Image Credit: Chris Jackson/Getty Images
The countdown to the dress of the century has been relentless — which designer will Kate Middleton pick for her wedding day, what will it look like, will it bring about world peace? And when Kate, or HRH Duchess of Cambridge as she will now be known, stepped out of the car and into Westminster Abbey, she did not disappoint. With a delicate lace overlay, the gown looked perfectly classic — even, dare we say, fairytale — but the fitted bodice kept it contemporary and out of Disney territory. I wouldn’t have thought something with sleeves (?!) could feel so modern, but leave it to the creative head of Alexander McQueen, Sarah Burton, to knock it out of the park. (Or, as EW’s unofficial Royals editor Kristen Baldwin more succinctly put it, “Most perfect wedding dress ever.”)
How did you feel about the dress, PopWatchers? Do you agree that it’s one for the ages?
Read more:
The Royal Wedding: We’re live-blogging it!
The Royal Wedding: Will you get up to watch it?
Royal Wedding poll: Whose commentary are you most looking forward to?
I thought the dress was the most perfect. Much more classic than I thought it would be, but still very modern in keeping with Kate’s style. The sweetheart neckline under the delicate lace really sets it off.
Classic beauty and elegance! Grace Kelly could have worn that dress! Gorgeous!
Grace Kelly was the first thing I though of! Love it.
I’m pretty sure Grace Kelly *did* wear that dress. Which is my only complaint– it’s beautiful, no argument, but I feel like I’ve seen lots of other brides wear it before.
The lines of the dress actually remind me of Julie Andrews’ in “The Sound Of Music.” Different material, same cut.
I’m still a HUGE fan of Ivanka Trump’s gown. Timeless, elegant, just truly amazing. I would put this dress second to Ivanka’s.
Its a knock off of Grace Kelly’s dress. Just with lighter lace and plunging neckline. Other than that the same dress.
it also looks like elizabeth taylor’s gown when she wed mike todd.
“The Truth” obviously has no idea what a plunging neckline is.
Grace Kelly’s had a very high-cut neckline–at her throat. Kate’s is clearly much lower, both in terms of the solid bodice and the v-neck in the lace. I’m sure that’s what The Truth meant, and he/she was correct.
Fashion Nerds Ahhhhhhhhh!
I am a manly man so fashion terms escape me. Zoe nailed my thoughts, I think, in proper terms.
Her dress also reminded me of Marie’s gown (Julie Andrews) in ‘The Sound of Music’. Almost identical veil too.
Kate was Stunning!
Absolutely stunning.
Nothing beats Vera Wang and Oscar de la Renta dress!!!!
It’s a Mexican Communion dress, for crying out loud!
Yes, loved it. She looked beautiful and regal, and most of all, happy!
Mediocre..just like the UK fashion n culture.
Her sister’s bridesmaids dress was smokin’ hot.
Agree! That dress was hott! She looked sleek and sexy. Love that dress.
OMG I agree, I just wrote that on another board somewhere!
much prefer sister’s dress
Agree! Pippa looked amazing! Kate is such an elegant lady and she deserved an elegantly made dress, this dress didn’t do her justice!
I agree the most perfect dress ever. She was stunning
Her brother was awesome with his reading in Westminster Abbey.
Ugh. Hated the dress. TERRIBLE! Now her sister’s dress on the other hand…..HOTT!
@redwing – you must be a guy. Kate’s dress was classic, classy and regal…perfect for her station in life. Pippa looked beautiful, but that dress was not appropriate for the bride of the future Queen of England.
Go Wings!!
I’m not a guy and I thought the dress was boring. I was disappointed. I wanted more oomph.
I’m not a guy and I didn’t like it either. I don’t think the bottom flattered her figure and it was just kind of blah.
The dress was boring. On the other hand I think it was well calculated – she is SOOOOO middle class, she imply would not pull off anything more edgy. P.S. Make up was unsuitable for the occasion- these black lined eyes on the bride??? Brrrrrrr
were the long sleeves a requirement? i know that tradition states women wear long sleeves inside churches
she rocked them either way, i should add
Tracy, I so agree with you. Boring ho-hum. No oomph. Very so what. No rhinestones, no pizzaz. All that buildup and what a letdown. There’s apparently handmade lace on the gown and you couldn’t even see it! I was just happy it wasn’t sleeveless, sick of sleeveless.
