the world’s entire population watched it. That pretty much justifies the hyperbole. Especially considering another full quarter of the world population don’t have electricity.
Easily the best dressed at the wedding!
Yes she looked amazing. I didn’t know who she was but had a ‘wow’ moment when I saw her. It was dramatic, rather than costume-y vintage.
Thene there was the exquisite tailoring, perfect accessorising and the colour that looked stunning on her.
To me she was best dressed.
While tomato and oregano are pronounced differently, potato is only pronounced poe-tae-toe in both UK and the US.
Loved this look, along with Priyanka and Charles Spencer’s wife (?), who was wearing all purple.
Yes! Earl Spencer’s wife (I think it’s his wife? Like you, I’m not sure.) looked gorgeous.
I’m not generally a big fan of that much purple but that was such a beautiful shade and she looked positively stunning.
I could keep talking about this wedding for months! 🙂
Don’t worry I’m sure that won’t be a problem 😉😉
That is a gorgeous outfit!
Also, I didn’t know ‘oregano’ was pronounced differently between the UK and US until this post (I say o-reh-gaah-no, not sure if that’s the UK or US pronunciation lol).
That’s the UK pronunciation.
Americans emphasise the 2nd syllabe.
Basil is another word that’s different. Bay-sil in the States, Bah-sil in UK.
She looked amazing. The tv people commenting on the pre-wedding celebrity arrivals were like- she is a star, she has arrived, and someone find out who she is.
She did look great, and a costume shop was a good idea.
I’ve always found her pretty annoying back in her TB days, but that’s nice she and Meghan have been friends for that long.
I’m in the minority here I disliked the color of the dress and the design-however she’s a stunningly beautiful woman and could wear a hefty bag and win praise for it however it’s better than mustard yellow.
I have no idea who she is but she sounds incredibly happy for her friend. Thank you for posting this story and I hope we get more positive, love filled posts, but I know that is hard in these dark days.
Such a nice story!!! Yay!!
I find it very weirs how some of Meghan’s colleagues treated this as a red carpet event. Also find all the pictures on their instagram’s a bit weird. Were they there for Meghans or for self-promotion? Looking at Jessica M. and a lot of the suits cast but also Serena Williams. She so does not need it. So why?