Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank's Wedding: All the Details

Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank's wedding took place at St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle on Oct. 12, 2018, and came just a few short months after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle tied the knot at the same venue.

800 guests attended the star-studded ceremony, including the bride's royal grandparents — Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip — as well as several of the couple's celebrity friends. Taking another cue from Harry and Meghan's nuptials, the couple also invited 1,200 members of the public from across the U.K. to view their wedding up close.

The royal family announced the couple's engagement almost a year before their autumn wedding on Jan. 22, 2018. Eugenie and Brooksbank dated for seven years before getting engaged while on vacation in Nicaragua. In an interview with BBC 1's Matt Baker on the One Show, Brooksbank shared that he proposed to Eugenie without a ring because he "didn't want to do anything until Eugenie had signed off on it." However, he had picked out a padparadscha sapphire stone before the proposal, and when the couple returned from their trip, they designed the ring together.

"The lake was so beautiful. The light was just a special light I had never seen. I actually said, 'This is an incredible moment,' and then he popped the question, which was really surprising even though we have been together seven years," Eugenie told Baker. "I was over the moon. [It was a] complete surprise. But it was the perfect moment, we couldn't be happier."

The couple needed more than one day to celebrate their nearly decade-long love story, so they hosted a lavish two-day wedding event that included a festival-themed bash.

While Eugenie and Jack's historic wedding surely required extensive planning, it seems that the mother of the bride, Sarah Ferguson, would have liked to be more involved in the process. During a March 2023 event in New York City, Ferguson said the massive event "was a little difficult" because "that was all sort of taken out of my hands." She added, "But I did the dress with Eugenie, all the personal bits, which was lovely.

In honor of the couple's fifth wedding anniversary in October 2023, Eugenie shared a never-before-seen video from the two-day royal event. The clip showed a closer look at the smaller wedding details — the disco ball decorations, Brooksbank's boutonniere and the Rolls-Royce that carried the bride to the church.

From a custom Peter Pilotto wedding dress to a gourmet pizza truck, here are all the details about Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank's wedding.

Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank's Wedding Rehearsal

One week before her nuptials, Eugenie arrived at Buckingham Palace for a pre-wedding meeting to finalize last-minute details. Despite the wedding being a large-scale royal event, a palace source told PEOPLE at the time, "It is very much Princess Eugenie and Jack's day, and they are leading the planning."

The night before the wedding, Eugenie, Brooksbank and her family – father Prince Andrew, mother Sarah Ferguson and sister Princess Beatrice – were spotted arriving at St. George's Chapel for the wedding rehearsal. Adhering to tradition, the couple went their separate ways after the rehearsal: the bride stayed at Royal Lodge, the royal residence of her parents, while the groom stayed locally in Windsor.

Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank's Wedding Venue

The pair's choice of venue — St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle — has been the site of many royal weddings. Prince Edward and Sophie Rhys-Jones wed there in 1999, Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles in 2005 and Harry and Meghan in 2018, to name a few. The chapel holds 800 guests, indicating a more intimate affair by royal standards.

Over 500 years old, the historic venue is rooted in royal tradition. It was the site of the Order of the Garter (the senior order of British Chivalry established in 1348 by Edward III) and is also the burial place of 10 monarchs.

Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank's Wedding Guest List

Eugenie and Brooksbank's wedding was a star-studded event. Among the 800 guests were plenty of royal family members, including the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince William, Kate Middleton, the Duke of Sussex and the Dutchess of Sussex.

Also in attendance were celebrity friends of the couple like Naomi Campell, Demi Moore, Ellie Goulding, Ricky Martin, Cara Delevigne and Kate Moss.

Delevigne broke the royal dress code by wearing an Emporio Armani tuxedo to the wedding but made sure to clear it with Eugenie before the ceremony.

"Eugenie has been a friend of mine since I was a kid, and I've always wanted to wear tails," she told Grazia magazine, per Marie Claire. "I texted her, as I wasn't sure about it, and she was like, 'Of course, I expected nothing else from you!' "

Princess Eugenie's Wedding Dress

Eugenie kept the details of her wedding dress a secret leading up to her nuptials, only revealing that the dress would be made by a British designer.

