Olivia Henson wore an Emma Victoria Payne wedding gown to marry Hugh Grosvenor

All things considered, it’s probably much better to marry a titled aristocrat than a royal. All of the money, none of the public service expectations. In fact, if you’re an aristocrat who does public service, it’s seen as an enormous bonus rather than “well, that was expected.” There are fewer wedding rules when it comes to aristo weddings, although from what I’ve seen, the aristocrats generally keep it pretty conservative. So it is with Hugh Grosvenor and Olivia Henson’s wedding, which happened today. Hugh is the Duke of Westminster and one of the youngest billionaires in Britain (all of it inherited wealth from a vast real estate empire). Hugh married Olivia in Chester, England, where the Grosvenors’ country estate, Eaton Hall, is located. Hugh and Olivia were married at Chester Cathedral and the whole town came out for a look at Olivia’s dress.

The bride wore a wedding gown and veil designed by British designer Emma Victoria Payne. The gown is ivory silk crepe and organza, with a scalloped edge neckline, dropped waist and a keyhole back (which is racy for stuffy British weddings). Personally, I’m not crazy about the dress, but I imagine it looks prettier in person. I think the issue is that the satin doesn’t photograph very well. I do love her tiara though – Olivia wore the Faberge Myrtle Leaf Tiara, which is a Grosvenor family piece, worn by Grosvenor brides. The bride’s “something blue” was a pair of blue heels! Her bouquet was made of flowers picked from the gardens of Eaton Hall: “meadow grass, ox-eye daisies, iris, rose, clematis, mock orange, scabious, sweet pea, astrantia, martagon lily and love in a mist.” You can read more details about Olivia’s wedding look here.

There were a few photos of Prince William’s early arrival, because he’s acting as an usher (“a starring role,” according to palace insiders). I can only imagine how many ways William will make an ass out of himself at this wedding. Hugh looked nice though – he looked quite relaxed when he arrived at the cathedral.

Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images

Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Getty.