Hello and welcome to Royal Wedding Wednesdays A History of Wedding Dresses Part II. You can view Part one HERE. That post primarily covered Royal brides who went on to become Queen. There were two exceptions.
Royal Wedding Wednesdays A History of Wedding Dresses Part II
Today we will begin with the Duchess of Cambridge a fairly recent royal bride who will also become queen someday. She will be followed by some other truly lovely looks worn by Royal brides.
Catherine Middleton
Catherine Middleton became the Duchess of Cambridge when she married Prince William in 2011. Her now iconic dress was designed by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen.
The silk dress featured a fitted bodice with a sheer lace neckline and long sleeves.
The back of the dress closed with 58 covered silk organza buttons which fastened by means of rouleau loops.
The hand-cut Chantilly lace featured lace roses, thistles, daffodils, and shamrocks applied to ivory silk tulle. The four flowers are the national emblems of the four countries in the U.K.: England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.
The bridal skirt was crafted with white satin gazar arches with a silk tulle underskirt and an almost 9-foot long train.
Her veil was created at the Royal School of Needlework. It was handcrafted with embroidered flowers.
She wore the 1936 Cartier Halo Tiara. The diamond and platinum tiara was made for the Queen Mother by Cartier. It was given to Queen Elizabeth on her 18th birthday in 1944.
The Robinson Pelham earrings were a gift from her parents, Michael and Carole Middleton. The acorn design was inspired by the family’s coat of arms.
Princess Royal Anne
Queen Elizabeth’s daughter, Princess Royal Anne, married Capt. Mark Phillips on November 14, 1973. Princess Anne’s wedding dress was a medieval Tudor style designed by Maureen Baker. The dress was made of white silk and featured a high collar and large trumpet sleeves.
The neckline and shoulders were embroidered with pearls and silver thread. The long silk gauze train featured a design of flowers also enhanced with silver thread. Her veil was held in place by the Fringe tiara~ which was the tiara her mother, Queen Elizabeth, wore at her own wedding.
The pageboy was her younger brother, Prince Edward. Her bridesmaid was Lady Sarah Armstrong ~ Jones, the daughter of Princess Margaret, Queen Elizabeth’s sister.
Zara Phillips
Princess Anne’s daughter, Zara, 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 wore the Princess Andrew of Greece’s Meander Tiara, which her mother has worn numerous times.
It was originally given to then Princess Elizabeth on her wedding by her mother-in-law, Princess Andrew of Greece and Denmark.
Autumn Kelly
Princess Anne’s son, Peter Phillips, married Autumn Kelly on May 17, 2008, at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle. The bride wore an ivory Duchesse satin wedding gown designed by Sassi Holford. The strapless dress was topped with a lace bolero jacket.
Her dress had a train that was a bit over two meters (6 feet) long and topped by a bow and a row of covered buttons.
The tulle veil was held in place by the Festoon tiara which was loaned to her by her mother in law, Princess Anne.
Princess Margaret
Princess Margaret wed Lord Snowdon on May 6, 1963. It was the first Royal wedding to ever be televised. She wore a dress made of white silk organza. It was designed by Norman Hartnell who had also created her sister, Queen Elizabeth’s, bridal gown. It featured an elegantly high neckline and a fitted bodice.
The dress was free of any beading or embroidery and the full skirt incorporated a short train.
Her veil was made by Claude St Cyr of Paris. It featured satin trim to match the dress and was held in place by the Poltimore Tiara.
Serena Stanhope
Princess Margaret’s son, David Armstrong~Jones, Viscount Linley married Serena Stanhope on October 8, 1993, at St. Margaret’s church. The bride’s dress was designed by Bruce Robbins and reminiscent of her mother in law’s dress. It featured a fitted satin “V” necked coat that buttoned down the front and split at the waist. The tulle skirt was topped with a large bow on the back of the jacket. The train was about two meters (6 feet) long.
Serena borrowed the Papyrus Tiara from her mother in law. The tiara was originally purchased at Garrad’s by Queen Mary who then gave it to the Queen Mum, Elizabeth, who passed it on to Princess Margaret.
Lady Sarah Armstrong-Jones
Princess Margaret’s daughter, Lady Sarah, is actually one of my favorite Royal brides. Many remember her as Lady Diana’s eldest bridesmaid.
For her 1994 wedding to Daniel Chatto, Lady Sarah chose a gown by Jasper Conran. It had long sleeves, a low square neckline, and a crushed bodice.
The tulle veil was held in place by a diamond floral tiara. The tiara can also be broken into smaller broaches. It was made from a wedding gift to Lady Sarah’s mother, Princess Margaret, from her groom (and Lady Sarah’s father) Lord Snowdon.
