The Queen’s Granddaughter, Zara Phillips, Marries Her Rugby Player. Princess Anne’s daughter gets married.
The Queen’s Granddaughter, Zara Phillips, Marries Her Rugby Player
The weekend festivities began on Friday evening with a private cocktail reception held on Royal Yacht Britannia, which was docked in Edinburgh.
Princess Eugenie looked great in red, while her sister, Princess Beatrice, was lovely in purple. Leading the dazzling processional was Sophie, Countess of Wessex.
Catherine the Great once again wore a DVF dress she had debuted on her North America trip last month.
The Church
The ceremony was held on Saturday afternoon, July 27th at Canongate Kirk, a small Church of Scotland where the Queen worships when she stays in Edinburgh. The church dates back to 1688.
The Dress
The bride wore an off the shoulder ivory silk faille and duchess satin gown by Stewart Parvin who is the personal couturier to the Queen. Her cream pumps were by Jimmy Choo.
She arrived at the church on the arm of her father, Capt. Mark Phillips, the first husband of Princess Anne.
Her silk veil was held in place by the Meander Tiara, the bride’s “Something Borrowed”. The Greek Key tiara was loaned by her mother, Princess Anne. The bridal bouquet of calla lilies which was created by Paul Thomas.
The back of the gown featured silk tulle straps that gathered into a “V” shape. This topped a row of covered buttons and simple pleating at the waist.
The groom wore a morning suit which featured a grey vest, black coat tails, and light grey striped trousers.
The 45-minute ceremony featured the Gordonstoun Chamber Choir. The student chorus was from the same Scottish private school which the bride attended as a youth. They performed ‘Gaelic Blessing’ and ‘Amazing Grace’ at the signing of the register. Upon exiting the church the happy couple gave one another a sweet kiss much to the delight of the crowd of well-wishers.
Here you can see the corseted bodice which featured silk tulle gathered at the shoulders. The chevron pleating on the bodice ended with inverted pleats on the dropped waist which created a bell-shaped silhouette. The full skirt was enhanced by a wide hem.
The best man was the groom’s teammate, Iain Balshaw, who appeared to have had a rough time at a previous rugby match, although it was actually a result of a moped accident in France.
Maid of Honour was the bride’s friend, Dolly Maude.
The flower girls were quite sweet in white with pale china blue sashes.
The Wedding Guests
Wedding guests included the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. You may remember that the Queen bestowed three titles upon the pair at their wedding. The title of Duke and Duchess of Cambridge represents England. Since the wedding was held in Scotland they went by their Scottish title, The Earl, and Countess of Strathearn.
The Duchess, ever a class act, did not want to upstage the bride and opted to recycle an embroidered, champagne-colored coat by Jane Troughton. She first wore the coat way back in 2006 to the nuptials of Laura Parker Bowles’ (Camilla’s daughter) and Harry Lopes. But the hat was new and I adored the diamond earrings.
Princess Anne, shown with the groom’s father, Phil Tindall.
A peach of a Queen!
Princess Beatrice will hopefully fare better in the fashion magazines for this ensemble than she did for what she wore to the last Royal wedding. I do like Princess Eugenie’s hat.
The reception was held at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, a residence of the Queen. Dinner included lobster and crayfish cocktail, Scottish venison with dauphinoise potatoes and a chocolate fondant with strawberries.
Best wishes to the happy couple!
Laura
I saw a few pictures (not as good as yours!) earlier this morning and thought about you. I'm glad you did this post.
She was lovely! The only thing I didn't like about her gown was the hemline.
And isn't her dad still a hunky looking thing?
You do such a nice job of presenting these special occasions. Can't thank you enough. Gorgeous!
Great post! I always love reading your details.
Leigh
Beautifully done! I thought this wedding gown was stunning! Just fancy enough without overdoing it!
The pictures are wonderful. I love seeing the detail on her dress. A long and happy life for the couple.
Hey Girlfriend,
I can just imagine the dinner there in Holyrood palace. I've been there and seen the huge dining room with the grand hand-carved mirrors…….oooh the opulence! After that tour, we walked down the royal mile into town and stopped at an amazing toy shop. Thanks for sharing and bringing back memories.
Hugs,
Meri
I enjoyed seeing your photos of this wedding today. Loved that coat Kate is wearing and the all the hats. Thanks!
