Wedding dress of Sarah Ferguson Wedding dress of Sarah Ferguson Sarah Ferguson wore a dress made from ivory duchesse satin and featuring heavy beading for her wedding to Prince Andrew, Duke of York on 23 July 1986 at Westminster Abbey. Designed by Lindka Cierach, the beadwork incorporated various symbols including hearts representing romance, anchors and waves representing Prince Andrew's sailing background and bumblebees and thistles, which were taken from Sarah Ferguson's family heraldry. Copies of the dress, including the motifs specific to the royal family, went on sale in stores just hours after the end of the wedding. Influenced by the wedding dress of Lady
Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough Walpole, the First Lord of the Treasury (effectively the same as today's Prime Minister) vetoed the plan. Walpole, although a Whig, had alienated Sarah by supporting peace in Europe; she was also suspicious of his financial probity; and Walpole, in turn, mistrusted Sarah. Despite this, good relations with the royal family continued, and Sarah was occasionally invited to court by Queen Caroline, who attempted to cultivate her friendship. The Duchess of Marlborough was a capable business manager, unusual in a period when women were excluded from most things outside the management of their household. Her friend Arthur Maynwaring wrote that