The wedding dress is perhaps the most iconic fashion ensemble in a person’s life, especially for royalty, when their wedding is not just a day of marriage but also a significant event that the whole world watches. Therefore, similar to investing in wedding venues, wedding dresses are also given special attention. To this day, the most expensive wedding dress ever recorded is the wedding dress of Queen Letizia of the Spanish royal family. The wedding dress design uses real gold and is estimated to be worth up to $8 million.
In 2004, Letizia and Felipe VI held their wedding. The bride wore a white dress with embroidered gold details. The wedding dress features a 4cm high neckline, with a simple and uncomplicated style. The value of the dress is considered the highest up to the present time.
Princess Sarah Salleh of Brunei wore a traditional green floral wedding dress for her wedding to the country’s prince. In 2004, their wedding became the event of the year. The wedding dress is not white like in Europe, the bride wore a traditional dress in green and yellow, with a shawl adorned with precious stones, diamond-studded shoes, and a wedding bouquet made of gold and diamonds. Although the exact value is unknown, it is estimated to be a significant part of the total value of $3.7 million for the wedding.
The wedding dress of Princess Marie-Chantal Miller with the Crown Prince of Greece in 1995 is considered one of the most magnificent dresses. Designed by Valentino from Italy, it is worth $225,000 and features a 4-meter-long royal butterfly embroidered veil. The dress has a simple silhouette and is not overly puffy, emphasizing the beauty of the veil.
Duchess Kate’s wedding to the Prince of England in 2012 featured her dress, which is considered the most expensive in the British royal family. Designed by Alexander McQueen, it was inspired by the Victorian era and features exquisite handmade lace. The seamstresses had to wash their hands for 30 minutes each time to keep the fabric clean and durable. The dress is worth £250,000, equivalent to $330,000.
In 2018, when marrying Jack Brooksbank, Princess Eugenie wore a dress worth £200,000 ($240,000) designed by British designers Peter Pilotto and Christopher de Vos. She collaborated with the designers to create some meaningful motifs, including the thistle of Scotland, symbolizing the love of the couple, the shamrock representing Ireland, the York rose, and the daffodil representing their home.
Princess Diana wore a wedding dress in 1981 with a value of £151,000, equivalent to $181,000, made of ivory silk, decorated with sequins and lace. The dress had an especially long train of 7.6 meters.
Meghan Markle’s wedding dress with the second prince of the British royal family was estimated to be worth £110,000 ($132,000), funded by the Duchess of Sussex herself. The dress was a handmade creation by Clare Waight Keller from the French fashion house Givenchy. Keller spent 3,900 hours to embroider the 4.87-meter-long veil, featuring the national flowers of 53 Commonwealth countries and territories.
Princess Sarah Ferguson chose a satin dress in ivory color for her wedding to Prince Andrew, the younger brother of Prince Charles, in 1986, worth £35,000 ($42,000). The gown featured numerous symbols, including anchors and waves adorned with beads. The 5.2-meter-long train was decorated with silver beaded A and S initials (for the bride’s and groom’s names), but the Duchess of York had to lose nearly 12 kilograms to fit into the dress.
The legendary Queen Elizabeth II wore a wedding dress worth only £30,000 ($36,000 at today’s exchange rate), much lower than the mentioned dresses above, but it is still a surprising number considering she got married to Prince Philip in 1947. The Queen even had to collect ration coupons to pay for her wedding dress. It was created by Norman Hartnell from Chinese silk and had a 4.57-meter-long train. The dress was adorned with pearls, diamonds, and various floral motifs, including roses, jasmine, and wheat.
Which is your favorite wedding dress among the ones mentioned above? Royal wedding dresses are truly remarkable. Royal weddings always attract media attention, and the bride’s dresses play a significant role in this special occasion.
In Europe, white wedding dresses symbolize authority, luxury, and power. Now, although there are many designers creating wedding dresses in various colors, white dresses still hold a certain value in the fashion world.
