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Michelle Dockery in a white ruffled dress with red lipstick© Getty

How Michelle Dockery's pretty pleated wedding dress channelled Princess Kate

The Downton Abbey actress chose a royal-approved wedding dress designer

Nichola Murphy
Deputy Lifestyle Editor
September 26, 2023
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Michelle Dockery's fans are still poring over her gorgeous wedding photos after she married her partner Jasper Waller-Bridge on Saturday 23 September.

The Downton Abbey star couldn't keep the smile off her face as she left St Nicholas' church in Chiswick, West London to head to her wedding reception at Orleans House. She looked gorgeous in a Double Duchess Satin drop waist bridal gown featuring a square neckline and a satin A-line skirt with oversized pleats, a look that likely would have gotten the royal seal of approval.

Michelle Dockery wore an Emilia Wickstead wedding dress© SplashNews.com
Michelle Dockery wore an Emilia Wickstead wedding dress

Known as the Josephine dress, Michelle's gown was designed by Emilia Wickstead, who is loved by many members of the royal family, including the Duchess of Edinburgh, the Duchess of Sussex, and, in particular, the Princess of Wales.

On her official website, the designer describes those who wear her collection as "modern brides" who like "timeless elegance and "category-defining simplicity" – which certainly translates in Michelle's wedding dress.

The Downton Abbey star married Phoebe Waller-Bridge's brother in London
© SplashNews.com

While Princess Kate didn't shop in Emilia Wickstead's bridal collection for her 2011 royal wedding with Prince William, she has stepped out in a number of dresses from the designer since then. For example, for her Caribbean royal tour in 2022, she looked positively radiant in an aquamarine Emilia Wickstead dress, while she donned a gorgeous lilac, fit and flare dress when she returned from maternity leave after the birth of Prince Louis in 2018.

Michelle and Jasper are thought to have met through friends in 2019, and they shared the news of their engagement in The Times in January 2022. They tied the knot in 2023 in front of the likes of Lily James and Michelle's Downton Abbey costars Joanne Froggatt, Elizabeth McGovern, Hugh Bonneville, Lesley Manville, Lesley Nicol, and Laura Carmichael, who was one of several bridesmaids wearing a sage green gown.

WATCH: 9 of the most stunning celebrity weddings

Michelle's nuptials come seven years after the death of her late fiancé John Dineen, whom she dated from 2013 to 2015. Just months after getting engaged in early 2015, John died from cancer aged 34.

The Princess of Wales in a pink fit and flare dress© Getty
The Princess of Wales often wears Emilia Wickstead, including during an appearance in 2018

She later told The Guardian that John didn't want his illness to be public knowledge, admitting: "John was a very private person, and the hardest thing was keeping it out of the press when he was sick. It took a lot."

Michelle Dockery and Jasper Waller-Bridge attend the World Premiere of "Downton Abbey: A New Era" at Cineworld Leicester Square on April 25, 2022 in London, England© Dave J Hogan
Michelle Dockery and Jasper Waller-Bridge met in 2019

She added in the 2017 chat that she considers herself a widow as they were "married at heart" and opened up about her grief. "I don’t have the vocabulary to describe what it felt like. And what it still feels like.

"I’ve never been more committed to anything in my life than to him."

LOOK: Lily James looks flawless in £3k wedding guest dress – wait 'til you see the back

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