I didn't know what to expect when Princess Eugenie stepped out of the Queen's Rolls Royce Phantom VI today. Yet when I saw hints of folded fabric reminiscent of the Duchess of Cambridge's gown, I took that as a sure sign that we were about to see a regal gown.
Sure enough, it -- along with the Princess -- made its debut, a Peter Pilotto and Christopher De Vos design that purposefully showed off the bride's scar (down the middle of her nape) from 2002 scoliosis surgery.
"It's a lovely way to honour the people who looked after me and a way of standing up for young people who also go through this," Eugenie said prior to the wedding.
The dress, which features a neckline that folds around the shoulders and a full pleated skirt, includes several nods to Eugenie and Jack's life together; a Thistle for Scotland represents the couple's "fondness" for Balmoral, the Queen's private castle.
There's also a Shamrock to represent Sarah Ferguson's side of the family and ivy represents the couple's cottage inside Kensington Palace. The fabric was woven into "garland of rope like motifs, woven into a jacquard of silk, cotton and viscose blend."
Perhaps as important as the dress is the tiara, which a royal bride usually borrows from the Queen. Eugenie selected the Greville Emerald Kokoshnik Tiara, made for society host and philanthropist Margaret Greville, DBE, in 1919. Mrs. Greville, a close friend of Queen Mary, left the Boucheron-designed tiara to the Queen Mother in 1942.
The tiara is made of brilliant and rose cut diamonds pavé set in platinum, with six emeralds on either side. Eugenie's emerald and diamond earrings were a wedding gift from Brooksbank.
Eug wore Charlotte Olympia heels, had her makeup done by Bobbi Brown artist Hannah Martin and had her hair styled by Sonny-Jo MacFarlane of Hari's Salon.
Her bouquet -- made up of Lily of the Valley, sprigs of myrtle, trailing ivy, white spray roses, Stephanotis pips and hints of baby blue thistle -- will be placed at the grave of the Unknown Warrior inside Westminster Abbey, a tradition for royal brides started by the Queen Mother in 1923.
The newlyweds will end the day with a reception at Windsor Castle.