Sarah Ferguson And Daughter Princess Eugenie Were Both Gorgeous Brides At Their Royal Weddings

Like mother, like daughter! When Queen Elizabeth‘s granddaughter Princess Eugenie married Jack Brooksbank in a lavish royal wedding at Windsor Castle’s St. George’s Chapel on Friday, Oct. 12, fans around the world couldn’t help but compare Eugenie’s nuptials to her mother Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York‘s July 1986 wedding to Prince Andrew. 

While Eugenie and Sarah, 58, got married in different locations — Fergie and Andrew tied the knot at London’s Westminster Abbey — and during very different seasons, there were actually lots of similarities between the York women’s nuptials. They were even nearly the same age when they tied the knot: Sarah was 26 and Eugenie is 28!

First, let’s backtrack to before the weddings and compare Sarah and Eugenie’s similar engagement rings. When Andrew popped the question to Fergie back in March 1986, he presented her with a gorgeous Burmese ruby surrounded by 10 diamonds on a gold band. The Prince reportedly chose the red-colored stone because it reminded him of Sarah’s fiery red hair.

More than 30 years later when Jack proposed to Eugenie during a trip to Nicaragua, he gave her a “lotus blossom” engagement ring featuring a pink-orange oval cut padparadscha sapphire surrounded by a cluster of pear-shaped diamonds.

Though Sarah and Eugenie have nearly matching engagement rings, their wedding dresses couldn’t have been more different. For her big day back in the mid-1980s, Fergie donned a beautiful frock designed by Lindka Cierach. The ivory duchesse satin gown included a big skirt, scoop neckline, beaded bodice, pouffy, three-quarter-length sleeves, and a 17-foot long train embroidered with “A” and “S” initials in silver beading. Sarah accessorized her bridal look with a stunning veil and the York Diamond Tiara.

As for Eugenie, the modern royal bride chose designers Peter Pilotto and Christopher De Vos — who founded the British-based label Peter Pilotto — to create her wedding gown. The long-sleeved dress with an elegant train featured a unique, deep-v neckline that had fabric that folded across Eugenie’s shoulders. It also perfectly showed off the Princess’ back and especially her scar from undergoing scoliosis surgery when she was 12 years old.

Eugenie’s wedding dress also included brocade detailing of a “Thistle for Scotland, The Shamrock for Ireland, The York Rose for England, and The Ivy representing the couple’s home,” according to CNN Style. And though the Princess chose not to wear a veil on her wedding day, she did don the stunning Greville Emerald Kokoshnik Tiara, which she borrowed from her grandmother Queen Elizabeth. She accessorized the look with a pair of diamond and emerald drop earrings, which were a gift from her groom, Jack.

Like her mother, Eugenie also chose to have a wedding party with mostly young children. When Sarah exchanged vows with Andrew, she chose a young Zara Tindall as one of her Bridesmaids and Eugenie had Zara’s daughter, Mia Tinall, in her 2018 wedding. Eugenie’s husband, Jack, similarly chose his brother Thomas Brooksbank to be his Best Man just like Prince Andrew had his brother, Prince Edward, as his Best Man.

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