Royal wedding: Six ways Princess Eugenie's big day broke from convention

There was a certain item missing from Princess Eugenie's wedding attire

On Friday, Princess Eugenie married Jack Brooksbank at St George’s Chapel in Windsor, the same chapel where Prince Harry and Meghan Markle exchanged their vows in May.

The nuptials were attended by an array of high-profile celebrities, including Kate Moss, Robbie Williams, Demi Moore and Ricky Martin.

While the wedding was steeped in tradition, as would be expected of any royal occasion, it also broke away from convention in a number of significant ways.

Here are the six ways that Princess Eugenie and Mr Brooksbank departed from tradition as they tied the knot:

1. The missing wedding accessory

As Princess Eugenie made her way to St George’s Chapel, it was revealed that she was wearing an ivory gown designed by Peter Pilotto and Christopher De Vos.

The ninth-in-line to thrown epitomised elegance with the Greville Emerald Kokoshnik Tiara adorning her head.

However, many people quickly noticed that one particular accessory was missing from her ensemble: a veil.

Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank at their wedding ceremony in St George's Chapel

Princess Eugenie made it clear prior to the wedding that she wanted her wedding dress to display the scars on her back that she’d obtained after having an operation to correct her scoliosis at the age of 12.

“It’s a lovely way to honour the people who looked after me and a way of standing up for young people who also got through this,” she said in an interview on ITV’s This Morning.

Many people have speculated that she chose to forego a veil as well so that her scars wouldn’t be concealed.

“Princess Eugenie went for a low-backed dress without a veil to show the scars from the operation she underwent for her scoliosis when she was 12. She campaigns hard to raise awareness. Kudos,” one person tweeted.

2. Maid of honour

Earlier this week, it was revealed that Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie’s older sister, would be her maid of honour.

The royal family released two photos of the pair as part of the announcement, showing them embracing as young children and dressed as bridesmaids at the wedding of their former nanny.

While it may not seem surprising that Princess Eugenie would choose her older sister to be her maid of honour, some have found it unusual considering the fact that other royals have refrained from taking on the same role in the past.

When the Duchess of Cambridge’s younger sister Pippa Middleton married James Matthews in May 2017, the duchess wasn’t made maid of honour.

However, six years prior, Middleton had been maid of honour at her sister’s wedding to Prince William.

According to The Mirror, this may be because Pippa hadn’t been married when she took on the role of maid of honour.

As the Duchess of Cambridge was married at the time of her sister’s wedding, she would have had to have been referred to as the “matron of honour” if she’d taken on the same position.

3. Model chic

As a number of celebrities were being photographed making their way to St George’s Chapel to attend the nuptials of Princess Eugenie and Mr Brooksbank, one guest stood out in particular.

Model and actor Cara Delevingne arrived at the wedding with her brother-in-law James Cook and journalist Derek Blasberg wearing a black waistcoat, blazer, cropped trousers and a top hat.

Cara Delevingne arrives at the royal wedding with her brother-in-law James Cook (left) and US journalist Derek Blasberg (AFP/Getty Images)

Delevingne's suit, which was designed by Emporio Armani, and her sleek hat, which was designed by Nick Fouquet, have been heavily praised on social media, with many people expressing their admiration for the model’s choice not to wear a dress, as is customary for female wedding guests.

“Couldn’t care less about the wedding but good LORD Cara Delevingne,” one person wrote in a tweet that’s garnered 11,000 likes.

“Cara Delevingne absolutely SLAYING in this suit and top hat at the #RoyalWedding,” another person remarked.

4. Time for tequila

Despite the fact that Mr Brooksbank is now a member of the royal family, he also holds the title of European brand manager for Casamigos Tequila, the tequila brand co-founded by George Clooney.

While Prince Harry and Ms Markle chose to serve Pol Roger champagne at their royal wedding in May, Princess Eugenie and Mr Brooksbank have decided to opt for cocktails made from the Mexican spirit.

A spokesperson for Casamigos told Insider that according to Mr Brooksbank, a variety of bespoke tequila cocktails would be served to his and his bride’s guests during their celebrations.

In 2017, Casamigos Tequila was sold to Diageo, a European beverage company, for $1bn (£760m).

5. Let them eat cake

Prior to the wedding, it was unveiled that Princess Eugenie and Mr Brooksbank had chosen cake design business owner Sophie Cabot to make their red velvet and chocolate wedding cake.

It's commonly known that fruitcake is usually served at royal weddings, with the tradition going back centuries.

According to Taste of Home, the original reason for opting for fruitcake at royal weddings was because the alcohol imbued in the sponge allowed for the cake to be preserved for longer periods of time.

The wedding cake created by Sophie Cabot for the wedding of Princess Eugenie of York and Jack Brooksbank (AP)

This meant that those in charge of the cake would have more time to embellish them with ornate decorations.

Princess Eugenie and Mr Brooksbank aren’t the only royal couple to have recently bucked tradition when it came to their choice of cake.

When Prince Harry and Ms Markle married earlier this year, they chose to serve a lemon and elderflower cake, with the flavours and design representing spring.

6. Forget a fascinator

Seven years ago, Princess Beatrice made headlines when she chose to wear a quirky, sculptural Philip Treacy fascinator to the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

However, this time around, she decided to opt for something slightly more subtle, wearing a blue and purple Sarah Cant headpiece instead.

The maid of honour strayed slightly from tradition by wearing the headpiece, which matched her royal blue Ralph & Russo dress.

The majority of the female guests at the wedding wore fascinators or hats for the ceremony at St George’s Chapel.

However, as Princess Beatrice and Cara Delevingne demonstrated with their choice of attire, the conventions associated with royal wedding dress are not necessarily set in stone.