Before Meghan Markle’s Givenchy gown and Kate Middleton’s Sarah Burton for Alexander Wang dress were etched into royal wedding history, Princess Diana’s wedding gown held the crown as the most iconic royal wedding gown. (That train!) But one little slip up could’ve caused Princess Diana to walk down the aisle in an entirely different dress.
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According to Hello, David Emanuel, who designed Princess Diana’s lavish wedding gown, created a back-up dress for the princess because he feared Princess Diana’s first wedding dress design would be leaked to the public.
“At the time we wanted to make absolutely sure that the dress was a surprise,” David said. “We didn’t try it on Diana. We never even discussed it. We wanted to make sure that we had something there; it was for our own peace of mind, really.”
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The second dress lacked the “wow” factor that made the original a history-making dress, although it had a similar ruffled neckline and was created from the same ivory silk taffeta fabric Emanuel used to create the gown she actual wore on her wedding day. The original wedding gown featured a ruffled v-neck and puff sleeves, 10,000 pearls, antique lace, and a 25-foot-long train.
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Of course, there was no leak and Diana’s secret backup dress remained a secret until now.
Second dresses are now quite common for brides. Look no further than the most recent royal wedding for a perfect example: Meghan Markle changed from her more formal Givenchy wedding gown into a simpler and sexier halter-necked Stella McCartney dress for her wedding reception.
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