Lady Sarah Chatto did not get the memo to avoid white to a wedding! On 30 July 2011, Zara Tindall (nee Phillips) gathered members of the royal family in Scotland for her wedding with rugby player Mike Tindall.
While the bride's mother Princess Anne turned heads in a pleated coral skirt and her grandmother the late Queen Elizabeth II looked elegant in a pastel pink coat dress, none of the guests stepped out in the bridal colour – aside from Sarah.
© Max Mumby/IndigoShe was pictured leaving Canongate Kirk in Edinburgh in a Jasper Conran outfit, including a strapless white dress with a straight neckline, a fitted waist and an A-line midi skirt. The designer was responsible for Lady Sarah's wedding dress 17 years earlier in 1994, which featured a corseted bodice, flowing skirt, and long sleeves.
© GettyPerhaps her outfit was a special nod to her wedding connection with Zara since the then-13-year-old acted as one of Sarah's bridesmaids. Zara was pictured wearing a matching white dress with pink floral bouquets and hair accessories.
For Zara's nuptials, Sarah layered a matching cardigan over her shoulders and completed her look with monochromatic accessories, including a black belt, a coordinating clutch bag, a fascinator and ebony pointed-toe heels.
White wedding guest dresses
© Alan Davidson/ShutterstockWhite bridesmaid dresses are common among royal brides, with Zara Tindall following the example set by the Prince and Princess of Wales just months earlier.
While Zara looked ethereal in a Stewart Parvin corset bridal gown and Kate stepped out in a lace Alexander McQueen wedding dress, both of their bridal parties wore ivory.
© Getty ImagesThe story goes that a bride would dress her bridesmaids in white in order to deter evil spirits, safely disguising the bride among the bridal party.
When it comes to guests, the colour is largely considered to be a fashion faux pas as it could upstage the bride.
"Culturally speaking white is a symbol of purity, cleanliness, immaculacy and perfection, which is why it's the natural colour choice for bridal dresses, doctors' coats and seafarers," colour expert Gabi Winters from Chromology previously told HELLO!.
© Max Mumby/IndigoShe is not the only one who has shown off her rebellious side with her wedding guest outfit. Kate was the closest to joining Sarah and breaking the unspoken rule at Zara's wedding, as she stepped out in a cream and white floral patterned jacket.
The Princess of Wales also rocked an off-white Stella McCartney dress for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's royal wedding in 2018, while the late Queen Elizabeth II wore a cream dress flecked with yellow to her son Prince Charles' wedding with his second wife Camilla in 2005.
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