Royal Wedding Dresses: Princess Sofia of Sweden

The wedding dress of Sofia of Sweden in all its glory in one of the official photographs

It's one of the most eagerly awaited dresses of 2015 and already part of royal history. The gown worn by Sofia Hellqvist a year ago today as she became a princess was suited the bride to perfection.  A modern twist on traditional royal with enough stand out moments to make it her own, the wedding dress of Sofia of Sweden is standing the test of time.

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   It was the creation of Swedish designer, Ida Sjostedt, and is made of white crepe silk and organza.The first thing you notice is the lace shoulders and sleeves - the material for that part of the dress came from Jose Maria Ruiz.
 

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     The fitted bodice had lace details as did the semi full skirt which flowed into a beautiful train.
 

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The amount of lace details on the dress and train is seen in the sketches done by Ida Sjostedt of her most famous creation. The drawing, released by the Royal House, shows that the embellishments ran in lines away from the waist on the front of the skirt and again away from the back of the dress into three lines on the train. 

A sketch of Sofia's wedding dress by designer Ida Sjostedt

For the reception the new princess hitched up the full flowing skirt with a wrist clip so that she could waltz into the night with her new husband. The images of them dancing show the flow of the skirt of this wedding gown.

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   So how is Sofia's dress best summed up? It is noticeably white rather than cream or ivory and the lace is what really stands out.  A first glance makes it seem quite a simple dress but there are acutally many layers of design to this wedding gown which give it a richness that grows with every glance.
 

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   Much like the dress worn by her sister-in-law, Princess Madeleine, in 2013 this one takes a while to really appreciate the intricacy of the design and the amount of work that has gone into it.
 

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But like all good royal wedding dresses it was designed on a grand scale, filling the Royal Chapel and making the bride a focal point on her big day, while retaining its elegance and looking just perfect for the princess who wore it.