‘Serenely regal’: How Grace Kelly’s wedding dress inspired copies like Kate Middleton's

Grace Kelly, an actress born in Philadelphia, made history when she won the heart of Prince Rainier III of Monaco.

The couple met when the beautiful young actress was invited to his palace in Monte Carlo, while nearby at Cannes Film Festival in 1955.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the meeting of the American blonde and a handsome prince in his palace led to love.

The couple married in April 1956 – watched by 30 million.

Grace Kelly’s wedding dress

This gown is one of the most famous wedding dresses of all time.

Is was designed Helen Rose, a costume designer from MGM, fitting for the movie star bride.

Helen rose was also responsible for creating one of Elizabeth Taylor eight wedding dresses, her first one for her wedding to Conrad Hilton.

The two gowns had much in common. They both featuring fitted bodices and lace necklines. However, Grace’s featured a heavier lace and high neckline with buttons up the font of the bodice. Gathered material wrapped around her petite waist.

Grace chose a Juliet cap with seed pearls and orange blossoms to fix her 90-year veils.

At the time the gown was said to cost $7,266.68. Taking inflation into account this would be around $68,430.49 today, or £55,000.

There have been many copycat dresses throughout the years, inspired by the original fairytale Hollywood royal wedding.

Kate Middleton’s wedding dress had some striking similarities to Grace Kelly’s, including a lace bodice and a v-neck shape.

The Duchess of Sussex’s dress was also made with lace from a French company Solstiss, which also made the lace of Grace’s gown.

However, Kate’s dress cost far, far more than even the most Hollywood bride’s at a whopping £250,000.

Miranda Kerr’s Dior haute couture wedding dress was also inspired by Grace’s.

The Victoria’s Secret model married SnapChat creator Evan Spiegel in 2017.

Grace Kelly’s second gown

The actress wore a second down for her civil ceremony to the price.

It was a pale pink dress with Alençon lace in a cream hue. She accessorised with white gloves and a Juliet cap.

Brides often look at other weddings for inspiration.

Princess Eugenie took wedding inspiration from Meghan Markle. 

By choosing to get married at Windsor Castle, Eugenie made a nod to many members of the Royal Family.

Not only is the location close to where her grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, lives, it was the wedding venue of choice for royals including Sophie, Countess of Wessex and Prince Edward, and Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.

More recently, the Duchess of Sussex married there on 19 May 2018 – just months before Princess Eugenie.

Royal weddings: Meghan, Kate, Eugenie and Diana

Meghan Markle

Who: His Royal Highness Prince Harry and Meghan Markle (now the Duke and Duchess of Sussex)

Where: St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle

When: 19 May 2018, Berkshire

Dress: Meghan wore a dress designed by Clare Waight Keller for Givenchy. The white dress was made of silk and had a boat neckline. The veil was an incredible 16 feet long.

Tiara: The Duchess of Sussex chose the Queen Mary diamond bandeau tiara, made in 1932, with a flower brooch in the middle from 1893.

Cake: The cake was a made by Claire Ptak, based in London. It was lemon and elderflower cake, decorated with peonies and buttercream icing.

Notable guests: A-list guests included James Corden, tennis player Serena Williams, the Beckhams, Sir Elton John, George and Amal Clooney and Carey Mulligan and Marcus Mumford.

Princess Eugenie

Who: Princess Eugenie of York and Jack Brooksbank

Where: St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, Berkshire

When: 12 October 2018

Dress: Eugenie’s dress was made by Peter Pilotto and Christopher de Vos and had a full skirt, long sleeves and was ivory in colour. The dress has a low back designed to show Euegnie’s scar from scoliosis surgery, a cause she has spoken out about in the past and since the wedding.

Tiara: She wore the stunning Greville Emerald Kokoshnik Tiara, lent to her by the Queen. It has a huge emerald in the middle.

Cake: The cake had five tiers and was a red velvet and chocolate cake made by London-based cake designer Sophie Cabot.

Notable guests: Famous faces at the wedding included Robbie Williams, Naomi Campbell, Kate Miss, Jack Whitehall and Liv Tyler.

Kate Middleton

Who: Prince William and Kate Middleton

Where: Westminster Abbey, London

When: 29 April 2011

Dress: Kate wore a dress made by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen. The satin gown featured long lace sleeves. It had a nine foot train and the lace featured roses, daffodils, thistles and shamrocks.

Tiara: Kate borrowed the Cartier Scroll Tiara, now known as the Halo tiara. It was bought by the Queen’s father, the future King George VI, for his wife Elizabeth.

Cake: William and Kate opted for a traditional fruit cake with eight tiers. It was decorated with sugar flowers. William also had an additional chocolate biscuit cake was made from a Royal Family recipe.

Notable guests: Guests included family and friends of the couple, as well as members of the military and people who work with charities the pair support.

Princess Diana

Who: Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer

Where: St Paul’s Cathedral, London

When: 29 July 1981

Dress: Diana’s gown was designed by the Elizabeth and David Emanuel and had an enormous 25-foot train. The dress was ivory and featured lace. In typical 80s style the rather large dress had huge sleeves. The dress was badly creased during the carriage ride to the ceremony, as it was so large.

Cake: Diana and Charles had a number of cakes including a five-foot-tall layered fruitcake. Another cake was made by Belgian pastry chef S. G. Sender and another by Chef Nicholas Lodge.

Notable guests: Guests includes foreign royals from Spain and Greece, as well as First Lady Nancy Reagan who represented the United States.