Inside Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's incredible wedding ceremony, dress and reception
Harry and Meghan tied the knot in 2018Sitting on stone steps and looking smitten with each other, Harry and Meghan announced their engagement with a sweet photo on November 27, 2017. The couple then tied the knot on May 19, 2018 in St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle‘s wedding became one of the biggest nuptials for The Firm in recent years.
All the royal family were in attendance, with Prince William acting as best man – a gesture he paid back to his brother for his own nuptials.
Meghan’s dad Thomas Markle, however, did not attend. Instead, Meghan walked down the aisle on the arm of her father-in-law, Charles.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex received their titles on the day of their wedding, as a gift from the late Queen Elizabeth II.
We take a look back at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s incredible wedding. From the reception, cake, and designer dress to the reported drama ahead of the day, such as Princess Charlotte’s bridesmaids dress and the queen’s tiara.
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Nuptials at St George’s Chapel
A lot of fans camped out the night before to celebrate the big day, they wanted to get the best view! The evening before the wedding, Prince Harry and William met some of the well-wishers in Windsor.
2,640 people, some chosen from charities close to the couple, were invited to watch the wedding from inside the castle grounds.
It was a huge event, with millions tuning in to watch the younger son of King Charles and the late Princess Diana wed Suits actress Meghan Markle.
The service was led by the Dean of Windsor, was Solemnised by The Archbishop of Canterbury and Bishop Curry from the Episcopal Church in the USA gave the address.
Their rings were crafted by Cleave and Company, with Meghan choosing a piece of Welsh gold – gifted by the queen – and Harry opting for a platinum band with a textured finish.
Meghan walked herself down the aisle
Meghan actually broke royal wedding customs by walking a portion of the aisle alone, as her father Thomas Markle couldn’t attend. It was a deliberate choice and stood out from tradition.
The duchess had made her first public statement explaining her dad wouldn’t be there due to poor health, and many expected her mother Doria Ragland would step in. But she had other ideas.
Meghan Markle reportedly asked Charles personally if he would walk her down the aisle for her wedding – but meeting half way. She walked through the Nave solo. The then Prince of Wales – Charles – met her and walked her through the rest of the way, through the Quire and to the altar where she met the Duke of Sussex.
Why did Meghan Markle’s father not attend her and Prince Harry’s wedding?
The drama of Meghan Markle’s father Thomas not attending her wedding to Prince Harry took over in the days leading up to the big day – and after.
The fallout reached boiling point when her dad posed for paparazzi pictures less than week before she was set to say ‘I do’. In some of the photos he’s at a computer reading a news story about his daughter and fiance. In others, he was seen reading a book about London and getting his wedding tuxedo fitted.
Her half-sister Samantha took responsibility for the scandal. She convinced him to do the photoshoot as he was getting a lot of bad press.
Read more: All the celebrities who have ‘distanced’ themselves from Harry and Meghan
Sources claimed Meghan’s family were upset the royals were not speaking up and defending them when they were receiving bad press. However, The Firm rarely makes statements, following the late Queen’s belief of Don’t Complain, Don’t Explain.
Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand’s book Finding Freedom’s claimed it was still planned for Thomas Markle to walk Meghan down the aisle at her wedding. But he later told reporters he suffered a health attack and was in hospital, so could not attend due to poor health.
At the time, the duchess said: “I have always cared for my father and hope he can be given the space he needs to focus on his health.”
Estranged relationship
Documents seen in a High Court case where Meghan launched legal action against the Mail on Sunday for publishing a letter she had written her father, showed their relationship had broken down ahead of her special day.
On May 14, he had apologised to the couple over the photo scandal. He said he wouldn’t attend their wedding to save them embarrassment. Her father then suffered chest pains and shortness of breath and was taken to hospital over suspected congestive heart failure. He underwent an emergency operation to unblock two arteries to his heart.
Text messages read in court revealed Thomas Markle explained his cardiac condition and surgery and how he was told he couldn’t fly by his doctors. However, the response allegedly only accused him of ignoring 20 missed calls from Meghan. It did not ask how he was or about the surgery.
They never spoke before the wedding, and their estranged relationship has not been repaired since.
Prince Harry and his best man The Duke of Cambridge arrive at St George’s Chapel #RoyalWedding pic.twitter.com/FhWlR1ZPBX
— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) May 19, 2018
Prince William was Harry’s best man
William was at his brother’s side as best man – echoing the sentiment the Duke had done for his older brother seven years earlier.
However, in 2023, Harry made a bombshell revelation where he claimed he wasn’t actually William’s best man. William’s two friends were the real best men and he was announced as the ‘fake’ one to keep up appearances. Even though he made a speech at William and Kate’s wedding, and cracked some jokes, he said it wasn’t a best man’s speech.
But it seems there were no hard feelings, considering Harry asked his brother to be there for him when his day came round.
