The Most Iconic Wedding Dresses Ever

The Most Iconic Wedding Dresses Ever

I love weddings, (who does not?), especially the celebrity ones. The gossips, the drama, the high fashion, the back-biting, the bridezilla and her notorious mood shifts and the equally spicy news revolving around them; I find everything about a celebrity wedding enthralling, but for me, the best part about celebrity weddings is the brides’ dresses. Oh! How that glorious white gown melts my heart like butter and wedding dresses are what I am going to talk about today, but not just any wedding dress, but the best of the best, the most iconic wedding dresses ever worn in this century and maybe the one before.

1. Princess Diana:

29th July 1981: Formal portrait of Lady Diana Spencer (1961 - 1997) in her wedding dress designed by David and Elizabeth Emanuel. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images)

This article had to begin with Princess Diana’s wedding dress. Any fashionista worth her salt would have the full knowledge of the trajectory of Lady Di’s fashion life, her wedding being the starting point of that trajectory. Talking about her wedding would be futile as only someone from Mars would not know about it, so let’s get to the dress itself. Her wedding dress was designed by David Emmanuel. It was a silk taffeta gown with a huge skirt, puffy sleeves decorated all over with antique lace, sequins and pearls. The train was twenty–five feet long and it takes my breath away every time I sneak a peek at it. However, I am not a fan of the puffy sleeves and the frilly neckline. Lady Di managed to carry it with grace but I am not sure anyone else could have done that. In spite of that, this dress remains the most talked about wedding dress in the history of mankind.

Princess Diana Wedding Dress

2. Grace Kelly:

Grace Kelly wedding dress

I first came to know of Grace Kelly when I started watching Alfred Hitchcock movies and gradually, I fell in love with her style. I can’t wait for the Nicole Kidman starrer Grace of Monaco, where she portrays the elegant blue-eyed beauty. The daughter of an oarsman falling in love with a prince, Prince Rainier III of Monaco, and getting married to him in a fairy tale wedding; I would love to see that onscreen. The dress she wore for her wedding oozed with this fairy tale aura. MGM Studios’ designer Helen Rose designed this beautiful silk taffeta dress with an embroidered bodice, the semi-sheer full sleeves, the modest high neck and the long, elegant train. She looked like an angel personified.

Grace Kelly wedding

3. Kate Middleton:

Britain's Prince William (L) and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, walk up the aisle after their wedding ceremony in Westminster Abbey, in central London April 29, 2011. Prince William married his fiancee, Kate Middleton, in Westminster Abbey on Friday. (ROYAL WEDDING/SERVICE). REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett (BRITAIN - Tags: ROYALS ENTERTAINMENT SOCIETY)

There has been a speculation that Kate Middleton’s wedding dress was inspired by that of Grace Kelly’s. The high neck, the sheer full sleeves, the lace bodice and the full skirt; the resemblance is spectacular and why shouldn’t it be. Both weddings were similar. Both had two princes falling heads over heals with non royalty and we all sighed and smiled and got all mushy at the sights and sounds of the both of them. Well, I am assuming this for Grace Kelly’s wedding of course. Kate’s dress was designed by Sarah Burton, the creative director of Alexander McQueen, but this was kept a secret until the beginning of the wedding service. The dress was made of ivory and white satin gazar, with a full, pleated skirt to resemble an opening flower.  The corset was a strapless one under a high-necked, long sleeved bodice in intricate lace work.

4. Jacqueline Kennedy:

Jacquelin Kennedy Wedding

This list would have remained incomplete without mentioning Jackie-O. The first American first lady to have sizzled the world with her style and panache, Jackie-O got married in 1953 before Kennedy became the President. Its ironic that I keep calling her Jackie O, the name she was given after her second marriage to Aristotle Onassis when I am talking about her first wedding dress, but for some reason, I can’t seem to be able to shake it off. But enough digressing, her amazing sense of style showed even then. Her dress designed by Ann Lowe, was a full ivory silk taffeta gown with a voluminous skirt which was embroidered to show. The portrait neckline beautifully showed off her elegant long swan-like neck. I am not sure if that kind of embroidery will have takers anymore, but she sure looks elegant in the pictures, giving away a kind of old world charm.

Jacqueline Kennedy wedding dress

5. Elizabeth Taylor:

Elizabeth Taylor Wedding Dress

I have lost my count of how many weddings this troubled diva had had, but first times are always special, so I am going to talk about the dress the then 18 year old wore for her wedding to hotel heir Conrad “Nicky” Hilton. The dress designed by Helen Rose, who also happened to have had designed Grace Kelly’s wedding dress, was a cream-coloured satin, seed pearl encrusted, smattered with “bugle beads,” with a full skirt and cinched waist and modest full sleeves. It took a fifteen member team to complete the intricately designed dress in about three months. Too bad the marriage lasted only about a year. The other seven wedding outfits she wore for her next seven weddings, beautiful as they may have been, were nothing comparable to this one.

6. Audrey Hepburn:

Audrey Hepburn Wedding Dress

How can we leave behind Audrey Hepburn from a list of this kind. Ideally, I would have liked to include the tea –length wedding dress she wore in her movie “Funny Faces,” but since this list deals with the real-life weddings, I am going to save it for a different list and instead focus on what she actually wore at her wedding to Mel Ferrer. She got divorced and married again and then again got divorced, but let’s focus on her first marriage. She wore a white organdie gown by French designer Pierre Balmain, tea-length, high neck, buttoned down bodice and flowy, puffy, airy sleeves. It was chic and modern, just like Audrey herself.

