Every Royal Bride Has Carried a Sprig of This One Flower in Her Bouquet

Queen Elizabeth II, then Princess Elizabeth, married Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, in 1947. Her jaunt down the aisle of Westminster Abbey was complete with a bouquet full or orchids and, of course, the sprig of myrtle. The church was also decorated with white lilies, chrysanthemums, carnations, roses, camellia, and ivy, and the reception at Buckingham Palace was beautifully adorned with vases of pink and white carnations atop the tables. 

Along with the myrtle, Duchess Kate carried a bouquet filled with hyacinths, lily of the valley, and Sweet William as a tribute to her husband.

The theme of their wedding was revealed to be "The Language of Flowers," which is a Victorian custom of giving each bloom a different meaning so that sweet scents and sweet nothings could be coded and exchanged between courting couples. The lily of the valley symbolized a return to happiness, the hyacinths represented constancy, and the ivy reflected fidelity.

Princess Diana's cascading bouquet of gardenias, stephanotis, orchids, lily of the valley, roses, freesia, veronica, spider lilies, and ivy reportedly weighed two kilos (ahem, that's a whopping four pounds!). The interior of St. Paul's was also decorated to the max and featured 300 pots of hydrangeas, lilies, and campanulas.

Sophie, like the other royal brides, stuck to royal tradition for her wedding to Prince Edward in 1999. Although her waterful bouquet wasn't nearly as elaborate (or as heavy) as the late Princess Diana, it was filled with plenty of ivory petalsm from  roses and calla lilies to lily of the valley and freesia. She later preserved a portion of the bouquet to have framed for her drawing room.

For his second wedding, Prince Charles' ceremony at Windsor Castle in 2005 was a bit more understated than when he married the Princess of Wales. Camilla Parker Bowles carried a simple posy bouquet of spring blooms, including lily of the valley and yellow, purple, and cream primroses to complement her Robinson Valentine silk dress and custom-made Philip Treacy fascinator. 

Only the best blooms for the Queen's granddaughter, right? Zara Phillips married rugby player Mike Tindall in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 2011. Her bouquet was made of white calla lilies, silver senecio, lily of the valley, hydrangeas. She also gave a subtle nod to the Scottish location of her nuptials by filling her bouquet with alpine thistles. The bridesmaids carried smaller versions, accented with blue thistles. The venue, Cannongate Kirk, was laced with stargazer lilies and beech branches, and the outside was decorated with roses, carnations, stocks, hydrangea, eucalyptus, and more alpine thistles.