All The Hidden Details On Meghan Markle’s Wedding Dress You Didn’t Know About

When Meghan Markle and Prince Harry announced that they were going to be getting married on May 19, 2018, everyone was excited to see what the stylish actress would wear and who would design it. She ended up shocking us all with her choice of designer and she also had a few surprises for us in terms of the details in her wedding day attire. Follow along for 12 hidden details you didn’t know about Meghan Markle’s wedding gown:

12. The Designer

Before the wedding, there were rumors that either Erdem, Alexander McQueen, or Ralph & Russo would design the gown, but it was Claire Waight Keller who received the honor. According to her, Meghan wanted something “elegant and classical and timeless.” The process of making the dress took about five months and the two only met about seven or eight times. Keller was sworn to absolute secrecy. Not even her husband knew that she had designed the dress until the morning of the wedding!

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11. The Dress Itself

The dress was designed with the “heritage” of the Givenchy house in mind, which is why there were six “meticulously placed seams.” “The focus of the dress is the graphic open bateau neckline that gracefully frames the shoulders and emphasizes the slender sculpted waist,” Kensington Palace revealed. “The lines of the dress extend towards the back where the train flows in soft round folds cushioned by an underskirt in triple silk organza. The slim three-quarter sleeves add a note of refined modernity.”

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10. The Fabrics

The dress was made with double bonded silk cady fabric to bring a “fresh modernity to the dress.” “Perfect for the round sculptural look required, the silk cady has a soft matt lustre whilst the bonding process and pure white colour chosen by Ms. Markle and Ms. Waight Keller bring a fresh modernity to the dress,” Kensington Palace said in the wedding dress release.

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9. The Cost of the Dress

Although Kensington Palace did not reveal how much Markle’s dress cost, Time reported that the dress could have cost anywhere between $250,000 and $400,000, which is still less than what Kate Middleton’s dress cost. Reports claim that her dress was $434,000. It looks like Markle didn’t want to upstage her sister-in-law, which is why she went for something less expensive and more understated.

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8. Her Bouquet

Ahead of the couple’s wedding, Harry handpicked several flowers from the couple’s private garden at their home at Kensington Palace and gave them to the florist to be added to Meghan’s bouquet. Some of the flowers included in her bouquet were sweet pea forget-me-nots, lily of the valley, astilbe, jasmine, astrantia and the royal tradition of myrtle flowers. Forget-Me-Nots were one of Princess Diana’s favorites and incorporating them into the couple’s big day was their way of paying tribute to her.

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7. The Hidden Meaning in the Veil

Markle’s veil was designed to represent a connection to the commonwealth. It was made from five-meter long silk tulle and featured a trim of hand-embroidered flowers from each of the 53 countries in the commonwealth. According to the designer Clare Waight Keller, she and the bride wanted to tell a story with her veil. “We had different conversations back and forth and I came up with the idea of maybe representing each of the countries, the 53 countries of the Commonwealth, through their flora and fauna,” she told People. “We both loved the story of that. It also meant that single one of those countries also journeyed up the aisle with her. It was a really poetic moment.” As well as honoring the Commonwalth, the embroidery included three other symbols as well : a California poppy that pays homage to her birthplace. Wintersweet, a type of shrub that grows in front of the couple’s cottage at Kensington Palace, and finally, the design incorporated crops of wheat interspersed among the flowers to symbolize love and charity.

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6. Making the Veil

When the dressmakers were making the veil, they had to wash their hands every 30 minutes to ensure that the material stayed a shining white. “The workers spent hundreds of hours meticulously sewing and washing their hands every 30 minutes to keep the tulle and threads pristine,” Kensington Palace said in a statement after the dress was revealed. According to designer Clare Waight Keller, hand-washing was a necessity because of the oils that build up on your hands. “Over a period of time, you build up oils on your hand and when you work on something of such purity — absolute pure white — you need to keep it immaculately clean,” she explained.

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5. The Tiara

While it was speculated that the Suits star would skip the royal tradition of wearing a tiara, she ended up following protocol and was leant one of the Queen’s tiaras from her jewelry vault. On her big day, she wore the Queen Mary Diamond Bandeau. It was made in 1932 and features diamonds set in platinum and a center detachable brooch made of ten diamonds that date all the way back to 1893. The County of Lincoln gave the diamond bandeau as a present to the then Princess Mary when she married Prince George, Duke of York, who would later become King George V., in 1893. It was passed on to Elizabeth by Queen Mary in 1953, but her sister, Margaret, has been seen wearing this particular tiara to events in the past.

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4. Her Second Wedding Dress

Meghan’s second dress that she wrote to the more intimate reception at Frogmore House was designed by British designer Stella McCartney. Like her first dress, it didn’t have any lace or embellishments, but it was more revealing and form-fitting than the Givenchy dress, featuring a high halter neckline and an open back. It was very reminiscent of Carolyn Bessette Kennedy’s dress from her wedding to JFK Jr., which wasn’t surprising given that Meghan has said in the past that the late star’s bridal look was her “everything goals.”

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3. Her Aquazaura Shoes

To the intimate reception at Frogmore House, Markle wore a pair of satin Aquazzura pumps, which had blue soles, with her slinky Stella McCartney dress. The Designer, Edgardo Osorio revealed that he made the soles blue so that she could have her “something blue.” “The shoes are expertly handcrafted in Florence [Italy] from silky satin with a contrasting see-through net backed with nude mesh showcasing a modern, timeless and feminine feel. The soles were painted in baby blue to ensure Meghan carries with her, her ‘something blue,’” he said.

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2. Diana’s Emerald-Cut Aquamarine Ring

Prince Harry and Meghan made sure to honor Princess Diana on their wedding day by having Meghan wear her emerald cut aquamarine ring to the intimate gathering at Frogmore House. Diana famously wore the ring and its matching bracelet to a gala dinner in Australia in 1996.

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1. Cartier Jewelry

Markle wore white gold and diamond studs in her ears and a 10.11 carat bracelet constructed with more than 150 individual diamonds, which was valued at $155,000, to the wedding. To the reception at Frogmore House, she wore a pair of 18-karat white gold Cartier chandelier earrings, which cost a reported $68,000.