@Sara – You may have wanted more pizzaz, but honestly, rhinestones?! She didn’t need rhinestones, she’s wearing a diamond tiara that belongs to the Queen and one day she’ll be able to wear all those sparkly and very real Crown Jewels! This dress is perfect over all – grandmothers will find it tastefull and elegant, young women will find it beautiful, and little girls still get that touch of fairy-tale. It’s not supossed to have bling or pizzaz… it’s supossed to show us the type of queen Kate will be – elegant, demure, lovely, and modern.
While the dress was beautiful it did seem a bit chaste in my opinion. I’m not a real big fan of lace. She did make a stunning bride though, very poised and regal.
You must cover your shoulders for a wedding in Westminster Abbey.
“Kate Middleton’s dress: Most perfect wedding gown ever?”
- -
B+
Boring..just like the British food. Insipid, plain and tasteless.
Only if you’re eating grandmas food – modern British food is pretty great. I’d like some curry takeout right now!
Perfect dress! At last, a modest dress that doesn’t leave the bride partially naked (i.e., shoulders and arms bare). Most appropriate for a church wedding. Good taste verus trying to be provocative.
I loved the dress also, except did anyone not notice that her breast looked really odd? Something about the dress was made at the breast area just did not look right, but other than that it was a beautiful dress.
I thought it made her look like she was 40. Too much lace. I’m really surprised we didnt see something more extravagant, on the scale of Di’s long dress. This dress and wedding seemed very conservative and boring.
AGREE!! Elegant and Royal. LOVED!!
Am I famous now? You wrote about me and put it on your blog! Haha!! What kind of cake was it that I got to eat? I saw a mshoroum in our front yard during the summer. I wonder if I should have asked it for some cake.
It is like the couple themselves – boring, contributing nothing, getting a lot of attention for no good reason.
spoken like a true american who really should keep out of commonwealth business…
Hey don’t lump all of us Americans together! My mother and i were up at 3 to watch all of the coverage and giggle and squeal like schoolgirls over how happy we are for Kate and Will!!!! Not all Americans are as*holes like “uh.”
While a large number of Americans have been excited and supportive of the Royal Wedding.”uh” and “mb”, you can’t just let one day go by without being rude and attempting to put someone or something down? Don’t rain on our parade! It’s The Wedding Day! Can’t we all just be happy, just for one minute?
LOSERS
Give me an effing break.
How’s that whole “British Empire” thing working out for you?
Heather, I had a little old menno lady named Mary sew my dress too! Did she live in E.K? I paid $250 for the faribc and $100 for her time! She did a great job on your dress
I’m guessing your dirt poor and/or dead jealous.
I’m with you, uh. All this fawning over a bunch of boring dullards makes me want to throw tea off a ship.
and you live your life making snarky comments on internet message boards. You are sure showing them!
How incredibly hilarious of you all. It’s SOOOO dull and boring that you have to not only read the E! Article, but then proceed to comment on the message boards. * insert eye roll here *
It’s hard to avoid the stupid thing (and I didn’t read the article, just scrolled down a few comments). We fought a war 235 years ago so that I wouldn’t have to care. If you care, fine. Enjoy your little fairy tale. A lot of us think it’s quite silly that our media are so caught up in this and other diversions that they can’t report on real news any more.
Real news? You’re on entertainment weekly. What hard-hitting real news do you expect to see here?
Gotta agree with sis…..what is the big deal?? BORING!!!!
@Lisa Simpson – your cartoon ship is waiting for you!
@Laura – I know this is an entertainment site. Unfortunately, the regular news sites, which is what I was referring to, are all looking very similar to EW.com.
And thanks, Bart.
actually, we went to war for something much more important than your right not to care about Kate Middleton’s wedding dress. might want to re-read that declaration of independence.
@Lisa Simpson – wow, so unless the TV/web news is 100% disaster, war, sorrow, crisis, poverty, budget crisis, environmental crisis and terror all day long every day you won’t be satisfied?
How often does this happen anyway? Isn’t this only the second time in history that a wedding has taken over TV? So 1 out of every 10,000 or so days having the news cover something joyous and fairy tale all day long really kills you?
And it’s not like it isn’t part of history either is it?
And I believe me I do plenty of environmental and serious work so I’m not at all mocking that.
Can’t you let go for a single day? Pretty sad life then no?
