The world has been dazzled by famous royal weddings and gowns in the past, needless to say. Kate Middletown, or by her title Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, married Prince Harry’s brother, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, in 2011, wearing a wedding dress estimated to cost $340,000. Her dress echoed the 1950s and was made of satin gazar, lace, and organza. The bride also had a bit of blue ribbon sewn in the inside of her dress. She made a beautiful impression on the world that day in Westminster Abbey.
Not to mention those other beautiful weddings of the past, such as the one of Princess Diana, who became a royal bride on July 29, 1981. All puffy and multilayered with silk taffeta, Princess Diana’s gown was an echo of her day. The dress was all about the 1980s.
And decades before either Kate Middleton or Princess Diana married a royal, it was Grace Kelly who wed another member of a royal family, but in her case, it was Prince Rainier III of Monaco. With a gown gifted to her by MGM and designed by Helen Rose, the iconic American actress and Academy Award winner looked magnificent on her special day in 1956. The dress reportedly broke down into 10 parts and made use of some 400 yards of fabric. Fantastic!
So, let’s take a look at some other gorgeous wedding gowns that had their moment in history.
Ingrid Bergman in an elegant and modern dress
Ingrid Bergman with her first husband, Dr. Petter Lindstrom, at their 1937 wedding. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Audrey Hepburn looked stunning on her wedding day
Audrey Hepburn and Mel Ferrer on their 1954 wedding day. Dress designed by Balmain. (Photo by Ernst Haas/Ernst Haas/Getty Images)
American royalty: Jacqueline Kennedy on her wedding day
Then a senator, John F. Kennedy married Jacqueline Bouvier on September 12, 1953
Queen Victoria helped popularize white wedding dresses
Engraving of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert as they returned from their marriage service at St James’s Palace, London, February 10, 1840
Only the face of Princess Alexandra of Denmark revealed
Princess Alexandra of Denmark in her wedding dress, 1863
A wedding gown made of silk faille lined with cambric
Two-piece white wedding dress from 1891, made of silk faille lined with cambric, here exhibited at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art
And screaming for more Victorian
Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll, one of the daughters born to Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, here shown in her wedding gown, in 1871
In the spirit of the 1960s, a mini-skirt wedding dress
A bride in a mini-skirt in 1968, Photo: Emily Walker – Flickr photo, CC BY-SA 2.0
Marilyn Monroe marrying her third husband
Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller on their wedding day in Westchester County, June 29, 1956
Eleanor Roosevelt sported quite a lavish gown
Eleanor Roosevelt in her wedding dress, January 1905 – FDR Presidential Library and Museum – Springwood Estate – Hyde Park NY, Courtesy: Tim Evanson, CC BY-SA 2.0
Another daughter of Queen Victoria on her special day
Princess Helena in her wedding dress on July 5, 1866. She was the third daughter born to Queen Victoria and Prince Albert
Bountiful in silk, a wedding gown from the late 19th century
A two-piece wedding dress made of silk chiffon, dated to 1894. Exhibited at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art
The wedding day of Queen Victoria’s eldest daughter
From left to right: Queen Victoria; Albert, the Prince Consort; and Victoria, Princess Royal. The occasion was the wedding day in 1858 of the Princess Royal, the eldest of all daughters born to Queen Victoria
Princess Mary of Teck with her husband at their royal wedding
Wedding of Princess Mary of Teck (future Queen Mary) with Prince George, Duke of York (future King George V), 1893
Quite an opulent wedding dress
Actress and Queen consort of Iran, Shahbanu Soraya, on her wedding day with Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, 1951
Sharp and stunning, a wedding dress of the Spanish royal family
A wedding gown favored by Queen Letizia and designed by Manuel Pertegez. Here displayed at The Museum of Palace Life in the Royal Palace of Aranjuez. The museum houses several ceremony dresses and uniforms used by the members of the Spanish royal family, Photo: Dan, CC BY-SA 2.0
Oh, the 1700s, it must have been thrice bigger than the bride
The wedding dress of Sophia Magdalena of Denmark, who was Queen of Sweden when she married King Gustav III in 1766. Her dress here exhibited at the Royal Armoury in Sweden,
