Princess Eugenie’s A-List Wedding Guests Couldn’t Stop ‘Thanking’ Designer Brands On Instagram

Like any good pop culture event, last Friday’s royal wedding – which saw the Queen’s granddaughter Princess Eugenie marry tequila purveyor Jack Brooksbank at St George’s Chapel in Windsor – meant different things to different people. For the couple, it was about celebrating their love story so far, saying marriage vows in front of 850 close friends and family, and getting Prince George to appear in their wedding photos. For Meghan Markle, apparently, it was the perfect time to drop some special pregnancy news. For prodigal royal Sarah Ferguson, it was a chance to wear a spectacular hat inspired by the Golden Snitch, safe in the knowledge that all the best A-listers on the guest list were picked from her extended friendship circle. And for those A-listers, a royal wedding provided the perfect platform to subtly showcase some #brand #partnerships on Instagram – social media ban be damned!

Look back at Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank's wedding guests in the gallery below...

Despite phones presumably being off-limits for both the ceremony and the afterparty, it seems that this alleged ban was rather less strictly enforced than at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle earlier this year. Images shared on Instagram Stories showed every aspect of Jack and Eugenie's big day, from the 'royal bus' which conveyed guests to Windsor Castle to the couple cutting their wedding cake inside St George's Hall, while the likes of Ricky Martin (yes, the Ricky Martin was also in attendance) weren't afraid to pose for selfies inside the venue. Indeed, smartphones were apparently so ubiquitous that you can just about see a woman taking a selfie in the background of an official wedding photo. It only seems a shame that Eugenie (famously the only royal with a personal Instagram account) didn't start up an 'ask me anything' in the lull between the speeches and the evening do.

Most intriguing, though, were the many ways in which wedding guests used their presence at St George's Chapel to showcase their relationships with various high end brands. Exhibit A is Ayda Field, friend of the bride and mother of standout flower girl Teddy Williams, who, after a conciliatory nod to 'love' being 'in the air,' took to Instagram to thank three brands - Giorgio Armani, Philip Treacy and Jessica McCormack Diamonds, for helping a girl out with her wedding guest look (extra marks for the additional #armaniprive nod alongside #wedding fever). Her after-party look got similar social media treatment, complete with tags for her clothes and her hair and make-up team. Naomi Campbell took a similar - and characteristically direct - approach on the 'gram. The model uploaded a pap picture showing her arrival at the chapel, her nonchalant gesture and facial expressions best described as 'Who? Me?', complete with a caption tagging Ralph&Russo and Philip Treacy (her designers of choice), jewellery brand Samer Halimeh and her hairdresser and MUA. Oh, and @princesseugenie got a look in, too.

Perhaps it's sweet that these stars are shouting out the teams they're working with (these days, a hair styling credit on Instagram could prove pretty lucrative in terms of raising profile and netting future work), or perhaps it's just proof of how influencer culture has seeped into the celebrity world. Either way, let's take a moment for Demi Moore, who not only joined Instagram for the occasion, but proceeded to upload a lengthy video in which she sung the praises of her Stella McCartney dress, her Philip Treacy hat, her Malone Souliers shoes and her Gabriela Hearst 'Demi' bag, with all the charm of your mum accidentally switching on FaceTime.

A vlogging career surely awaits.