Not to mention I bet some of the dullards have done more through charity and work to help people than you ever have. What pray tell have you done? Also one of the dullards current jobs is search and rescue.
Stop being such a hipster doofus faux intellectual.
And best comment goes to Steph!! Jajahhaha!!
Actually William & his brother for that matter do a lot for charity. If you knew anything about them -watched any interviews, looked into anything about them you would know they are definitely not useless.
And both William and Harry are highly trained military men – Harry actually having served in Afghanistan.
You don’t see many of our officials, or their children, having done that, even though they continue to send young people to war. Harry even wants to go back to Afghanistan, and William will continue to serve as a pilot. Speaks highly of them.
Good points, Leslie. I recall that Harry had to be pulled prematurely from Afghanistan when his position was revealed (for fear that targeted terrorism could endanger his unit) and was highly ticked off about having to leave.
UH: Yours sounds like a comment Prince William and Princess Catherines exes might say out of jealousy.
It is truely noble to be a Royal who chooses their words carefully, shares their thoughts discreetly, cares openly & whose courage to face internet storms does not waver. A true insperation to those who strive to be so noble.
Queen Elizabeth is in her 80′s — Prince Philip is 90 — and they worked over 330 days last year — more than any elected politicians I can think of.
Prince William not only has trained and enlisted in all 3 branches of the armed forces, he also performed over 300 engagements representing his country and charities. Again, compared to our elected representatives (NONE of whom have sent their children to war), the Royal Family more than earn their keep.
well said!
Really? Earn their keep? Their perform millions and millions of dollars worth of service. You had me agreeing with you, until that comment. Keep it real, please. The Royals perform many duties for the Empire, and they’re good for tourism, but earn their keep? Hmmm…
One of the factoids I picked up this morning (I hadn’t planned to watch, but I couldn’t sleep) was that the royal family costs the average Briton about 67 pence a year. That’s, what, about one US dollar? I’d say they earn their keep.
You don’t live in a Commonwealth country, do you?
Good point!
Yeah, and for less than a buck a year, the British royals DO great, respectable, admirable things. We currently are employing a huge number of politicians that seem to be quite intent on destroying their own nation – or focing us back to the old Bristish ways of lords and serfs. I’ll take the royalty, thanks.
- Lovely images. The sujebct and her dress are actually a wonderful fit. Great job on the posing, use of available lighting and keeping her having fun.New Braunfels is a great place, I have only been there once and one of the locals showed me around to the area of Gruene.
Simply beautiful. There are no other words for it.
I agree. And I don’t get the disdain for sleeves and the surprise that they worked here – I personally hate the overdone trend of strapless wedding dresses. It always pinches around the underarms and makes that extra bit of flesh stick out there, even on women who are skinny. I kind of think sleeves are more appropriate for a church anyway, and because they’re so unusual it adds something unique and special to the dress. I love everything about this dress. It’s gorgeous. (And the sleeves were perfect!)
I agree, Kat. No one has any sense of reverence for the church part of church weddings anymore. If you aren’t married in a church, wear the sexiest gown you can find, but if you are, a certain amount of decorum is in order. It’s about respect.
Lovely dress. I agree about the sleeves! More brides should consider sleeves for the reasons Kat mentioned: the flesh sticking out under the arms or back.
I agree – the sleeves are gorgeous. And Kate had to wear sleeves for the wedding in Westminster Abbey – not the type of place, or occasion, where you have bare shoulders.
I hope that Kate’s dress upsets the “strapless wedding dress” trend. Even on skinny girls, a strapless dress is not a) serious enough (says “glorified sundress”) nor elegant enough (again, it says “glorified sundress”) as a wedding dress. Maybe I am wrong, but I think that, 20 years from now, one million women are going exclaim, “WHAT were we THINKING?”
It was lovely. She couldn’t do much with the dress because of where they were married but the back of the dress…I so want that if I ever get married.
Ha! the back is the part I didn’t like! It had one of those giant butt bows. I hate those!
It was more than the bow. It was like architecture back there. I loved it!
I agree. The whole dress was absolutely lovely.
Why is she a Duchess and not a princess?
because Camilla Parker Cowface is Princess of Wales
NO, it’s Camilla Gorilla.
Gorilla, Camilla Gorilla for sale.
Camilla is the same as Kate. She’s Duchess.
Oh damn it…you’re right.