Audrey Hepburn marriage

7. Kate Moss:

Kate Moss wedding

Kate moss wedding dress

Kate Moss got married in 2011 to Jamie Hince. The dress was designed by John Galliano, a close friend. She wanted the dress to be 1920s-esque and Galliano did the same by taking the inspiration from Zelda Fitzgerald, the wife of author F.Scott Fitgerald (one of my favourite authors). The dress had a long opaque bodice that gave way to translucent skirt through which the outline of her legs could be seen. The gown had been meticulously embellished with rhinestone, not very overt but which gave the gown its aura. The gown was not a formal affair but a personal style statement of Kate Moss.

Kate moss wedding gown

8. Yoko Ono:

Yoko Ono Wedding

Yoko Ono married John Lennon in 1969. A traditional wedding was least expected of them but the dress that Yoko wore created waves everywhere in the fashion world. She wore a BB Dakota tiered white crepe mini dress with knee length socks, felt hat and black sunglasses and she paired them with tennis shoes.  Need I say more?

9. Wallis Simpson:

box_49_20110529154052_00029A.jpg

Edward VIII gave up his throne to marry this American divorcee, there had to be something special about her. Apart from sensational speculations about her love life, the one thing that really has managed to stay under the constant glare of the media is the dress she wore for her wedding to Edward. She wore a simple Mainbocher crepe silk dress with a jacket with a demure high neck, long sleeves, buttons in the front; blue in colour (now termed “Wallis Blue”) to match the colour of her eyes. The stark, unadorned dress suit had very clean cuts, non-traditional in every aspect but elegant nonetheless. It is perhaps the most copied and photographed wedding dress of modern times. Me likes this one 🙂

Walis Simpson Wedding Dress

10. Gwen Stefani:

Gwen Stefani wedding dress

Gwen steffani wedding

Gwen Stefani and her British beau exchanged vows in 2002. I, as many others expected a very non-traditional dress if not the service itself, but this “Hollaback Girl” surprised us by choosing a full-length Dior gown. She looked like a Disney princess in her white and pink gown. The pink by Stefani’s standard is traditional enough. The only thing that I did not like about her was the makeup which I found to be bit too jarring, but in spite of it, she looked lovely and the dress that transformed her for her special day deserves a place in the list.

Image Sources:  1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20.

10 Most Beautiful Indian Women
Ever

My 11 Most Worn Statement Necklaces
IMBB Most Fashionable Party Look Contest Entry 9
Most Beautiful Bridal Mehendi Designs
Dior Diorshow Iconic Mascara
The Body Shop Seaweed Iconic Clay Mask
Most Iconic Bags Of All Time
Lakme Eyeconic Kajal
Indian Wedding Golden Blue Eye Makeup Look Tutorial
My Indian Wedding Outfits!
How To Avoid Wedding Makeup Disasters
Christian Wedding Eye Makeup
Sweater Dresses : How to Style a Sweater Dress
Velvet Dresses: Velvet Fashion Trend
Celebrities in Sizzling Red Dresses
How to Choose Dresses for Women with Big Breasts
Best Makeup Brushes Ever (Usage Wise)
Best Makeup Remover Ever! 😀
Make Up For Ever Brush Cleanser
Make Up For Ever Duo Mat Powder Foundation

IMBB RECOMMENDS

24 thoughts on “The Most Iconic Wedding Dresses Ever

  1. wow nice list.among them Lady Diana looks gorgeuous and her daughter law holds the second place.very well written post. *pompom* *pompom*

    1. Thank You Lakshmi! And I agree about what you said about Lady Di. She is gorgeous. *pompom* She could wear a sack and look manage to look good. *happydance*

  2. *jai ho* i guess lot of hard work was poured while writing this article. amazing compilation..i am in love with Kate Middleton z dress.. *drool*

  3. Gwen stefani for that pop of color and princess diana. Noone can ever be as graceful. I did like kate moss quite a bit. Maybe it was the smile that just made her look so pretty.

    When i read the title i first thought it wa about the bollywood actresses. 🙂

    Wonderful compilation as always

    1. Thank you soooo much Aru! *puchhi* And I agree, Princess Di toh is a class apart. *haan ji* No one has ever been as graceful as her. *happydance*

  4. Lovely post *drool* *drool* *drool* all the gowns are sooo beautiful *happydance* *happydance* the best one i liked is gewn stefani … *happydance* *happydance* amazing hint of pink changed the look *hifive* *happy dance* *haan ji* followed by kate moss …. she is sooo beautiful *happydance* *jai ho*

    1. Thank You Saloni! *thankyou* Even I loved the pop of pink in Gwen Stefani’s dress and I couldn’t agree more, Kate Moss is beautiful. *haan ji*

  5. Honestly, I feel Lady Diana’s dress was waaay over the top – but yeah – befitting a Princess. And she was a Princess – in more ways than one.

    These are classics – you could put Lady Di, Audrey Hepburn and Jackie O in sacks and they would still look vivaciously elegant!!

    Lovely post!

  6. LOVED Gwen Stefani’s dress!!! So cool….and Kate Middleton of course.. I followed the whole wedding! 😀 *clap* *woot* *drool*

    Yoko Ono wore sneakers on her wedding? Really?! *nababana*

  7. Really beautiful compilation, literally 🙂 These people make weddings look like something out of a fairy tale….kudos to the event managers too 🙂 I wish you would make such a breath taking compilation of Indian weddings too…..it would be quite a read.

Leave a Reply to Sushmita Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *