Pippa's Perfect Day

The gown, the guests, the party and adorable George and Charlotte – every detail of Pippa and James’ fairytale wedding was just right Compiled

- Kirstin Buick

A PRETTY young party planner weds a handsome businessman in a stylish country wedding. Sounds like a charming if unremarkable British affair – and it might have been if the bride’s sister wasn’t one of the most famous people in the world and there hadn’t been a future king, a few princes and a delightful little princess in the pews.

In what’s been dubbed the almostroyal wedding of the year, Pippa Middleton wed her beau James Matthews on a cloudy summer’s day in the Berkshire countryside.

In a stroke of good luck, a heavy down pour which began moments after the 33-year-old bride had been escorted into St Mark’s church in Bucklebury by her father, Michael Middleton, let up just as the ancient dark wood doors swung open about an hour later.

Pippa, in an exquisite snow-white bespoke gown by designer Giles Deacon, beamed as she left the church with her new husband, a hedge fund manager she started dating last year.

The couple held hands as they made their debut as husband and wife, led out of the historic village church by an adorable entourage of tots – among them the third and fourth in line to the British throne, three-year-old Prince George and his sister, Princess Charlotte (2).

Pippa’s big sister, Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, seemed determined to let the bride take the limelight that so often falls squarely on her.

Looking elegant in a dusty peach Alexander McQueen dress and Jane Taylor hat, Kate (35) helped smooth her sister’s train and gently herded the little ones in the bridal party – much like Pippa had done for her outside Westminster Abbey when she wed Prince William six years ago.

As the young flower girls and pageboys strode ahead of them, Pippa and James (41) stopped to share a kiss under the flowery archway. James may not be royalty but he’s Pippa’s Prince Charming – and she couldn’t have looked happier.