Camilla isn’t a princess. She’s a duchess because she’s Charles second wife…
Camilla is Duchess of Cornwall.
Too funny!
Camilla’s title is Duchess. She’s is a princess though because she’s married to a prince.
As for the dress, I really like it. There wasn’t much she could do, though, to come up with something worse than that monstrosity Diana wore at her wedding.
Camilla chooses to go by her rightful title of Dutchess to save confusion with Princess Diana… or to not infuriate people who thought that homewrecker should not be allowed to marry into the Royal family. Still, she is completely entitled to the title of Princess of Wales, but chooses not to use it
i think Camilla can’t ever be Queen (officially) because she is divorced. i don’t know if the same goes for princess. if Charles had taken someone as his second wife who had either never been married before or was widowed, she could have been Queen. this is why Elizabeth I’s father became king – his brother abdicated the throne because he wanted to marry a divorced american socialite and he didn’t approve of the fact that she could never be “Queen.”
She doesn’t have a royal background so she never had a title of her own originally. Only those born with a title can be called princess.
I just double checked.
Edit: She’s is a princess by marriage, but only those born with a title can use Princess as a surname.
On the news, they called her Duchess of Cambridge as well as Princess William of Wales. I heard somewhere that William “fought” to have Kate receive the title even though she wasn’t of royal lineage. So she is considered a princess by title.
She can’t be called princess because she wasn’t born a princess. She’s not Princes of Wales until Charles becomes King since that is a title for the direct heir to the throne. So for now, Princess is NOT one of her titles and she cannot be called such.
William was given the title of Duke of Cambridge as a wedding present from his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth. For official purproses Will and Kate will be called The Duke and Duchess of Cambridbge. Upon the Queen’s death Charles would inherit the throne and Will would then inherit his father’s title and Kate would then be able to use the title of Princess. Since she doesn’t have any royal roots she can’t offically use the title of Princess. He also recieved a couple of other titles, but I can’t remember what they were.
Honestly, I wonder if and when the Queen dies if Charles will ever take the Throne, or if it will skip to William. Charles is no spring chicken himself, and watching Camilla walk was painful for me. She had issues going up and down the stairs at Westminster Abbey.
No, that’s wrong. She is Princess William of Wales now, as well as Duchess and whatever other titles he was granted today. If William becomes Prince of Wales – and it’s not a given inheritance, the monarch chooses to bestow the title or not – she becomes Princess of Wales – but she’ll never be “Princess Catherine”, just like Diana was never “Princess Diana”.
From what I’ve heard and read, you don’t just “skip” the heir to the throne. Charles would have to officially abdicate, which probably requires another act of abdication from Parliament.
No Shell, you’re wrong. She is NOT Princess anything right now. She is HRH Duchess of Cambridge.
Actually it is in respect of William’s mother, Diana. Diana entered the church as a commoner and exited the church as a Princess.
I don’t think Diana was a commoner – her brother is an earl. But i think you’re right about the respect part; Diana was known as the ‘Princess of Wales’
No, Diana was NOT a commoner. She was Lady Diana Spencer, and her brother is an Earl. The Spencers have a long lineage – google it. I did – it’s quite interesting.
Diana was NOT a commoner. That’s why this wedding was such a historical event – the first time a commoner was married to a royal in 350 years!
@gem: What about Wallis Simpson? She was a commoner- a socialite!- who married Prince Edward.
Boy, a lot of misinformation on here. I’m no expert, but I know that Camilla IS Princess of Wales as well as a Duchess, but she chooses to use the Duchess title because the Wales title is associated with Diana. Kate is actually Princess William as well as a Duchess. She can’t be Princess Catherine because she married into it – she wasn’t born into it.
Great explanation! Thanks.
This is correct. Kate is technically “Princess William of Wales”. Of course, people will still call her Princess Kate. I read yesterday that the Queen could have officially made her Princess Catherine of Wales, but that is rarely, if ever, done.
Given the history of divorce in that family, the queen probably was smart not to bestow the princess title – I don’t think that can be taken back…
BBC gave quite a detailed explanation about how she is NOT a princess, cannot be called a princess, etc.
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She is a princess but they were both given other title by the Queen: Duke & Duchess of Cambridge in England and she’s also a Baroness and Countess for Ireland and Spain (not sure which is for which country).
