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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 Coast News