"As soon as we announced the wedding, I knew the designer, and the look, straight away," she told British Vogue. "I never thought I'd be the one who knew exactly what I like, but I've been pretty on top of it."

That designer turned out to be two designers: Peter Pilotto and Christopher De Vos, the founders of the British-based label Peter Pilotto. While the designers had never created a wedding dress before, the princess trusted them with the important task. Eugenie, Pilotto and Vos worked closely together to design the dress, referring to previous dresses worn by royal family members to help identify a silhouette.

Eugenie's long-sleeve gown featured a neckline that folded around the shoulders, a low V-shaped back and a ground-sweeping train. The low-back design was a special request from Eugenie to honor her scar from the surgery she had at 12 years old to correct her scoliosis.

"I had always wanted a low back — part of it was showing my scar and I believe scars tell a story about your past and your future, and it's a way of getting rid of a taboo," she said in an audio guide for the exhibit "A Royal Wedding: HRH Princess Eugenie and Mr. Jack Brooksbank" at Windsor Castle. "For me, it's a way of communicating with people who are going through either similar situations with scoliosis or having a scar of their own that they are trying to deal with."

Pilotto and Vos also designed the fabric to include several symbols that were meaningful to Eugenie, such as a thistle for Scotland to acknowledge the couple's fondness for Balmoral, a shamrock for Ireland as a reflection of the bride's maternal family, and the York Rose and ivy to represent the couple's home.

Princess Eugenie's Wedding Tiara

For her "something borrowed," Eugenie chose to wear a tiara lent to her by the Queen instead of a traditional veil. According to Kensington Palace, she wore the Greville Emerald Kokoshnik Tiara, which is made of brilliant and rose-cut diamonds pavé-set in platinum, with six emeralds on either side. The gorgeous green tiara was made by Boucheron for Dame Margaret Helen Greville in 1919 in the "kokoshnik" style popularized in the Russian Imperial Court. She also wore matching diamond and emerald drop earrings, which were a wedding gift from Brooksbank.

"I've never worn a tiara before in my life," she said in the audio guide for her wedding exhibit. "It was the most incredible thing to wear such a piece of history that my grandmother had lent me, very proud moment and the beautiful earrings were a gift from my husband."

Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank's Wedding Ceremony

Eugenie arrived at the chapel in a 1977 Rolls Royce Phantom VI, the same car Kate rode in for her nuptials. She was accompanied by her father, Andrew, who also walked her down the aisle. This walk to the altar was significant, as her scoliosis diagnosis could've prevented the sweet moment if not for her surgery.

"It's important," a source at the wedding told PEOPLE about the bride's decision to display her scar. "If she hadn't had that operation, she wouldn't be able to walk — and here she was, walking down the aisle, so it was a seismic moment."

The bridal party included royal family members: Eugenie's sister Beatrice was her maid of honor; Princess Charlotte, Savannah Philips, Isla Phillips and Mia Tindal were a few of the bridesmaids; and Prince George was a pageboy.

Surrounded by family and friends, the couple recited traditional vows like many other royal couples before them. Eugenie notably chose to exclude the vow about obeying her husband — an omission Princess Diana, Kate and Meghan also made at their weddings.

During the ceremony, Beatrice read a famous excerpt from The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, which describes Jay Gatsby's smile. Later in the ceremony, the wedding officiant, the Dean of Windsor, the Rt Rev David Conner, shared why the excerpt from the 1925 classic was included: Eugenie had been reading the novel when she first met her future husband, and this particular passage reminded her of Brooksbank.

"The words that particularly reminded her of Jack concern Gatsby's smile. As we heard from the reading, 'It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it . . . It concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favor,' " he said. "Well a few years have passed, and Eugenie and Jack come here today to smile on each other, and to offer each other something like 'eternal reassurance' and the promise of an 'irresistible prejudice' in each other's favor."

During the exchange of rings, the groom slipped a Welsh gold wedding ring (which was gifted by the Queen) onto Eugenie's hand. The traditional Welsh gold has been used for wedding rings in the royal family since the Queen Mother's wedding in 1923. Brooksbank, however, chose to forego a wedding band, following in the footsteps of William.

