Zara Phillips married Mike Tindall in intimate ceremony

Zara Phillips, 30, the granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth and Equestrian Champion, and Mike Tindall, 32, captain of England’s rugby team, were greeted with the sound of bagpipes by a crowd of hundreds of people waving English flags.

Away from the buzz generated by the global union of Prince William and Kate Middleton, on April 29 at Westminster Abbey in London, the Scottish marriage was relatively intimate.

The ceremony was closed to the public, many people getting up at dawn in hopes of seeing the royal family and players of the national rugby team invited to the wedding.

No more than 300 guests attended the wedding, among which were the bride’s mother, Princess Anne, and several cousins: Prince Harry, Prince William and his wife Kate, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, daughters of Prince Andrew.

The bride’s dress ivory silk satin gown was signed Stewart Parvin, a designer favored by her grandmother. She wore Jimmy Choo shoes and a tiara loaned from Princess Anne.

Tindall wore a suit adorned with coattails and a light grey stripe on the trouser legs. White roses decorated the inside of the church.

The reception that followed was held at one of the Queen’s residences, the Palace of Holyroodhouse.

“My wedding will be nothing like Kate and William’s. For a start, there won’t be anywhere near as many people. It will be a lot smaller, just close family and friends. Kate and William’s wedding was amazing but ours will be very different,” Zara Phillips told Hello Magazine.

Zara Phillips met her future husband in 2003 in Australia, during England’s Rugby World Cup-winning campaign in 2003. They were introduced by Zara’s cousin, Prince Harry. Several teammates and coaches of the groom attended their wedding.