The 30 most iconic wedding dresses
Zara Phillips and Mike Tindall, 30 July 2011
K-Mid is a hard act to follow when it comes to Royal Wedding chic but Zara Phillips looked demure and pretty in her ivory silk Stewart Parvin gown. The couturier to both the Queen and Princess Anne certainly knows how to dress Royalty and this is a figure-flattering frock but we can’t help feeling that young Zara looks a little frumpier than her usual svelt self.
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Kate Moss and Jamie Hince, 1 July 2011
Moving on to fashion royalty, Kate Moss stuck by her old friend, designer John Galliano and opted for a beautiful bias cut dress. Keeping hair and make-up soft and pretty turned the rock chick supermodel into a stunning English Rose. And something blue turned out to be the lining in Mossie’s Manolo Blahniks, not Jamie Hince’s YSL suit.
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Bianca and Mick Jagger, 12 May 1971
Bianca Perez Morena de Macias looked fabulous when she married Mick Jagger in St Tropez – though there’s still an ongoing fashion debate over whether her white tuxedo jacket was designed by Yves Saint Laurent or Tommy Nutter. Still. The braless bride certainly knew how to make a midi skirt look sexy.
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Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier lll of Monaco, April 19 1956
Grace Kelly’s style was legendary before she married a prince, but her wedding dress remains one of the most iconic gowns ever created. MGM designer Helen Rose – who worked with the actress on High Society – used antique lace for the bodice and 25 yards of silk taffeta for the skirt. Kelly accesorised with a diamond tiara, simple veil and Cartier wedding ring.
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Kate Middleton and Prince William, 29 April 2011
What can we say that hasn’t been said already? The Duchess of Cambridge managed to eclipse the maid-of-honour’s backside in this stunning gown designed by Sarah Burton at Alexander McQueen. The much-anticipated frock paid tribute to Grace Kelly with its lace bodice, nipped in waist and a full skirt. Definitely a lesson in timeless style.
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Charlene of Monaco, 2 July 2011
Not exactly what we’d call a fairytale wedding when the bride tries to do a runner the week before the nuptials. But on the big day, Charlene Wittstock dazzled the crowds in a magnificent Armani Privé gown. Embellished with thousands of crystals and mother-of-pearl, ahem, teardrops – this gorgeous off-the-shoulder dress apparently took over two thousand hours to make.
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Joan Collins and Peter Holm, 1 December 1985
We’ve lost count of the number of times Joan Collins has been married but our favourite bridal outfit hails from her fabulous Dynasty days. Gotta love Joanie for going all show-stopping diamonds and snow white fur for a winter wedding in Vegas.
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Lady Diana Spencer and Prince Charles, 29 July 1981
Thankfully Kate Middleton only had to wear Diana’s ring. The big fat puffball wedding dress with its 25ft train looks terribly ostentatious and outmoded today. Designers David and Elizabeth Emanuel had a honeymoon period and then, unsurprisingly, went bust.
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Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, 15 March 1964
Hard to talk about celebrity weddings without including the eight-times-married Liz Taylor. For her nuptials with Burton - the only man she married twice - the Hollywood beauty wore flowers in her hair and a primrose chiffon knee-length frock. The marriage didn’t last forever but Taylor’s movie star glamour never dates.
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Lily Allen and Sam Cooper, 11 June 2011
At three-months-pregnant, Lily Allen looked perfectly radiant in a lace gown by French designer Delphine Manivet, Chanel as originally anticipated. Unlike her sister and Lucy In Disguise partner Sarah, who could have just walked off the set of GeordieShore in her cleavage-flashing mini dress – fashion obviously isn’t one of her strong points.
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Wallis Simpson and King Edward Vlll Duke of Windsor, 3 June 1937
Not only did the American divorcee hit the headlines over the Royal abdication, she became a legendary style icon too. The pale blue wedding dress designed by Mainbocher is figure-flatteringly beautiful, the epitome of eternal elegance. Simpson famously wrote, ‘I'm not a beautiful woman, I'm nothing to look at, so the only thing I can do is dress better than anyone else.’
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Priscilla Bealieu and Elvis Presley 1 May 1967
Everyone’s favourite king married Priscilla Bealieu at the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas - and lo a cheesy wedding industry was born. This was the sixties and Priscilla’s big bouffant veil and babydoll-style frock looked just right at the time. Elvis of course, was beyond fabulous, even in a brocade tuxedo.
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Princess Anne and Captain Mark Philips, 14 November 1973
The Queen’s only daughter married a captain and a commoner. For the ceremony, Princess Anne opted for a dress by unknown designer Maureen Baker with a streamlined silhouette, a rather chic high neckline and Gandalf-style sleeves. Unconventional, but we like it.
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Liv Tyler and Royston Langdon, 25 April 2003
Talking of Lord of the Rings, Liv Tyler proves that less is definitely more in a beautifully simple Alexander McQueen empire line frock – we’ll say nothing about Royston Langdon looking like an extra from the film. The couple married twice, once in Barbados and once in New York – sadly, now they’re not married at all.
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Jacqueline Lee Bouvier and John F Kennedy, 12 September 1953
Jacqueline Lee Bouvier wore her grandma’s wedding veil and a pearl necklace and diamond bracelet given to her by John F Kennedy for their wedding in Newport, Rhode Island. It took 50 yards of silk taffeta to make the dress, which was created by Ann Lowe and featured a fitted bodice with a portrait neckline and a full skirt.
