Zara Tindall's satin bridesmaid mini dresses broke the royal mould

Publish date: 2024-05-26

Princess Anne's daughter's bridesmaids included her half-sister Stephanie

Zara Tindall (née Phillips) found the perfect balance between following royal protocol and adding her own rebellious details to her wedding day with Mike Tindall in 2011.

Not only did she ditch traditional nude nail polish when it came to her hidden pedicure, which acted as her 'something blue', but she also chose surprising bridesmaid dresses for her maid of honour, Dolly Maude.

WATCH: Zara and Mike Tindall look loved-up as they emerge as husband and wife following wedding ceremony

The horse trainer – whose son also acted as a page boy – was pictured standing in the sunshine outside Canongate Kirk in Edinburgh on 30 July 2011 following Mike and Zara's wedding ceremony. Dolly looked beautiful in an off-white mini dress with capped sleeves, a fitted waist and a pencil skirt that fell to her knees.

It was very different from the floor-length gowns other royal ladies chose for their bridal parties. For example, Princess Kate's maid of honour Pippa Middleton rocked a white floor-length gown to her sister's big day and Zara wore a green strapless bridesmaid frock at her brother Peter and sister-in-law Autumn Phillips' nuptials.

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Dolly added white heels and a silver bracelet and wore her dark hair in an elegant updo adorned with white flowers. She was pictured alongside the other bridesmaids including Zara's half-sister Stephanie Phillips – Captain Mark Phillips and his second wife Sandy Pflueger's daughter – who wore A-line versions of the knee-length dresses by local dressmaker Sue Palmer paired with white ballet shoes.

Meanwhile, the bride was a vision in an ivory silk dress fashioned by designer Stewart Parvin, one of her grandmother Queen Elizabeth’s favourite couturiers. 

She added a precious Greek tiara that belongs to her mother, Princess Anne, which acted as her 'something borrowed.' It consisted of a brilliant-cut diamond surrounded by a glittering wreath and was gifted to Queen Elizabeth II by Prince Philip's mother Alice – and the late Queen subsequently passed it on to her daughter, Princess Anne.

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