Sarah Ferguson
When Sarah Ferguson married Prince Andrew, Duke of York on July 23, 1986, she chose Lindka Cierach to create her wedding gown. The dress was made of ivory Duchesse satin and featured a scoop neck, a fitted bodice, full skirt and padded shoulders accented with bows. The 17-foot long train fell from the skirt from a large bow and was lavishly detailed with intricate embroidery. The design had very personal meaning as it included Sarah’s personal coat of arms, an “A” for Andrew, as well as an anchor to represent the groom’s naval career.
In one of my most favorite Royal Wedding details, upon entering the church, the bride’s silk tulle veil was attached to a perfumed coronet of roses, gardenias, and lilies of the valley.
At the end of the ceremony, the floral wreath was removed to reveal the Diamond Garrard Tiara underneath which was a gift from the Queen. It symbolized her transformation from commoner to royal bride.
Sophie Rhys-Jones
Sophie Rhys-Jones, now the Countess of Wessex, wore a sleek ivory silk and organza dress topped with a matching coat to her wedding to Prince Edward, the Queen’s youngest son, on June 19, 1999. The dress, designed by Samantha Shaw, featured 325,000 cut glass and pearl beads.
The bride’s hand dyed, silk tulle veil was one inch longer than her train. It was hand finished with crystals. It was held in place by a diamond tiara which was a gift from the Queen.
Her jewelry included a black and white pearl necklace, interspersed with white gold rondelle’s and matching earrings. The set was designed by Prince Edward as a gift to his bride and made by Asprey and Garrard.
Wallis Simpson
I imagine that if one is to write a history of Royal wedding dresses, the “Wallis blue” confection that Mrs. Simpson wore on June 3, 1937, to marry King David, a man who abdicated the throne of England for her, must be included. She became the Duchess of Windsor but was forever denied HRH (Her Royal Highness) status.
The full-length gown and the long sleeved jacket was constructed of silk crepe. It featured a tightly cinched waist enhanced with covered buttons. As this was her third wedding the soft blue was probably considered an appropriate color for a bride.
A jeweled brooch was worn at her neck. A hat adorned with pink and blue feathers was the only crown she ever wore.
Princess Marina
The Duke of Windsor had three younger brothers. Albert, Queen Elizabeth’s father, who became King George VI, Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, Prince George, Duke of Kent and Prince John who passed away at the age of 13. On November 29, 1934, at Westminster Abbey Prince George married Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark. She wore a cowl-necked gown made of silver and white lamé with a raised “Rose of England” pattern. Her necklace was a gift from the groom and featured 36 large diamonds. I believe she also wore the Fringe Tiara to secure her veil.
One of her bridesmaids (lower left) was then Princess Elizabeth. It was said that Princess Marina was the true beauty of the Royal family.
Princess Alice
One of my favorite Royal brides was Lady Alice Christabel Montagu Douglas Scott. She became Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester when she married Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester on November 6, 1935, in the Private Chapel at Buckingham Palace. A much more elaborate affair had been planned but was scaled back due to the recent passing of the bride’s father and ill health of the groom’s father, King George V. Her dress was designed by Norman Hartnell, who also created Queen Elizabeth’s and Princess Margaret’s wedding gowns.
The dress was made of silk crepe in a blush color. The pearl pink color was selected because she was 34 at the time of her marriage and white did not seem fitting. Her stunning bouquet was created by Constance Spry who also did the arrangements for the Duke and Duchess of Windsor’s wedding. Her cathedral length veil (exact measurements unknown) was held in place by an elegant crystal headpiece.
Princess Alice remained dedicated to public service her entire life. During WW II she worked with the Red Cross and became head of the Women’s Auxiliary Force in 1940. She passed away at the age of 102 becoming the longest living person in the history of the British Royal Family.
Next week all posts will be Royal themed in anticipation of the Royal Wedding.
Laura
You May Also Enjoy:
The Royal Wedding of Prince Rainier and Grace Kelly
I have soooo enjoyed your History of Weddings blog posts. Thanks so much for sharing… love everything wedding!! 🙂
Laura, Reading you post while enjoying my morning coffee was so much fun. Great information, and so interesting.
I wish you lived closer! We could watch the royal wedding together! Wouldn't that be fun?
The research and work that went into this piece must have been immense! Thank you so much!
Yvonne
I vote bouquets! Then, next, you can go to cakes.
I love both.
This has been just as wonderful as the first one. My favorite tiara/crown/veil look of all is the Princess Margaret one that her daughter-in-law wore too. It's just perfectly Cinderella-ish to me.
