Attendants

There was a time when more was more, and royal weddings featured mammoth bridal parties. Queen Victoria had 12 bridesmaids, while the Queen and Princess Margaret had eight each, plus pageboys. However things are a little more pared down now, and it's customary to go for just a handful of bridesmaids [4] and no more than two pageboys [5].

Bouquet

Royal bridal bouquets [6] are always made up of white and ivory flowers, and Lily of the valley is the most popular bloom. It appeared in the bouquets of the Queen, Princess Diana, Sophie Countess of Wessex, Camilla Duchess of Cornwall, the Duchess of Cambridge, and Zara Phillips. Every royal wedding bouquet contains a sprig of myrtle, ever since Queen Victoria started the tradition – the sprig is actually taken from a bush that was grown from Victoria's original cutting. After the ceremony, the bouquet is always laid on the Grave of the Unknown Warrior in Westminster Abbey.

Carriage

The Royal Mews [7] is located just around the corner from Buckingham Palace, and is home to not only all the Queen's horses, but also 100 carriages. The carriages are most often used at state events, and every year for Trooping the Colour, but they are also the perfect way for a newly-married royal couple to be seen by the public. While Prince Charles and Princess Diana, and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge opted for the 1902 State Landau, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have chosen to ride in the Ascot Landau [8], which Edward and Sophie Wessex used after their own Windsor Castle wedding.

Dress

Thanks to Queen Victoria popularising the white wedding dress – bridal gowns before that were usually coloured – royal wedding dresses [9] are now usually white or cream, and no matter the silhouette, fabric or style, it will be the most exquisite example of that particular designer's work. There is always lace, there are often hand-stitched seed pearls, and most of the dresses have hidden meaning. The Queen's featured ears of corn to represent fertility and Sarah Ferguson's had waves and anchors in tribute to her husband's naval career.

Entertainment

While many royal wedding traditions [10] remain the same, the matter of entertainment is one thing that has changed the most over the years. While the Queen's wedding reception featured the string band of the Grenadier Guards, and Charles and Diana's big day was accompanied by the music of American bandleader Lester Lanin, William and Kate's guests were entertained by a one hour set from Ellie Goulding. No news yet on whether a certain spicy five-piece will be playing and Harry and Meghan's big day.

Food

It's the feast to end all feasts, so royal weddings menus are always impressive, with no expense spared. Seafood is the most popular starter, with lamb the most favoured main course [11], followed by strawberries for dessert. In recent years especially, there has been emphasis placed on using local and seasonal produce [12]. William and Kate opted for miniature roast beef and Yorkshire puddings, fishcakes and glazed sausages among their canapes.

Gifts

Historically, the royal family have been lavished with gifts on their wedding day, ranging from 10 acres of land in Mustique for Princess Margaret, to 2,500 wedding presents for the Queen that included priceless diamonds [13], 500 tins of pineapple, and a piece of lace spun by Mahatma Gandhi. Charles and Diana received 6,000 gifts, including a glass bowl and ceramic centrepiece from President Ronald Reagan, a carpet, and a silver-plated mousetrap. William and Kate requested charity donations instead of a registering a wedding list, but still received numerous gifts including their dog Lupo from Kate's brother James.

Honeymoon

If you were thinking that royal brides and grooms always opt for decadent honeymoons in multi-star far-flung destinations [14], you would be (mostly) wrong! The Queen and Prince Philip, Edward and Sophie, and Charles and Camilla all chose the royal estate of Balmoral in Scotland for their post-wedding downtime, while Charles and Diana, Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, and Mike and Zara Tindall didn't leave Europe.

William and Kate [15], however, headed for the Seychelles.

Invitation

Flamingo print and a hand-written font just don't cut it when it comes to a royal wedding invite. These coveted items are always off-white, thick, stiff, gilt-edged, and follow a very strict protocol when it comes to wording.

Jewellery

Too much flashy jewellery is deemed unsophisticated on a royal wedding day, so princess brides usually favour relatively low-key pearls and/or daytime diamonds – and then go all-out with the tiara. The Queen wore two strings of pearls [16] that were a gift from her parents, Kate's 'something new' was a pair of diamond earrings from her parents [17], and Sophie Wessex wore a necklace and earrings made from black and white pearls that had been designed by her new husband.

Kiss

Although a wedding day appearance on the Buckingham Palace balcony was popularised during the time of Queen Victoria, it was actually Charles and Diana who first shared a kiss [18] while they were up there. Andrew and Sarah followed suit five years later, and William and Kate exchanged not one but two kisses on their big day.

Lace

Lace is a hugely important part of any royal bride's wedding outfit – appearing not just on her dress, but her veil too. Queen Victoria wore Honiton lace from the Southern English county of Devon – the same place that produced the lace for the christening outfit worn by all royal babies. Princess Diana's "something old" [19] was a piece of lace from Queen Mary that was incorporated into the bodice of her wedding dress, while the Duchess of Cambridge's lace was the signature part of her dress, and featured roses, daffodils, thistles and shamrocks to represent the countries of the UK.