No Buckingham Palace balcony kiss – but we did see a peck!
As the wedding was taking place in Windsor, it was not a central London location so a Buckingham Palace balcony kiss was off the cards. But it didn’t mean we didn’t see a peck!
When the Duke and Duchess left the chapel, they exchanged their first kiss as a married couple on the steps outside in front of fans, 200 guests and millions watching worldwide.
After, they rode in a carriage procession around Windsor Town where they waved to crowds.
The newlyweds were beaming from ear to ear in front of thousands of people who had lined up to see them.
Did anyone from Suits go to Meghan Markle’s wedding?
Several cast members from the TV show Suits attended Meghan Markle’s wedding to Prince Harry.
Among the guests were Patrick J Adams, Sarah Rafferty, Gabriel Macht, Gina Torres, Rick Hoffman and Abigail Spencer who made up the core cast.
Patrick, who portrayed Mike Ross, played her on-screen love interest – and their sex scenes made Prince Harry uncomfortable!
Her friend Abigail Spencer, who played Dana Scottie Scott, has been with Meghan through thick and thin. She even made an appearance on her Netflix documentary in 2022 and cooking show With Love, Meghan in 2025.
Other famous faces included David and Victoria Beckham, singer James Blunt and actor James Corden. Priyanka Chopra, Elton John and Tom Hardy also attended. George and Amal Clooney were invited and Idris Elba did as well – and he apparently acted as DJ for their private party later!
Oprah Winfrey and Serena Williams, friends of Meghan also turned up to celebrate the day.
Ms. Meghan Markle arrives at St George’s Chapel #RoyalWedding pic.twitter.com/Hj79je8glV
— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) May 19, 2018
Did Meghan Markle pay for her wedding dress?
Meghan Markle’s wedding dress was designed by Clare Waight Keller for Givenchy. It had a special veil that featured stitching to represent flora from all 53 Commonwealth Countries.
Her evening dress was created by British designed Stella McCartney. It was a bespoke lily white high neck gown made of silk crepe. She paired it with Aquazurra shoes made from silky satin, and featured a nude mesh.
Meghan Markle paid for her wedding dress herself, after working closely with Keller on the design. She wanted a timeless and elegant gown which had that House of Givenchy style.
The main focus of Meghan Markle’s wedding dress was the open bateau neckline that framed her shoulders. The lines of the gown sculpted her waist and extended towards the back where the train was cushioned by an underskirt in triple silk organza. To keep it modern, she opted for three-quarter sleeves.
Her veil was five metres long, made from silk tulle with the trim being hand-embroidered. Each of the 53 Commonwealth flowers were created by hand, with workers spending hundreds of hours meticulously sewing and washing their hands every 30 minutes to ensure the tulle and threads were pristine.
She also added two extra flowers, one to represent the grounds of Kensington Palace – Wintersweet – and the California Poppy, the state flower from where she grew up in the States.
Who paid for the wedding?
Anyone who has planned a wedding knows it can get pretty expensive – fast. When it comes to royal weddings, with the star-studded guest list made up of international VIPs, the rising cost would give anyone a lot of stress.
800 guests attended the royal wedding, including 200 for the evening reception, and a further 1,200 members of the public that attended the grounds of Windsor Castle.
We don’t know the full cost of security of the wedding for the Home Office. But we do know £6.35m ($8.5m) was spent by the Metropolitan Police for security for William and Kate’s wedding. It’s difficult to compare the two as the location and guests numbers are different but we can assume it was at least a few million. This would have been paid by the UK taxpayer.
The royal family paid for the private elements of the big day. The Firm receives money from the annual sovereign Grant, paid by the treasury, and certain royals receive extra funding. At the time, Prince Charles was receiving money from the Duchy of Cornwall estate as the Prince of Wales – which now William has.
Meghan’s tiara drama
Another drama ahead of the vows, was tiaragate. This was based on reports the late Queen denied Meghan Markle’s request to wear a particular tiara on her wedding and Prince Harry revealed what happened.
In his book Spare, he explained the couple imagined she would wear one of Princess Diana’s tiara for the occasion. However, his grandmother urged them to choose from her private jewellery collection from the vault instead.
When five tiaras had been shown to the pair, one “stood out from the others” and he claimed everyone agreed it “looked like it was made for Meg.”
A week later, when they asked to borrow it for a test with the hairstylist, he says the royal dresser went silent. They were then told it would require a police escort to leave the palace. Harry didn’t like it.
He wrote: “It was obvious they were putting up obstacles, but why? It didn’t occur to us what motives they might have.”
‘Incredibly surreal’
Allegedly, the drama was around the fact Meghan Markle was divorced, after marrying her first husband Trevor Engelson.
But the duchess later told Harper’s Bazaar she enjoyed picking out a tiara from the Queen’s collection.