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Lee Radziwill and Herb Ross 23 September 1988
Jackie O’s sister is something of a style icon too. Lee Radziwill – a one-time princess who used to hang out with Andy Warhol and the Rolling Stones – still graces the pages of fashion magazines today. Eighties power-dressing hasn’t really stood the test of time but Radziwill picked a soft, feminine suit with a ruffle front jacket and went easy on the shoulder pads.
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Jackie Kennedy and Aristotle Onassis, 21 October 1968
You know the story. Five years after Kennedy’s assassination, Jackie Kennedy married shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis wearing a lace Valentino gown. The former first lady had already achieved fashion VIP status but her transformation into Jackie O created an iconic look that is still hugely influential today.
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Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise, 19 November 2006
It was Armani all the way when the Cruise juggernaut rolled up outside a Medieval Italian castle. Tom in a classic tuxedo, Katie in an off-the-shoulder Swarovski crystal- embellished dress and seven-month-old Suri in a matching ivory silk gown. The couple exchanged Cartier eternity rings during a 20-minute Scientology ceremony. The fireworks came later.
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Princess Margaret and Anthony Armstrong, Jones 6 May 1960
The Queen’s younger sister got hitched to photographer Anthony Armstrong-Jones right at the start of the swinging sixties. The bride wore a beautiful white silk gown with a nipped in bodice and a big bouffant skirt and a sizeable diamond tiara. The first royal wedding to be televised later became the first royal divorce since Henry Vlll.
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Ed Miliband and Justine Thornton, 27 May 2011
After much media criticism, the leader of the opposition and his partner of six years tied the knot this summer. Barrister, Justine Thornton looked gorgeous in a Temperley empire line dress with a flattering v-neck and gold embroidery detail. Ed opted for a British designer too – our only criticism is that his Aquascutum jacket was far too long!
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Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner, 7 November 1951
Hollywood movie star Ava Gardner was a glamour puss with attitude. For her wedding to Sinatra she chose a demure halter neck dress with sheer sleeves, a pearl choker and drop earrings. Both Sinatra and Gardner had been married before and theirs was a tempestuous relationship, that ended in divorce in 1957.
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Frank Sinatra and Mia Farrow, 19 July 1966
Mia Farrow was only 21 when she married Ol’ Blue Eyes but the young starlet radiates ageless style. The cute cropped-jacket-and–dress combo and the elfin haircut wouldn’t look out of place on Emma Watson today.
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Leah Wood and Jack Macdonald, 21 June 2008
And we thought Zara Philips looked frumpy. Leah Woods is borderline Miss Haversham in a Victorian-inspired frock for her wedding at Southwark Cathedral. And no rock and roll gathering is complete without Kate Moss, who outshone the bride in a slinky Chanel floor-length frock and metallic YSLTribute sandals. There’s a moral to that story.
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Linda Eastman and Paul McCartney, 12 March 1969
Beatlemania hadn’t quite bitten the dust when Paul married Linda at Marylebone Registry Office – so the police were on hand to keep tearful Macca fans at bay. The bride opted for pared-down seventies chic in a mustard fitted coat and simple beige dress – totally au courrant, don’t you think?
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Yoko Ono and John Lennon, 20 March 1969
Just over a week later, fellow songwriter John Lennon wed Yoko Ono in Gibralta. This was the era of hippy culture, love peace and laid-back style. Which was obviously not to everyone’s liking: ZsarZsar Gabor later told People magazine that Mr & Mrs Lennon looked like ‘two people going to hold up a bank.’
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Audrey Hepburn and Mel Ferrer, 25 September 1954
Now, we know that an esteemed French couturier plus a global style icon should equal a magnificent wedding gown but Hepburn’s Pierre Balmain dress just doesn’t do it for us. There’s something slightly incongruous about a fifties frock with leg-o-mutton sleeves, topped off with a rose garland – more teenage bridesmaid than best-dressed bride. Sshh… don’t tell the fashion police!
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Raquel Welch and Patrick Curtis, 14 February 1967
For her second wedding to producer Patrick Curtis, Raquel Welch showed off her voluptuous figure in a crochet mini dress. During the ceremony Welch maintained her sex symbol status by adding a white fur coat and elbow-length gloves. Va-va-voom!
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Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale 14 September 2002
Fortunately, Gwen Stefani didn’t wear one of her own L.A.M.B designs when she married Bush frontman, Gavin Rossdale. Choosing instead a fabulous Galliano for Dior gown with a fuchsia dip-dyed skirt. The singer/designer has now very generously donated her wedding dress to the V&A museum.
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Pamela Anderson and Kid Rock, 29 July 2006
We’d like to point out that Pammie did actually wear a figure-hugging vest dress for the actual service - and surprisingly kept it on for a spot of impromptu pole-dancing at the wedding dinner. But we prefer the Baywatch star in a bikini, so here she is at the after-party, on a yacht, in St Tropez. Classy!
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My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding, 2011
As the old adage goes, it’s all a matter of taste. Channel 4’s documentary into ‘the extravagant, surprising world of gypsies and travelers’ revealed a penchant for extreme wedding dresses and the Katie Price-inspired Cinderella coach. One woman’s dream wedding carriage is another woman’s nightmare. Don’t do it.
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