Zara Phillips and Mike Tindall tied the knot in Edinburgh today, and as expected, the bride wore a Stewart Parvin creation. The gown, from one of the Queen's favorite courtiers, was a traditional yet unfussy look for this athletic royal bride.
The ivory dress is made of silk faille and silk duchess satin. Silk tulle sleeves cap a structured corset bodice with an empire waist detail and chevron pleats. The bodice ends with inverted pleats opening into a bell-shaped skirt with a contrasting band at the hemline. The full skirt includes concealed pockets.
On the back of the gown, fabric-covered buttons extend all the way to the hemline. The dress doesn't have much of a train, all the better I suppose since Zara didn't have much assistance exiting the car and entering the church. Underneath it all: Jimmy Choo shoes.
She wore a cathedral-length silk tulle veil that included a voluminous blusher covering her tiara for her entrance. And as it turns out, my tiara dreams came true: she borrowed the Meander Tiara (also known as the Greek Key Tiara and other such variations) from her mother, the Princess Royal. (
See full details on the tiara here.) She also borrowed a pair of her mother's diamond earrings. (Hat tip to @liltinglimes on Twitter for recognizing them from
Anne's famous Vogue cover.)
Zara's hair was done by Evangelos Tsiapkinis from the Michael John salon (which, correct me if I'm wrong here, was the same salon that did
Princess Anne's hair for her wedding way back when), and Bobbi Brown did her makeup. The hair, makeup and tiara are my favorite part. Stunning.
In many ways, this dress reminds me of Zara's
sister-in-law Autumn's wedding gown. It's not particularly unique, nor is it extremely memorable. But it suits the bride, and as with Autumn, the same rule applies: she's glowing and happy, and that overrides everything else.
Zara was accompanied by her maid of honor, Dolly Maude, wearing a dove gray Stewart Parvin gown in duchess satin, and four bridesmaids wearing white dresses from dressmaker Sue Palmer with button closures on the back and sashes with bows. The page boy wore a Balmoral Tartan kilt.
What did you think of Zara's gown?
Photos: Getty Images/Daily Mail/Alan Davidson/Martin Rickett/AP/Reuters/Daylife
