It’s one of the most talked about wedding dresses of last year and this year and it was inspired by two of the most famous royal gowns of all.
Holly Ramsay’s marriage to Olympic champion swimmer, Adam Peaty, at Bath Abbey as 2025 drew to a close attracted plenty of headlines and photos but despite all the attention, the bride managed to keep her frock under wraps until the first days of 2026.
Now, in an exclusive with British Vogue magazine, Holly has revealed that she looked to two of the most famous princesses of recent times for inspiration when it came to choosing her wedding look.
The new Mrs Ramsey Peaty told Vogue that she wanted something ”very traditional and quite modest, with lace” and the brides who walked into their royal weddings as Grace Kelly and Kate Middleton took a place in her planning.
And she added another layer of royal influence to her bridal ensemble as she chose a design by Elie Saab to make her dreams come true – the Lebanese couturier created the wedding gowns of the Grand Duchess of Luxembourg as well as her sister in law, Princess Claire, and the dress worn by the wife of the heir to the Jordanian throne, Princess Rajwa, for her marriage.
The result was a full length gown covered in lace with cap sleeves and a skirt that pooled into a lace trimmed train, all covered with a cathedral length veil, finished with more lace.
The inspiration from Grace and Kate is clear. The Princess of Wales chose a lace covered gown by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen for her April 2011 wedding at Westminster Abbey. Kate’s dress also had a lace covered bodice and its echoes could be seen in Holly’s gown which featured similar lace covered sleeves.
Grace Kelly turned to film couturier, Helen Rose, for her legendary wedding gown. The dress was a gift from MGM, the film studio, to Grace Kelly who had been one of the most successful actresses of the 1950s with an Oscar to her name by the time she became a princess in 1956.
The wedding dress was made of peau de soie and covered in lace and featured a high necked bodice and structured skirt as well as a dramatic veil.
Holly Ramsay Peaty’s dress was kept under wraps by a giant cloak that she wore as she arrived at the Abbey with her father, Gordon Ramsay, and that she again put on to walk out with her husband, Adam Ramsay Peaty.
Her bridesmaids were in festive red for the wedding, which took place on December 27 2025, with their outfits created by Lady Beckham, better known as Victoria, who has also designed outfits worn by the Princess of Wales.
Victoria and husband, Sir David Beckham, were among the guests at the star studded wedding which also attracted controversy after some of the groom’s family stayed away following unhappiness before the big day.
Holly told Vogue that she had relied on her own family heavily when choosing the dress, touring London boutiques with mum, Tana, until she found the perfect look. And to add another family element to the whole event, the bride changed into her mum’s wedding dress for part of the reception before grabbing another Elie Saab wedding outfit, a short and sequinned cocktail dress, to party the night away in.
It’s a popular trend now for brides to have two dresses and one that the Princess of Wales followed, choosing an off the shoulder white dress with sequinned belt for her wedding day party. Grace Kelly also had two wedding dresses although her other one was worn the day before the famous lace gown made its debut. Grace became a princess in a civil ceremony at the Prince’s Palace in Monaco the day before her religious wedding and chose a pale pink lace two piece suit for that celebration.
Full details of Holly Ramsay Peaty’s wedding dress can be see in British Vogue, out now.