“When it came to the tiara on the day, I was very fortunate to be able to choose this gorgeous art deco style bandeau tiara,” Meghan said.
She added: “Harry and I had gone to Buckingham Palace to meet with her Majesty the Queen to select one of the options that were there which was an incredibly surreal day as you can imagine.”
Meghan ended up wearing the Queen Mary’s diamond bandeau tiara, which was lent to her by the late Queen. The tiara was made in 1932, and the centre brooch can be dated back to 1893. Crafted with diamonds and platinum, it features eleven sections with ten brilliant diamonds surrounded the brooch in the middle. The brooch, given to Princess Mary in 1893 on her wedding day to Prince George, along with the tiara, was handed down to the late queen in 1953.
Special tributes in her bouquet
Meghan Markle’s wedding bouquet had a sweet sentimental element.
Prince Harry handpicked several flowers from their private garden at Kensington Palace to add to the bridal bouquet which was designed by Philippa Craddock. It included Forget-Me-Nots – Princess Diana’s favourite flower – to honour the late Princess of Wales’ memory on the special day.
Other flowers included scented sweet peas, lily of the valley – the late Queen’s favourite – astilbe, sprigs of myrtle, jasmine and astrantia. They were bound with a raw silk ribbon. The myrtle sprigs are from stems planted by Queen Victoria in 1845, and from a plant grown from the myrtle which were used in Queen Elizabeth II’s own wedding bouquet in 1947.
The sprig was first carried by Queen Victoria’s eldest daughter, Victoria, when she married in 1858. It’s become a solid royal tradition ever since.
Bridesmaids’ dresses and flowers
The six Bridesmaids’ dresses were also designed by Keller in the Givenchy Haute Couture Atelier in Paris. They were designed to match the timeless look of Meghan’s gown.
Sculpted in Ivory silk Radzimir, they were high-waisted with short puff sleeves, with a double silk ribbon detail at the back which was in the form of a bow. They had pockets and pleated skirts.
Their shoes, crafted from white leather, had the bridesmaids’ initials and the wedding date inside. It was a gift from Meghan to save as a keepsake.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle selected their flower crowns, designed by the same wedding florist behind the duchess’ bouquet.
Princess Charlotte bridesmaid dress drama
The drama around Princess Charlotte’s bridesmaid dress was ruthless.
Ahead of May 19, 2018, reports in the press claimed Meghan had made Kate Middleton cry over a conversation related to her daughter’s dress. However, during her bombshell interview with Oprah in 2021, Meghan said it was the other way around. She claimed Kate was upset about the flower girl dresses and it made her cry. The duchess further added the Princess of Wales later apologised and sent over flowers the following day to make amends.
She said: “It was a really hard week of the wedding, and she was upset about something. But she owned it, and she apologised, and she brought me flowers and a note apologising and she did what I would do if I knew that I hurt someone.”
To make things worse, Prince Harry dished the details on the text messages between the Duchesses in his memoir Spare in January 2023. It added further salt into the wound. He said he found Meghan ‘on the floor. Sobbing’ after the exchange.
Read more: Meghan Markle ‘changed her name’ on Prince Archie’s birth certificate weeks later
Harry and Meghan offer glimpse at wedding reception
Although royal fans had a ringside seat for the ceremony, the wedding reception was a largely private affair.
Until 2022, that is.
Meghan and Harry shared some touching moments from their big day on their Netflix documentary.
The footage showed Meghan and Harry enjoying their wedding reception. The couple looked joyous and utterly in love, as they spin around the dance floor together.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding reception was hosted by the late Queen. It took place in St George’s Hall inside Windsor Castle. After the reception, Charles hosted a private party at Frogmore House – he did the same for William and Kate’s wedding in 2011.
Harry drove his new wife to the evening reception in a silver blue Jaguar E-Type Concept Zero. The vintage vehicle featured a bespoke number plate which featured the date of their wedding: E190518.
Newlyweds’ first dance
Their first dance was to Land of a Thousand Dances by Wilson Pickett. The duchess even sang a few words in their Netflix series.
“I just really wanted the music to be fun. Even our first dance,” she said.
“That was our first dance,” she said. “It was so fun, just spinning like a whirlwind. It was so great.”
The wedding cake is to be served at the Reception. It was designed by Claire Ptak and features elderflower syrup made at The Queen’s residence in Sandringham from the estate’s own elderflower trees, as well as a light sponge cake uniquely formulated for the couple. #royalwedding pic.twitter.com/kt5lE4tEn9
— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) May 19, 2018
The newlyweds’ cake, designed by Claire Ptak, featured elderflower syrup which was made at the late monarch’s residence from elderflower trees on the estate in Sandringham.
It consisted of a light sponge cake which was uniquely formulated for Harry and Meghan.
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