According to the palace, Andrea Bocelli also performed at the ceremony. He sang two pieces and was accompanied by musicians from the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

Following the ceremony, the newlyweds took a short carriage ride through the streets of Windsor. Their procession left Castle Hill and rode along part of the High Street before returning to Windsor Castle via Cambridge Gate.

Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank's Wedding Reception

Upon their return to Windsor Castle, the newlyweds joined their 800 guests for a stand-up reception (just like the one Harry and Meghan had at their nuptials). The luncheon was hosted by the Queen and took place at Windsor Castle in the Waterloo Chamber, the Grand Reception Room and St. George's Hall. Guests enjoyed a variety of finger foods, like mini bites of beef in Yorkshire pudding and little Scotch eggs.

The floral display for the church and reception followed an autumnal theme. The arrangements were sourced from Windsor Park and included roses, hydrangeas, dahlias and berries. Created by floral designer Rob Van Helden, the floral displays were meant to reflect the rich tones of autumn.

Both Eugenie's father and Brooksbank gave speeches during the reception, with Andrew poking fun at his new son-in-law in his speech.

"The Duke told a story about their dog Jack [a Norfolk terrier]," a source at the wedding told PEOPLE. "One day, I think it was early in the relationship, he shouted 'Jack, get off the chair!' And the dog didn't move. But Jack did!"

The celebrations didn't stop there, following the luncheon, the couple made the three-mile drive to their black-tie evening reception at Royal Lodge in an Aston Martin DB10. Guests were treated to a gourmet pizza truck and Casamigos margaritas.

A source told PEOPLE at the time that Robbie Williams sang his hit song "Angels" for guests at the reception, as well as some classic pop numbers "from different artists that the crowd sang along to."

Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank's Wedding Cake

The centerpiece of the reception was the couple's five-tier wedding cake. The red velvet and chocolate confection was decorated with leaves in deep shades of orange, red, yellow and green to fit the autumn theme. The bottom layer was also embossed with the letters E and J in gold.

The detailed cake was made by London-based baker Sophie Cabot, who said the baking process required around 400 eggs, 53 packs of unsalted butter, 33 lbs. of organic self-rising flour and 44 lbs. of sugar. Other ingredients included vanilla bean paste, vanilla essence and red food coloring.

Princess Eugenie's Wedding Reception Dress

Eugenie followed royal tradition and changed into a second dress for her evening reception. The blush silk gown she wore was made by New York-based designer Zac Posen and featured a sweeping cape, long sleeves and pleated blush fabric.

The color of the gown was meant to reflect the blush of an English rose. Posen said he was inspired by the White Rose of York and even embroidered one on both the shoulder and back of the dress to hold the cape detail together. The plissé silk fabric used to make the gown was cut into signature drapes at the bottom of the gown.

"I've had a lifelong admiration for him as a designer — and because Zac is based in New York and I lived there for some time when I was younger, and for me, it was an easy decision to make and Zac is such a cool, fun, brilliant designer and friend," Eugenie shared in the audio guide for her wedding exhibit. "I wanted something reminiscent of Grace Kelly in To Catch a Thief, so I showed that for reference and Zac came up with this silk that he had found from Manchester, every single draping effect, every single detail, every button is all painstakingly done by him and his team."

Eugenie paired the gown with a hair slide (also lent to her by the Queen), which was originally commissioned by William IV in 1830 for Queen Adelaide.

Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank's Second Day Festival-Themed Party

The couple continued the festivities the day after their wedding with a festival-themed bash. The afternoon event was held at Windsor Park and included everything from food stalls to a performance from Goulding, the couple's close friend. The fun-filled party was complete with various carnival rides, including a traditional Ferris wheel and a carousel that was filled with personalized horses for each guest to ride.

For day two of her wedding celebrations, Eugenie wore a customized biker jacket embroidered with "Mrs. Brooksbank" across the back. The pink silk jacket was designed by Sam Dougal and included embroidery written in Eugenie's handwriting as a personalized touch.