I really liked her dress. I was happily surpised that she wore a tiara. When I saw first saw the picture of Camilla yesterday I thought she had on Diana's sapphire necklace..glad it wasn't.
Laura I knew you would post on this Royal wedding and was excited in anticipation!!
Love the fashions, most of the hats, and all of the nude patent shoes!!
xoxo
Karena
Art by Karena
I loved her tiara/veil, and her skirt (especially the wide hem). I also loved the duchess' hat. I think Catherine might be the most beautiful woman in the world.
I immediately thought of you when I saw the announcement of the nuptials on the news yesterday… I just knew you'd come through with gorgeous photos and all the details on another royal wedding. Thank you!
great post, Laura!
I must say this wedding left a sour taste in my mouth. I don't know why but I expect differently from Zara. Maybe I shouldn't, after all we all know Zara who announced the engagement with her nails undone :rollingeyes:.
Being relaxed and cool doesn't help carry a wedding gown and from pulling it us when she left the car to almost dragging her dad to the church left me with a feeling that Middletons really know to raise girls.
The dress wasnt my cup of tea and the below part is weird to say the least. It's one day in your life, you should make the effort and she didn't want or cared to…
Lovely Tiara though and amazing bouquet.
Sorry, forgot to add.
Seeing the wedding through your eyes is always a treat, Laura.
Thank you!
(I'm mad so forgive me as I should've started with this :))
Another great post. I always love seeing your pics and finding out all the details. Hugs, Marty
Great post! I love the flower girls' dresses. BTW…what does DTA stands for/mean???
Laura ~ Your presentation is just beautiful. You bring the most elegant & intimate details to us, noting things we may not 'catch' ourselves noticing. Your passion with royalty & beauty is so appreciated, an education.
The thing I noticed is how small Zara's hands are.
Hope your son is completely on the mend now, sweet friend.
Have a beautiful week ~
TTFN ~
Hugs,
Marydon
HI!!!
SOOO HAPPY you did a post already of ZARA'S wedding!!!!I have been buying HELLO Magazine's since I came home from Europe, addicted to the English/European gossip magazine. I love that there are sometimes 50 pages to just the duchess!!!!!I only saw one pic online of the wedding last night SO big KUDOS to you for this research!!!!
I agree about Ann and Camilla…..
hugs,
jamie
You always do such a great job on the Royals Laura!!
I am sure you probably mentioned this maybe in a previous post or maybe it isn't a “proper” question to ask but I was just wondering how old the bride is.
bee blessed
mary
hehehehehe…I love what you wrote about Camilla! lol!! Very cute! :):):) I loveeeeeeeeeeeee the photos! :):):):):):):):):):)
Very nice pictures. I wonder though, why we hardly ever see pictures of Princess Anne??
Jocelyn @
http://justalittlesouthernhospitality.blogspot.com
I'm glad the bride & groom look to be genuinely happy!
i do love a good royal wedding…and the groom's nose is cracking me up…you can certainly tell his sport of choice is rugby! thanks for posting.
alison
If it was not for you Laura, I would not know a thing! I enjoy all the royal weddings and you have done an excellent job! Thank you so much. I am on vacation and my plan was to take the week off blogging and read a real novel. I started one but thought I would read a few blogs and I'm hooked again.
I've been on a blogging break so I'm just seeing this post. We watched what could be seen on the British channel (it was on in German too, but why watch it in German if I can watch it in English?). I have to say, I was not a fan of the dress. I thought the buttons down the back were lovely and the shape of the bodice was nice, but I hated the hemline (it looks like it was too short and they added extra fabric) and I thought the sleeveless look was wrong for her. She's not fat by any means, but her arms are heafty and athletic and I thought the sleeveless thing made her arms look chunky. I also hated the bridesmaid's dress. It was too short and informal for the wedding, IMO.
And you didn't like Camilla's headpiece? I loved it. I thought it was unusual and interesting. It reminded me of the wheat thing she wore at her own wedding. I would totally wear it. 🙂
I'm sad there are no other imminent royal weddings for you to report on. Harry needs to get married. But not to Chelsea.
I forgot to add though that both Zara and Mike looked incredibly happy and that's the most important look to wear. 😉