Few Royal weddings have embraced such a carefully-woven colour theme – but Peter Phillips and his bride Harriet Sperling dispensed with convention and opted for soft hues of yellow, cream and blue throughout.
After all, yellow is the colour of dawn and new beginnings, and as this was the second marriage for both of them, it was a perfect fit. And their guests more than rose to the challenge.
The bride set the tone in romantic white lace by Kate Middleton’s favourite designer, Emilia Wickstead.
Long trusted by the royal set, she also dressed the three teenage bridesmaids, who wore matching cream dresses with neat sleeves, fitted waists and a polished simplicity that felt age-appropriate without being too plain, and set off their bouquets of pale yellow and blue.
The look was classic Wickstead; formal enough for a royal occasion, while still allowing the bride’s lace gown to remain the clear centrepiece.
Princess Beatrice also chose a bold floral frock by the New Zealand-born designer, which she last wore at Ascot two years ago.
Harriet Spelling set the tone in romantic white lace by Kate Middleton’s favourite designer, Emilia Wickstead
The Princess of Wales was immaculate in a cream boucle Roland Mouret dress, which featured a folded collar, belt and buttons, along with a full skirt
Princess Eugenie, pictured arriving at the wedding with husband Jack Brooksbank, sported a pared-back navy outfit that prioritised comfort
Princess Beatrice wore an Alice band and a green and white dress printed dress
With family finances recently laid bare, the repeat wear felt like no accident.
Her sister Eugenie, meanwhile, who is pregnant with her third child, ditched the multicoloured frocks and look-at-me fascinators she and Beatrice wore to Peter’s first wedding in 2008 in favour of a pared-back navy outfit that prioritised comfort.
The Princess of Wales was immaculate in a cream boucle Roland Mouret dress, which featured a folded collar, belt and buttons, along with a full skirt.
Topped with a recycled boater-style Jane Taylor hat, it was polished, appropriate and unmistakably Kate.
Elegant without shouting, and perfectly pitched for a family wedding where she still managed to look every inch the main event.
Meanwhile, mother-of-the-groom Princess Anne, the undisputed queen of wardrobe economy, added sentiment to her canary yellow and floral outfit with a yellow silk hat she wore to daughter Zara’s christening in 1981.
Princess Anne looked radiant in a yellow jacket and shawl draped over a floral gown, which she paired with a silk yellow hat with a bow
Zara Tindall embraced the blue theme in an indigo Rebecca Vallance puff-sleeve frock
Camilla added a burst of sunshine in lemon yellow, choosing a wide-brimmed hat with a co-ordinating dress and coat
The King wore a pin-striped suit and cream waistcoat with a blue shirt and tie
Zara Tindall embraced the blue theme in an indigo Rebecca Vallance puff-sleeve frock, a bright, confident choice from one of her go-to Australian designers, while the Queen, in contrast, added a burst of sunshine in lemon yellow, choosing a wide-brimmed hat with a co-ordinating dress and coat – a cheerful, confident choice that tied neatly into the day’s whispered palette.
The men played their part too. King Charles wore a yellow waistcoat, while Prince William’s waistcoat and tie were blue – matching the groom.
But top hats off, above all, to Kate, whose wedding style is always on point, with restrained resplendence and just enough grandeur.
The same, sadly, cannot be said for Eugenie, whose navy ensemble felt drab rather than discreet, especially accessorised with chunky Fendi heels that only added to the sense that she had played it far too safe.