Scotland, not Spain. She is now Duchess of Cambridge (England), Countess of Strathearn (Scotland), and Baroness Carrickfergus (Northern Ireland).
Because only the children of the sovereign are actually Prince or Princess. Any other use of the term is entirely honorary. Technically, even Princess Diana was not actually a princess even through she was married to the Prince of Wales. The wife of a prince is called by one of his other titles: Duchess of Cornwall, Duchess of Cambridge, Duchess of York, etc.
Poor William- no one is looking at you!
I believe there was more of a Princess Margaret influance than Princess Grace. From the neckline to the not too full skirt, the gown seems to follow the lines of Margarets iconic wedding gown
You’re right, Winston. I had forgotten about Margaret’s dress, and it is quite similar to Kate’s. Gorgeous.
I found the dress really boring and plain. They lace was just a little too much.. it looked just like an ordinary wedding dress/gown but it has a longer tail and it was someone famous who was wearing it..
No, not really. Look at the detail on that gown. It took a team of people to make that and it is NOT an ordinary dress at all. Certainly not a dress you or I could afford or wear!
the lace on the sleeves was HAND CUT and hand applied to the tulle of the sleeves. That is NOT just any dress. It’s absolutely stunning.
You think the dress was too plain but the lace was too much. That’s sounds a bit contradictory.
Funny, I was just thinking about this as I read this morinng. From Jean Vanier: To be free is to put justice, truth, and service to others over and above our own personal gain or our need for recognition, power, honour, and success. Sometimes it feels harder to do this for the ones we’re closest to, like our spouses I wonder if this is because they know us much more intimately than anyone else? Great post, girl. Love your thoughts, as always. XO
The ultimate dress doesn’t exist, every bride is different. But if you have Kate’s slender figure this dress is fantastic. She looked absolutely stunning. By the way, his sister Pippa also.
Exactly, it looks great on Kate but I don’t expect this to become the new trend because it wouldn’t complement all body types. I think Pippa’s dress may be more frequently imitated here in the States.
Ha, I was thinking that Kate’s dress would work on way more body types than Pippa’s!
she looked AMAZING! I’m fairly sure that was a McQueen dress, too…
Pippa is Kate’s sister, not “his.” He has two female first cousins but no sister.
Lovely, and a good choice, but not “new”– it owes a great deal to Grace Kelly’s wedding dress
It would be interesting to know if the designer used Grace Kelly’s gown as an influence since she, too, was a commoner who married into royalty. It’s a nice analogy and the gowns have similar look, even though there are major differences. Really disliked Grace’s headpiece – thought. Kate’s simple veil was so elegant. Beautiful!
I think it was absolutely perfect. What a beautiful ceremony. Even the most cynical of people should have a hard time not feeling something after watching that. Such a GORGEOUS bride!
Love everything about the dress, it is stunning and classic. Not so much the flowers though, dare I say the bouquet looks… cheap? I would have liked to see more drama with the flowers.
Have to agree with you on that. I loved Diana’s huge bouquet. But I was glad to see that her flowers were in a holder, not with the stems showing, which seems to be the current craze.
I have a feeling she’s following Victorian tradition with regards to the flowers. Each flower in her bouquet (if it is made up of different flowers) probably has meaning. The way the Abbey was decorated (with the maple trees) would suggest this.
I agree… didn’t care for the flowers. They looked sad and limp.
Sweet William means gallantry, lily-of-the-valley means return of happiness, hyacinth symbolises constancy of love, while myrtle is the emblem of marriage and love.
It’s tradition in royal weddings for the bouquet to contain a sprig of myrtle from the original myrtle bush planted by Queen Victoria at Osborne House, Isle of Wight in 1845. Kate’s bouquet also contains a sprig of myrtle grown from a plant grown from the Queen’s wedding bouquet in 1947.
Apparently, one of the flowers she had in her bouquet was ‘sweet william’ in honor of her groom.
It looked very similar to Grace Kelly’s Royal Wedding Dress.
beautiful dress…in fact had to call my Mom…looked just like her dress from 1954
Yes, it looked like my Mom’s dress too, from 1959! Kate went very retro classic. Grace Kelly got married in the 50s too.
@Linda, I thought the same thing as it resmbled my mom’s dress form 1949. It was so elegant and classy. She looked beautiful and when William leaned over at the cermeony telling her how beautiful she looked was priceless..
I thought the dress was beautiful and Kate look beautiful today.