Who wore the most expensive wedding gown between Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle and whose wedding was more expensive? The royal sisters-in-law got married seven years apart and unsurprisingly their styles on their big day were radically different from one another. Here’s what their final tallies added up to in terms of cost.
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Ranking Costs Of Royal Weddings
There have been four royal weddings since 2011, when Kate Middleton married her longtime love Prince William in an internationally televised ceremony. Both Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie got married in the years following Middleton, though unfortunately, Princess Beatrice had to abruptly change her wedding plans after the onset of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic halted them.
Instead, she married in an intimate surprise wedding attended only by a chosen few, including her grandmother Queen Elizabeth. Both daughters of the Duke of York went for more lowkey ceremonies for their nuptials, with Eugenie’s wedding costing an estimated $4.9 million, which is a comparatively modest number to spend on an entire wedding when compared to the weddings of her royal cousins.
When William married Kate Middleton in 2011, their wedding wound up costing a reported $48.6 million, thanks in large part to the heightened security. That alone allegedly set the royal family back $46 million. Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s wedding was slightly more expensive at $57 million, with an estimated $54 million going toward security.
Gorgeous Designer Bridal Wear
As far as other wedding costs were concerned, it was the eye-catching and iconic gowns that also took up a big chunk of the wedding budget. Middleton actually takes the crown for wearing the most expensive dress. Her Sarah Burton designed Alexander McQueen gown featuring handmade lace and an almost 9-foot long train cost about $332,000 when she first wore the custom creation in 2011. Today, however, that would be an estimated $345,000.
Meghan Markle’s wedding dress, on the other hand, was designed by Givenchy, which was somewhat of a controversial choice. Typically, royal brides wear a British designer, but Givenchy is a French fashion house. Her gown cost her an estimated $149,000, with her second wedding gown, this one by British design house Stella McCartney, coming in at around $4,400.
The Post-Wedding Dress Change
Interestingly, Middleton also wore a second wedding gown for her reception, a tradition that Markle followed. For her reception, Middleton wore another Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen gown, but one that was slightly easier to move around in than her ceremonial frock.
The second dress was an ivory-colored, strapless satin gown with a jeweled belt detail and a sweetheart neckline. Middleton wore a charming fuzzy cardigan over the dress to ward off a chill as well. The exact price of the dress is unknown, but custom wedding dresses designed by Burton typically cost customers around $50,000 just to start. Middleton’s sister Pippa, who made quite the impression on the world at the wedding, was also dressed in a gown designed by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen.
So it would seem while Markle’s wedding was the most expensive in total, Middleton spent more on her wedding looks for her big day. These two did their weddings in different ways, but both affairs were completely unforgettable.