I can't pick a most beautiful bride, though. I keep changing my mind.
Perhaps when my daughter marries Prince Harry, the choice will be obvious.
Good Morning Laura,
Beautiful, Beautiful dresses. Thank you for sharing such beautiful dress history with us. Since I used to decorate wedding cakes for about 13 years…..I'd love to hear about cakes next! Best of luck with your tea this coming weekend, I shall so miss it.
Big hugs,
Meri
Lady Sarah is also my favorite royal bride. I love her wedding dress because it's simple, beautiful and elegant. That diamond floral tiara is really amazing! Princess Margaret’s daughter looks like a princess from a fairytale!
Laura, that was so much fun to see all of this beautiful wedding attire! Thank you for the research and for an incredible post. I received my package filled with lovely gifts. I shared my queenly status on my most recent blog post! Thank you for crowning me queen, and for the fun box of gifts. laurie
Blessings Laura!
You have a variety of things you could blog about concerning Royalty…their wedding cakes….where the Royal Couple Honeymooned…this could run for awhile!
Have a sweet day,
d from homehaven
What a fun post to read! Love all the history and details–
Mary
Great history! Thanks for doing this:)
Oh so lovely! I remember watching the weddings of Sarah & Andrew and Sohpie to Edward on television and thinking how absolutely breathtaking their dresses were. These are the dresses every little girl looks at and dreams of for their own wedding day. You shared some fabulous looks. The vintage one are definitely my favorite!
I think you ought to tackle the cake subject next … I am rather partial to cakes.
Yay! More dresses!!!! I could look at dresses all day (probably because my undergrad degree encompasses theatrical costume design). I really love Serena Stanhope's dress (at least the top part-it's a bit much on the tulle).
Lady Alice was lovely! I wish we could see more of the front of the dress though. The bouquet it pretty, but awfully HUGE.
Do you think Wallis Simpson ever ate? She was one skinny lady!
Did you see they revealed what Kate would arrive and leave the church in yesterday???? Squee!
Can't wait for next week! I vote for cakes!!!! Maybe because my birthday is coming up and I have cake on the brain. 😉
Perhaps if school history lessons included more of this kind of thing, more students (at least the girls) would pay more attention. :0) Beautiful, again. And since I love flowers so much, I vote for bouquets.
Laura….do you know what I would like….a geneology chart. i am so confused as to who is who. I love about all the dresses and can hardly wait to see what Cate's is like!
Oh, such beautiful gowns and brides – sigh! I do hope you'll continue this series 🙂 Any of the topics you mentioned – cakes, bouquets, receptions – just keep going, please!
Jane-Jacksonville
There's something reassuring in the traditions carried through by the generations. Cake next?
xo Cathy
I vote for bouquets next…
Thank you for all of the time and effort you're putting into RWW. They are awesome!
Ahhh, just looking at these dresses takes me back to the days when I dreamed of being a princess. So lovely, so royal. I can't help now but wonder what the actual marriages are like (quite a few ended in divorce). Isn't it sad, that the wedding is so huge, but the marriage doesn't work?
I am so enjoying your royal wedding posts. I don't care what you cover next…it's all interesting. Lisa~
Absolutely beautiful! Let's hope the wedding dress Kate chooses will be as lovely. Have done a post on the Charles & Diana wedding cake with recipe.
Thanks so much for hosting!
Ruth
Absolutely beautiful!!! I recently started reading your blog and I love this series!
I think you have the dates wrong though, for Prince Albert's wedding and Zara Phillips' wedding. It's only the year really.
Another fabulous LAURA share! You have such a flair for the beauty & story, Laura. Love reading them all …
Thank you for that darling creamer … when I saw that & the MH I was tempted … tho now I know WHY the temptation passed. It is lovely & sits on the kitchen table where it will hold many a floral bouquet … & I will think of you daily.
Hugs ~
Have a great day ~
TTFN ~
Marydon
I loveeeeeeeeeeeee learning the history of the dresses and would love to hear about the bouquets! :):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):)
Hi Laura! Oh, this was wonderful. I've so enjoyed reading about all the Royals. You've done lots of research to share the is us. Thank you!
Hope you're doing well.
Be a sweetie,
Shelia 😉
You certainly did save the best till last–she is just gorgeous! I will “soak” up whatever subject you decide on next!
I just had my 9th and 10th grade girls gather around my desk (I'm a teacher) and showed them your blog, and in particular the RWW posts. They were enchanted, and are looking forward to next Wednesday's post.
