Royal wedding dresses
- By Ling Hui, QMI AGENCY
Take a look back at some of the most glamourous - and dowdy - royal bridal gowns. Find out whose dress created a wedding tradition, and who had to negotiate for a discount!
- Bride: Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York. Date: July 23, 1986. Fergie wore an embroidered ivory silk gown by Lindka Cierach with a scoop neck and padded shoulders. Her 17-foot train was emblazoned with the letter "A," as well as Sarah's personal coat of arms which featured a bumblebee, an anchor to represent the groom's naval career, and a rose. (Anwar Hussein/WENN.COM)
- Bride: Princess Charlene of Monaco. Date: July 2, 2011. The Olympian swimmer wore a custom made Armani Privé off-the-shoulder gown of silk duchesse satin. Though the lines of the dress were sleek and minimalistic, floral embroidery featuring Swarovski crystals and mother-of-pearl teardrops added depth and drama to the look. Her long train had a cross-over detail that effectively made two trains, and was covered with her long silk tulle veil. (REUTERS/Sylvain Lefevre/Pool)
- Bride: Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden. Date: June 19, 2010. The radiant bride shunned the traditional full sleeved gown, wearing a short sleeve, off-the-shoulder dress designed by Pär Engsheden. The cream-coloured satin gown features a V-shape back and a 16.5-foot train fastened from the waist. The princess wore the same tiara her mother, Queen Silvia, wore to her own wedding in 1976. (WENN.COM)
- Bride: Queen Elizabeth II. Date: Nov. 20, 1947. As the first major royal event since the end of World War II, Elizabeth had to save up ration cards to purchase materials for her dress. The ivory duchess satin gown featured 10,000 white pearls imported from the U.S., with silver thread and tulle embroidery, and a 15-foot train attached at the shoulders. (ITN/WENN.COM)
- Elizabeth's mother, the late-Queen Mum, lent her a tiara to complete the regal look. (ITN/WENN.COM)
- Bride: Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge (formerly Kate Middleton) Date: April 29, 2011. Catherine's dress, designed by Alexander McQueen creative director Sarah Burton, was exulted around the world and compared to Grace Kelly's elegant gown, as both women showed off waspy waists in corsets and full skirts. Composed of ivory and white satin gazar, hand-cut English lace and French Chantilly lace, Catherine's dress ended with a nearly 10-foot-long train. Those who sewed the elaborate lace covering the gown and train washed their hands every half hour to keep it a pristine white, and worked in shifts in a bid to hide the name of the designer. The now-Duchess topped her stunning gown with a 1936 Cartier 'halo' tiara given to her by the Queen. (WENN.COM)
- Bride: Camilla Parker Bowles, Duchess of Cornwall. Date: April 9, 2005. The duchess wore a cream-coloured dress and coat with a wide-brimmed hat for the wedding ceremony, which neither the Queen nor bride's father attended. The Queen did, however, attend the blessing service afterward, where the bride wore a floor-length embroidered pale blue and gold coat over a matching chiffon gown and a gold feathered head-piece. London design house Robinson Valentine created both ensembles and both hats were made by Philip Treacy. (Reuters and WENN.COM file photos)
- Bride: Autumn Phillips. Date: May 7, 2008. The Canadian bride married the Queen's eldest grandchild, Peter Phillips, wearing a cream Sassi Holford wedding gown and a tiara on loan for the day from her mother-in-law, Princess Anne. The dress, reportedly worth $4,000, had buttons and long bows down the back. (Anwar Hussein/WENN.COM)
- Bride: Sophie Winkleman. Date: September 12, 2009. The British TV actress wore a $8,000 silk duchess satin dress, designed by the Russian couture house Roza when she married Lord Frederick Windsor, son of Prince and Princess Michael of Kent. Lord Freddie's mom reportedly pulled some favours, persuading close friend and designer Anna-Roza Bistroff to offer the dress at a discount. (Photo Pool/Anwar Hussein Collection/WENN.COM)
- Bride: Princess Grace of Monaco. Date: April 18, 1956. Grace Kelly wore a pale pink taffeta dress with cream-colored Alencon lace and white kid gloves when she wed Prince Rainier in a small civil wedding. The following day's religious ceremony became a Hollywood spectacle as Kelly had to agree to have it filmed by MGM in order to get out of her contract. Her gown, designed by wardrobe designer Helen Rose, was a gift from MGM. It featured a high collar, a fitted bodice and voluminous skirt and was made of silk taffeta, tulle and 125-year-old Brussels rose point lace. On her head she wore a Juliet cap and a veil that was reportedly 270-feet long. (WENN.COM)
- Bride: Princess Annemarie de Bourbon de Parme-Gualtherie van Weezel. Date: Nov. 11, 2010. The Dutch journalist said "I do" to Prince Carlos of Bourbon-Parma in an ivory silk mermaid style gown by Jacques Devos and Pamela Hoffman. Her bridesmaids were on hand to manage her lengthy train designed by Isabelle de Borchgrave. (WENN.COM)
- Bride: Princess Anne. Date: November 14, 1973. Though royal weddings generally tend to be traditional, Princess Anne took the millions who tuned in to her televised wedding ceremony back to the middle ages. Her groom, Mark Phillips - a lieutenant in the Army - looked sharp in the full scarlet and blue uniform of his regiment, while the Princess wore an embroidered Tudor-style wedding gown with medieval sleeves. (File photo)
- Bride: Diana, Princess of Wales. Date: July 29, 1981. British design duo David and Elizabeth Emanuel created the $14,000 fairytale princess gown for Diana, and helped the shy nursery school teacher become the most glamourous and beloved member of the British royal family. (Anwar Hussein/WENN.COM)
- Diana's silk taffeta dress was decorated with lace, hand embroidery, sequins and 10,000 pearls and featured a stunning 25-foot train. (Robert Wallace/WENN.COM)
- Bride: Princess Letizia of Asturias. Date: May 22, 2004. The award-winning journalist married Prince Felipe, the heir-apparent to the Spanish throne, in a gown by Spanish designer Manuel Pertegaz. The dress featured a sweeping skirt and a 15-foot train. (WENN.COM/SCHROEWIG/Tom Maelsa)
- Bride: Princess Mathilde, Duchess of Brabant. Date: Dec. 4, 1999. The speech therapist wed Belgian heir-apparent Prince Philippe in tailored coat-style gown designed by Edouard Vermeulen from the fashion house Natan and wore a tiara and an antique veil lent to her by her mother-in-law, Queen Paola. The heirloom veil was created in 1877 for the ancient Italian royal house of Ruffio di Calabrias. (WENN.COM)
- Bride: Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor. Date: June 3, 1937. The bride wore a floor length cocktail dress designed by Mainbocher, with a fitted jacket, gloves and a hat all in a light shade of blue specifically created for her – Wallis blue. The Duke wore a morning suit. (Wikipedia)
- Bride: Queen Victoria. Date: Feb. 10, 1840. The British monarch created a stir when she married Prince Albert in a white gown as most brides prior to her did not wear white. Once word of her bridal gown spread, many Europeans and Americans began favouring white dresses as a sign of their elite status, as white was a difficult colour to clean. (Wikipedia)
- Bride: Sophie Rhys-Jones, Countess of Wessex. Date: June 19, 1999. The former PR executive wed the Queen's youngest son, Prince Edward, in a simple ivory silk and organza dress-coat created by Samantha Shaw, featuring 325,000 crystals and pearls fastened along the neck. Her accessories included a diamond tiara from the Queen's private collection and a black-and-white pearl necklace and matching earrings designed by Edward as a wedding gift. (British Crown copyright/Wikipedia)
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