A royal wedding to remember

The June 13, 2015 royal wedding of HRH Prince Carl Philip and HRH Princess Sofia of Sweden has been hailed as a most memorable one for being modern, personal and untraditional, full of family and love.

Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia exchange wedding rings.
Under a sunny sky and warm temperatures, crowds thronged to the streets of central Stockholm and invited guests approached the chapel of the royal palace. Prince Daniel arrived with Crown Princess Victoria, who was praised for wearing a flowing grey and white eco-conscious gown from the new H&M Conscious Collection — widely accepted by Swedes as a good choice as it's made from recycled materials by the Swedish clothing company. She was also wearing the Connaught Tiara for the fist time; it was originally a wedding gift to Princess Margaret of Connaught when she married Sweden's (future) King Gustaf VI Adolf in 1905. Later her son gave it to his bride Princess Sibylla in 1932, and it is still often called the Princess Sibylla's Tiara.
Princess Madeleine, shown arriving for Prince Carl Philip's wedding on June 13, 2015, gave birth to a prince just two days later on June 15.
With the birth of her second baby expected any moment, Princess Madeleine made it to her brother's wedding. She was glowing in a dress by Lebanese designer Elie Saab, and wore the same tiara and earrings she wore on her own wedding day in 2013. She arrived with her husband Christopher O'Neill and 16-month-old daughter, Princess Leonore, who was darling in an apricot colored dress, said to have originally belonged to her great-grandfather.
Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel. She wore a flowing, eco-conscious gown from the new H&M Conscious Collection and the Connaught Tiara.
Queen Silvia entered with King Carl XVI Gustaf, who was in full royal regalia. She was wearing a lilac dress with embroidery and stones, and wore the Leuchtenberg Sapphire Tiara, one of her favorites. Swedish kings don't actually wear crowns anymore, but they still bring them out on special occasions and put them on a cushion close to the action. At his son's wedding, the King's crown was placed near the altar.
Inside the palace chapel, trees and greenery lined the walls, and splendid pink, peach, coral and yellow flowers were cloistered everywhere. The prince walked down the aisle with his best man, and waited eagerly for his bride. As hoped for, Princess Estelle, 3, was a ring bearer with three other girls — all in matching white dresses with peach flowers.
The groom's parents, Queen Silvia and King Carl XVI Gustaf arrive.
The unconventional service began as the bride entered on her father’s arm to the music of Enya and the prince blinked back tears of joy. A breathtaking bride she was — in a gown by Swedish designer Ida Sjöstedt, made from silk crepe, covered with Italian silk organza, lace sleeves and a long train, and wearing a new, sparkling emerald-and-diamond tiara, a gift from her new in-laws, King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia.
Princess Estelle, 3, in the middle, is a flower girl at her uncle's wedding on June 13, 2015.
Prince Carl Philip and the former reality star and model Sofia Hellqvist tied the knot before five European queens, a Japanese princess and dozens of other dignitaries and friends — and Stockholm joined in the moment as shouts of glee were heard from afar when the groom and then the bride affirmed their vows with the Swedish “ja.” The happy bride and groom exited the chapel to the accompaniment of gospel music, while the crowned heads of Europe clapped along to the memorable version of Beethoven's “Joyful, joyful we adore thee.”
Crown Princess Victoria reads a passage from scripture during her brother's wedding ceremony.
A horse-drawn carriage took the newlyweds through the city streets with thousands of well-wishers waving Swedish flags and calling out congratulations for their Prince Carl Philip and his bride Sofia, a commoner from the small central town of Älvdalen, Sweden and now a real-life princess. Sweden is a constitutional monarchy and the king has no political power, but public support for the royal family has remained fairly broad, and the support and love shown for the royal family — and this wedding was no exception — is a good example of that.
The newlyweds leave the palace in the historic horse-drawn carriage that paraded them through the city streets of Stockholm.
Upon returning to the palace, Carl Philip, in his model 1878 uniform of the Swedish Amphibious Corps with military and royal medals, and his bride and family at his side, addressed the crowd from the front of the palace, showing his down to earth side and charming everyone: "Dear friends, Let me present my dear wife, Princess Sofia. With humility, let me thank you for coming to share our happiness. One of the most important and most beautiful memories that we will take with us is that so many of you wanted to come and celebrate love and show that Sweden is a warm country — a country with a lot of love."
Crown Princess Victoria, Prince Daniel and Princess Estelle wave at the crowd on Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia's wedding day, June 13, 2015.
Inside, the wedding dinner was served. The newlyweds sat together at the head table, in front of another wall of flowers. The menu included white asparagus “Princess Sofia” cooked in elderflower juice with roe from Älvdalen, asparagus and chive emulsion, Langoustine simmered with coriander served with grilled scallop, wood sorrel and split peas, pike-perch with grilled spring vegetables, caramelized crème fraîche and smoked butter, peach and raspberry tartelette with white chocolate, champagne and peach sorbet.
Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia cut their wedding cake.
The couple cut the cake then danced their first waltz. The evening got underway with dancing in Karl XI's Gallery, with no shortage of moving tributes and speeches throughout the night, which was an overall joyous and relaxed celebration — no matter if they were royalty or from Älvdalen, everyone partied and mingled with each other. Guests who took a break from dancing were served Jansson's temptation, cheese, sausage and bread. The royal couple delighted the guests and stayed until the end, which is reported to have gone on until 5:30 a.m.
The official wedding photo of HRH Prince Carl Philip and HRH Princess Sofia of Sweden. Prince Carl Philip in a Swedish military uniform with royal medals, and Princess Sofia in a silk gown by Swedish designer Ida Sjöstedt. Photo: Mattias Edwall, Kungahuset.se