00:00 Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh sent royal fans into a frenzy when she stepped out in
00:05 a beautiful wedding gown to marry Prince Edward more than two decades ago.
00:10 The wedding took place in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle in a silk organza Samantha
00:15 Shaw wedding dress on June 19, 1999.
00:19 The elegant garment Sophie wore on her special day featured a v-neck coat dress made of ivory
00:24 silk organza with crepe and tulle.
00:27 The now Duchess of Edinburgh paired her special gown with a diamond tiara from the late Queen's
00:32 private collection.
00:33 It consisted of three openwork scroll motifs and was believed to be designed by David Thomas
00:39 at Esprit and Garrard, although this was never officially confirmed.
00:43 The royal wore a black and white pearl cross necklace to accompany her look with matching
00:48 pearl earrings that were given to her by Prince Edward for the wedding.
00:52 The actual jewellery pieces were designed by Edward and made by Esprit and Garrard.
00:58 Sophie's wedding shoes were made of silk crepe by Gina.
01:01 But one of the most striking features of the bridal look was the amount of delicately sewn
01:05 embellishments on it.
01:07 The Duchess's gown featured rows of pearls and crystals beading around the neck, sleeves
01:12 and train, with further beading down the back and front of it.
01:16 It was announced that there were 325,000 pearl beads and crystals hand-sewn onto the fabric
01:22 to give it a discreet luster.
01:24 The sleek ensemble actually concealed an evening gown underneath according to the designer
01:29 herself.
01:30 Samantha Keswick, an A-tilde copyrightee Shaw, recalled working with Sophie and said it was
01:36 a day she would forever hold very dear.
01:39 But she also revealed that the royal's coat dress actually concealed an evening gown underneath.
01:44 She told Tattler, "There was an evening dress under the coat dress, which was to remain
01:49 super private for the evening dinner, and I had to get the fabric perfectly dyed to
01:54 colour match the beautiful stone of St George's Chapel."
01:57 As for the bouquet, the royal opted for the most popular flowers used by brides for their
02:03 big day during that time.
02:05 The bouquet featured roses, calla lilies, Stephanotis, Lily of the Valley and Freesia
02:10 and Sophie kept a portion of it, one of the few royal wedding bouquets known to have been
02:15 kept.
02:16 The general and countess of Wessex had a modest wedding ceremony, despite their wedding attracting
02:22 200 million spectators.
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