Cakes! Please! I must say I wish Princess Anne had worn her engagement dress as her wedding dress, I like it so much. I am impressed with “naughty” Princess Margaret's gown and veil. I think she looks so lovely. Thank you again Laura for all the work and time this series has taken. It's been so interesting and fun. Ann
Hey! I loved, loved, LOVED this post!! There were some very beautiful royal brides that I had never before seen! Awesome!
Also, I have to add that Sarah Ferguson's train was also embroidered with one of my favorite symbols–the bee. There was a lot going on on that train!
Cheers!
Your Royal PEAculiar
Every week I am learning so much more about the royals! Yes, cakes & bouquets, please! Thanks for all the time you have put in to this post….
Flowers, flowers, flowers! It is finally spring!
Laura,
So, so wonderful to see all of the fabulous details the gowns, veils, tiaras and jewel!!
xoxo
Karena
Art by Karena
Oops I did it again! Look forward to more posts on bouquets and cakes! Thanks for all the work that has gone into these posts!
What a treat to see all those gorgeous wedding gowns without having to leave a page. Thanks for the treat, Laura. I truly enjoyed admiring them all…Christine
I too have been enjoying the wedding dresses and other fascinating information. Never knew about the bridesmaids all being so young. Keep posting great information. Ckaes would be fun
Oh, that was soooo fun! It seems as if they were al timeless and elegant except Diana's. I really was not crazy about her dress, even when I turned on the TV in the wee hours of the morning to watch the wedding. Oh, I am crazy with excitement for the up coming wedding, I am just not so sure if I want to get up at 4am???
Carol
Seeing all these is so amazing! Bouquets and cakes next for sure!Also, I get mixed up on the flow chart of who is who and who is who's daughter etc. Is there a current genealogy flow chart? That might be of interest? Keep up the good work.
I can just look at those tiara's and dresses forever!still love Fergies dress
Scrumptious post,
from beginning
to end….!!!
Wonder if you are
in France, yet??
Where ever you are,
happy day to you!!
xx Suzanne
What a lovely post! What is the thing with the blue bow in the last picture of Princess Alice? A dog? Do you think her tiara was made of lace, not jewels? I'd love to see a close up. You would think with all the interest in royal weddings that Americans would realize that tuxedos are only worn at night, not during the daytime. Ann
I have to say I was lost in all the gowns and the beauties who wore them.
Thanks for 'takin' me away for a little bit.
God bless and have a marvelous day sweetie!!!
I am having such a good time coming to your blog to read about your research. It is wonderfully fascinating!
Hi Laura, When we visted London a number of years ago there was a special exhibit on the history of royal weddings. It was really interesting to see the dresses and the diamond tiaras were beautiful.
Hugs,
Sherry
The ethereal dress that Princess Anne is wearing in her engagement
photograph was designed by Zandra Rhodes.
Wonderful!!! One of my favorites is Peter’s wife. I loved everything about her wedding. It’s just hard to compare dresses to Diana’s which I think is the prettiest wedding dress ever. I didn’t like Kate’s dress at all!!! I hate to say that! I think we are all going to love Meghan’s. I can’t wait to see it. Autumn’s tiara is also one of my favorites after Margaret’s.
BTW – did you know that my uncle made Grace Kelley’s shoes that she wore at her wedding?!?!? lol. He owned Evins Shoes which at that time was like Manolas I guess. They made shoes for all the stars including Grace’s wedding.
Love your royal series!
I am looking forward to your blog on Prince Henry’s wedding. I certainly enjoyed learning about the gowns and tiarras from this post. Lovely.
Comprehensive! Bravo! Lots of research here. I loved Anne’s most of all, I think, though Sarah F. and Sophie are high on my list as well. Did you think Margaret’s and Kate’s dresses had a great resemblance? I never noticed it till seeing these photos. And I never realized Anne and Zara looked so much alike till seeing that side-by-side!
I just love these posts. I am very much drawn to fashion and its history, but am certainly no expert. I love how you give us the history with all of the royal hoopla, Laura. Thank you!
Thank you Laura…so very interesting and I love the dresses. I am sure there is a typo under SOPHIE RHYS-JONES married to Queen’s youngest son. You said his name was Andrew, when it was actually Edward… which in the next paragraph you corrected. UNLESS Edward was also named Andrew Edward or some such thing of which I know nothing. I bow to your knowledge of such things. Just thought you would want to correct the typo if it is indeed a typo.
I have always loved the story of Wallace Simpson..wish I could learn more. Please tell us much more of what you know about them. Thanks
Kari
Thank goodness for all these great posts. We are in the midst s of Royal Mania! With the Crown on TV and now with Prince Harry’s Wedding we simply cannot get enough! Thank you Laura!
What a lovely read. Such beautiful pictures! We can’t get enough royal wedding coverage! Thanks for sharing!