A Detailed Look at Kate Middleton's Unforgettable Wedding Dress

The Alexander McQueen creation is a dream.

On April 29, 2011, Kate Middleton captured the imagination of the world as she walked down the aisle, arm-in-arm with her father, Michael, to wed Prince William. The day had a potent fairytale aura about it, a credit not only to the ceremony's regality, but Kate's stunning hand-crafted lace corseted bridal gown. Speculation ran rampant over who was behind the princess's wedding dress for months leading up to the big day; it was revealed the night before that Sarah Burton, artistic director of Alexander McQueen, had been bestowed the honor. And the final product, which is rumored to have cost $434,000, did not disappoint—in fact, it has already gone down as one of the best dresses in royal wedding history. Ahead, we break down all the fantastical details, meaningful messages, and thorough processes that went into creating Kate's unforgettable wedding dress.

Alexander McQueen designed it.

Kate tapped Burton, who had been named McQueen's successor in May 2010, and the British house “for the beauty of its craftsmanship and its respect for traditional workmanship and the technical construction of clothing," the Palace wrote in a statement shared on the wedding day.

Kate said she wanted a wedding dress that combined “tradition and modernity with the artistic vision that characterizes Alexander McQueen’s work.”

Burton said the centerpiece was an even collaboration between herself and the princess, who drew inspiration from Grace Kelly's 1956 wedding gown when she married Prince Rainier of Monaco.

“It has been the experience of a lifetime to work with Catherine Middleton to create her wedding dress, and I have enjoyed every moment of it," the designer wrote in a statement on the big day. "I am so proud of what we and the Alexander McQueen team have created," she continued.

The Details

The long-sleeve, V-neck dress was inspired by the Victorian tradition of corsetry, which also happened to be a trademark style of Alexander McQueen. The lace bodice narrowed at the waist, had padding at the hips, and was adorned with 58 gazar and organza-covered buttons, fastened by Rouleau loops.

The gown's train was nearly nine feet long, coming in at two meters and 70 centimeters, which Burton designed to look like an opening flower with white satin gazar arches and pleats.

The lace appliqué along the skirt and bodice was handmade by the Royal School of Needlework (with the youngest participating member aged 19), using the Carrickmacross lace-making technique, which originated in Ireland in the 1820s. The bodice, skirt, and underskirt trim was made using English and French Chantilly lace.

To keep all the delicate lace and threads in perfect condition, the seamstresses had to wash their hands every 30 minutes of working on the dress. The needles were also renewed every three hours to maintain their sharpness and cleanliness.

The dress was kept top secret.

The Alexander McQueen and RSN teams worked on the gown in complete secrecy. Burton revealed she didn't even tell her mom. “Even my mum called me and asked me, ‘You wouldn’t tell me, would you?’” the designer told Marie Claire.

Embroiderer Amanda Ewing added: “We knew who it was for, but it was very secret. We had net curtains up, and cleaners were not allowed into the room, and the code on the door was changed.”

The final fitting.

The team did one last fitting the day before the couple's nuptials to ensure the measurements were correct. The dress required a few final alterations, which the designers stayed up until 9 p.m. to finish.

"Brides have a tendency to do things like drop [7 pounds] before a wedding and as her dress was going to be seen from every conceivable angle by a billion people, you couldn't have it being a bit saggy because she'd lost weight or gained a couple of ounces due to stress,” embroiderer Chloe Savage told People.

Middleton's accessories were just as special.

Alexander McQueen was also responsible for Kate's ivory duchesse satin shoes adorned with lace, as well as her ivory silk veil. The headpiece had four hand-embroidered motifs: a rose, thistle, daffodil, and shamrock to represent each of the countries in the United Kingdom.

Kate followed all the Victorian wedding traditions. Her something borrowed (and something old) came in the form of Queen Elizabeth's Cartier Halo tiara, which had 888 diamonds. It was purchased by Elizabeth's father, King George VI, for the Queen Mother in 1936, and gifted to Elizabeth on her 18th birthday. For her something blue, Burton sewed a blue ribbon into the interior of the dress, and for her something new, Kate's parents, Michael and Carole Middleton, gifted her a pair of Robinson Pelham diamond earrings. The jewelry was shaped like oak leaves and featured a pavé diamond acorn in the center, inspired by the Middleton family coat of arms.

The bouquet was full of secret messages.

The bride's shield-shaped bouquet had lily-of-the-valley for happiness, hyacinth for love, ivy for fidelity, sweet William for gallantry (which also paid tribute to the groom), and a sprig of myrtle for marriage (which came from the same plant used for Elizabeth's wedding bouquet in 1947). The tradition of a royal bride carrying myrtle dates back to Queen Victoria's daughter Princess Victoria, who carried the flower during her 1858 wedding ceremony.

Middleton had a second dress.

The princess wore a second wedding dress to the evening reception at Buckingham Palace: a white strapless satin gown paired with a matching shrug. Burton created this second look, as well as Pippa Middleton's maid of honor gown, which was composed of an ivory satin-based crepe and the same buttons and lace trims as Kate's.

The dress broke records while on display.

After I dos were exchanged, the masterpiece went on display in the Ballroom at Buckingham Palace from July 22-October 3, 2011, bringing out more than 600,000 people to see it.

“It is an incredible figure," a spokesperson for the Royal Collection told People. "It is easily a record. We were thrilled to welcome people from all over the world and delighted it has been such a huge success.”

It's unclear where the dress is now.

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