Memorabilia

Purveyors of bric-a-brac will always do a brisk trade around the time of a royal milestone, but where it always used to be all about mugs, plates, tea towels and thimbles, there has been more quirky fare available in recent years. Around the time of William and Kate's wedding, pizzas, condoms, and sick bags were produced featuring the royal couple, while in the run-up to Harry and Meghan's big day [20] collectors can choose from condoms, cereal, and wooden spoons with the royal couple's faces etched into them.

Related:

The Best Harry and Meghan Royal Wedding Memorabilia Money Can Buy [21]

Notes

The Royal Family are VERY good at thank you notes, and when it comes to a wedding, guests will afterwards receive a polite note along with a slice of wedding cake in a commemorative tin. In the instance of William and Kate, the thank yous came from Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall – and it will be the same for Harry and Meghan.

Outfit Change

In the past, royal brides and grooms didn't attend their own wedding receptions as they were by then heading off on their honeymoon, so one wedding dress sufficed. However when William and Kate got married they wanted to celebrate with their loved-ones, and stretched the day out for as long as possible. A daytime wedding and separate evening reception called for a change of outfit (later Kate wore a second McQueen gown [22], with a matching angora bolero), and Harry and Meghan will follow suit.

Public

Several days before a significant royal wedding, crowds start camping out around the wedding venue, reaching critical mass on the morning of the big day – with plenty of flags, picnics, patriotic umbrellas, pop-up tents and fancy dress on display. Around one million people turned out onto the streets of London for William and Kate's big day in 2011, and William and Harry went on an impromptu walkabout to meet some of them the night before the wedding.

The Queen

The Royal Family follows a strict protocol as to the order in which they arrive for a wedding, and the Queen is always the last person to get to the church apart from the bridal party. In 2011 the Queen arrived at Westminster Abbey at 10:45 a.m., and Kate arrived 15 minutes later.

Readings

The couple always choose someone close to them to give a reading during the service. Prince Charles read from Ephesians at his brother Prince Andrew's wedding, Princess Eugenie [23] read Shakespeare's 116th Sonnet at her cousin Peter Phillips' big day, William and Harry read a portion of the Velveteen Rabbit at their cousin Zara's wedding, while James Middleton overcame his dyslexia to read from Romans at Kate and William's.

Salute

Although impressive gun salutes are employed for many special royal occasions such as the birth of a baby, or a special birthday, using them to mark weddings is not a foregone conclusion. While Queen Victoria and Prince Albert had a gun salute on their big day, when inquiries were made for William and Kate they were turned down for reasons of health and safety and noise pollution.

Tiara

In society circles a tiara is like a (way) fancier wedding band — a sign that the wearer is married. So for a royal bride, her wedding day will be the first time she wears a tiara [24]. It is often her
something borrowed" - Diana wore the Spencer family tiara, the Duchess of Cambridge's was borrowed from the Queen, and Zara Phillips' was borrowed from her mother Princess Anne — however Sarah Ferguson was an exception, and her tiara was her "something new." This tiara is likely to be Princess Eugenie's "something borrowed" [25] on her own wedding day.

Uniform

For most British weddings, a top hat and tails for men and daytime formal with a hat for women is about as fancy as it gets, but if the groom has served in the military it adds a whole new layer of pomp. William wore his Irish Guards Mounted Officer's uniform for his wedding, and Harry will follow in his spurs-clanking footsteps [26] – although exactly which uniform Harry chooses to marry in won't be revealed until the day.

Viewing Parties

Princess Margaret's big day was the first royal wedding to be televised, and over time, where street parties used to be the way for British people to celebrate up and down the country, viewing parties have risen in popularity, with outdoor screens popping up, pubs making the most of the big day, and folks at home celebrating with tea parties and fizz.

Welsh Gold

The tradition of Welsh gold being used for royal wedding bands was started by the Queen Mother, and continues to this day. The Queen's wedding ring was made from a nugget of gold which came from the Clogau St David's Mine, and even though that particular nugget ran out after it was used for the rings of Margaret, Anne and Diana, Welsh gold is still always used.

Exes

The royal dating pool has historically been fairly limited — princes and princesses mostly date within their social circle and often remain friends afterward, so it's inevitable that exes will end up at most royal weddings. Diana was devastated that Camilla Parker-Bowles was a guest at her wedding [27], but there were no qualms when William and Kate invited six of their combined exes to their own big day.

It has been reported that Harry may have invited his most significant ex Chelsy Davy [28] to his wedding, and he will almost certainly run into his other significant former flame Cressida Bonas at his cousin Princess Eugenie's wedding, as the pair are best friends.

Yeomen of the Guard

The Queen's official bodyguards date back to the fifteenth century, and are often used for big royal occasions. At William and Kate's wedding they helped show guests to their seats.

Zoom Lenses

Hundreds of zoom lenses will be pointed in the direction of the royal couple on their wedding day, and photographers will spend hours figuring out the best angle to get the shot that will be used around the world forever.