In 2005 Sykes married British entrepreneur Toby Rowland, son of businessman "Tiny" Rowland, at Sledmere House, her family's ancestral home (1751) in the East Riding of Yorkshire. Her dress was designed by Sykes' friend and "protégé" of Isabella Blow, Alexander McQueen. Sykes was sometimes described as a muse of McQueen; she modelled for some of his earliest catwalk shows, as well as for photoshoots of his designs. Before her wedding, she wrote an article for "Vogue" about shopping for suitable lingerie for her wedding night, an article that included reference to a "$900 bra". Six years later some fashion journalists (anticipating correctly the chosen designer) claimed that Catherine Middleton had been inspired by Sykes' wedding dress to choose Burton to design hers for her marriage to Prince William, Duke of Cambridge.