How Kate broke tradition with Pippa Middleton's bridesmaid's dress

(Image credit: 2011 Mike Marsland)

When the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge got married on 29th April 2011, making it the first modern royal wedding in decades, they broke tradition in several subtle ways, from their wedding night to Kate choosing to wear her hair down (this hadn't been done in 350 years!).

The bride even did her own makeup instead of getting the professionals in, reportedly because she wanted Prince William to recognise her as she walked down the aisle.

And her glam wasn't the only tradition she modernised. Of course, we all know of Kate Middleton's wedding dress, which in itself mixed historical and present day elements.

Buckingham Palace explained at the time, 'Miss Middleton chose British brand Alexander McQueen for the beauty of its craftsmanship and its respect for traditional workmanship and the technical construction of clothing. Miss Middleton wished for her dress to combine tradition and modernity with the artistic vision that characterises Alexander McQueen’s work.'

Uncharacteristically, the bride chose to dress her sister, Pippa Middleton, in an ivory dress to match hers, which is usually a big no no, since you could confuse the bridesmaid with the bride.

Pippa's dress, also designed by Sarah Burton, matched Kate's in colour and featured similar lace on the neckline and buttons down the back.

It was however more fitted, where Kate's was flared, and featured a cowl neckline. We can all agree the overall effect looked beautiful and unexpected.

The Duchess of Cambridge also dressed her flower girls in ivory dresses with puff sleeves and full skirts.

Penny Goldstone

Penny Goldstone is the Digital Fashion Editor at Marie Claire, covering everything from catwalk trends to royal fashion and the latest high street and Instagram must-haves.

Penny grew up in France and studied languages and law at the Sorbonne Nouvelle University in Paris before moving to the UK for her MA in multimedia journalism at Bournemouth University. She moved to the UK permanently and has never looked back (though she does go back regularly to stock up on cheese and wine).

Although she's always loved fashion - she used to create scrapbooks of her favourite trends and looks, including Sienna Miller and Kate Moss' boho phase - her first job was at MoneySavingExpert.com, sourcing the best deals for everything from restaurants to designer sales.

However she quit after two years to follow her true passion, fashion journalism, and after many years of internships and freelance stints at magazines including Red, Cosmopolitan, Stylist and Good Housekeeping, landed her dream job as the Digital Fashion Editor at Marie Claire UK.

Her favourite part of the job is discovering new brands and meeting designers, and travelling the world to attend events and fashion shows. Seeing her first Chanel runway IRL at Paris Fashion Week was a true pinch-me moment.