Pippa Middleton’s bridesmaids dress included a sweet nod to her sister Kate

kate middleton and pippa middleton at the royal wedding
(Image credit: Getty Images)

At the April 2011 royal wedding, all anyone could talk about of course was Kate Middleton's wedding dress, created by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen.

The dress was made with ivory and white satin gazar, and the skirt mimicked an opening flower thanks to white satin gazar arches and pleats, and the train measured 2m70 (about 8.8ft).

The designer also created the Duchess' sumptuous evening wedding gown, a strapless A-line gown with a sweetheart neckline and a crystal-embellished belt.

But what few people know is that she actually designed a third wedding look that day, but not for Kate, for Pippa, and that dress deserves much more attention.

(Photo: Getty Images)

It was made of a heavy, ivory satin-based crepe and featured an elegant cowl front. But the best bit about it is that it featured a sweet nod to the bride Pippa's sister.

At the back of it were the same button details and lace trims as the bride’s dress, thus linking them together.

Kate's buttons weren't as conspicuous as they were hidden under her hair and veil, but you can see them in the picture above. Charming.

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.