Inside Peter Phillips’ Wedding: Rain, Romance and Royal-Designer Elegance
A close look at the key moments and standout style from the royal wedding day.
Peter Phillips married nurse Harriet Sperling at All Saints Church in Kemble this weekend, where the bride was living when their romance began, in a quintessentially British wedding attended by royal guests and marked by elegant style, high spirits, and just enough rain to bring out the umbrellas.
Now that the weekend is over and the excitement has settled, we’re here at The Royalist to focus on what really matters at a royal wedding: the fashion.
Starting with the bride, she wore a custom Emilia Wickstead design, featuring a clean square-neck column silhouette beneath a finely detailed lace over-jacket, nipped in at the waist, finished with a dramatic three-meter train inspired by a 19th-century silhouette.
“We aligned on something authentic, traditional and modern,” Wickstead told British Vogue, adding that the dress took months to design and hundreds of hours of handcrafting to complete.
Some details on the ivory crepe-coloured gown were a nod to the bride and groom’s childhood home of Gloucestershire, with lace detailing on the gown and veil referencing wildflowers native to the county.
As for the finishing touches, Sperling wore Jimmy Choo heels, along with a tiara and earrings by Pragnell, a family-run jeweler that also designed her engagement ring. InStyle noted that the choice of tiara was somewhat unexpected, given that Queen Camilla wore a white hat rather than a tiara when she married King Charles in 2005, as it was her second marriage. It was also a second marriage for both Phillips and Sperling, with their daughters from previous marriages, Georgina, Isla, and Savannah, serving as bridesmaids in matching high-neck ivory dresses.
Phillips opted for a classic traditional royal wedding uniform for men, wearing a black tailcoat and striped formal trousers, with a more distinctive touch in the form of a checkered tie.
His mother, Princess Anne, appeared to have chosen her outfit with careful thought, re-wearing a hat she first wore 45 years ago at her daughter Zara Tindall’s christening in 1981, a meaningful nod to another significant family milestone. She wore the historic hat with an apricot jacket and a cerise floral skirt, updating the look with a different color combination from the strawberry-print dress she originally paired it with years ago.
Zara Tindall was unable to revisit her christening outfit for her brother’s wedding, so instead she wore a lavender midi dress by Rebecca Vallance with puffed sleeves, paired with a matching headband. She was joined by her husband, former England rugby player Mike Tindall, and their three children, and completed the look with silver-toned heels for a subtle contrast.
One of the most notable and widely discussed looks of the day came from Catherine, Princess of Wales. As the bride wore one of the Princess’s favorite designers, she opted for a blush-toned, knee-length Roland Mouret dress with structured detailing, including a drop-waist pleat and a buttoned, notched collar.
She completed the ensemble with Kiki McDonough’s double-drop earrings, a Jane Taylor hat, and Gianvito Rossi court shoes, all in a coordinated soft palette. A sentimental finishing touch came in the form of a Nigel Milne Birthright three-strand pearl bracelet, which Vogue noted had previously belonged to Princess Diana.
Catherine’s mother-in-law, Queen Camilla, attended the wedding in a cream dress with a yellow-brimmed hat, carrying a Dior handbag. King Charles III wore a traditional royal wedding suit, and he was seen wearing a Royal Artillery tie pin in tribute to Ciara Sullivan, who tragically died following a fall from her horse at the Royal Windsor Horse Show last month.
The pin was a deliberate gesture of remembrance as the King and Queen departed before the wedding reception for royal duties, flying by helicopter to Derby Day at Epsom Downs Racecourse in their wedding-day outfits.
Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie were among the most closely watched guests ahead of the wedding, with speculation over whether they would attend dominating coverage in the days leading up to the wedding. Their names also dominated the headlines on Friday after reports surfaced about their living arrangements and claims that they had never paid rent.
