Every bride is beautiful but only a handful could ever be considered 'iconic'. Is it the combination of style icon wearing extraordinary wedding dress? Or, can a glorious gown hold the key to transforming a blushing bride into a style superstar? The festive period is one of the most popular times of the year to get married so read on to discover the ‘behind the scene’ tales of some of the greatest wedding dresses ever. Who created them? What made them so memorable? Why do some touch the zeitgeist or impact on history whilst others are discarded like faded photographs? Study our guide to the definitive top ten iconic brides.

Picture: When Catherine Middleton married Prince William in April 2011, the fashion world rejoiced at her dress choice – Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen. In a demure, Grace Kelly-esque style, with lace sleeves and a full skirt, this was a dress to behold. It has proved so timeless that it was recently exhibited at Buckingham Palace.

Grace Kelly's wedding day in 1956 turned out to be her last but greatest role. Still tied into a 7-year contract with movie giant, MGM, she agreed to be filmed in return for a get out clause. She chose legendary MGM wardrobe designer, Helen Rose (whose credits include Cat of a Hot Tin Roof, On The Town and Ziegfield Follies) to come up with a dress to give her a fitting exit. Made from 22 metres of silk taffeta and 90 metres of tulle, the gown was ingenious. Tightly fitted to the waist to show off Kelly's near perfect dimensions and yet the movie star's arms, swan-like neck and torso were entirely swathed in fragile antique Valenciennes rose point lace, making her gown equally appropriate for a Royal bride getting married in the devout Catholic province of Monaco. Although the couple were not allowed to look at each other throughout the ceremony, Rose had also made sure Grace's veil (which was embroidered with lace doves and seed pearls) was just sheer enough to give the cameras a great close-up of her legendary glacial beauty. Grace later complained of strong lighting. Prince Rainier banned the showing of her films in Monaco henceforth. Could it be he was simply cross no one had noticed (or cared) that he had designed his wedding uniform (fact)?

And the bride wore…platforms (course she did!) but everything else about that wedding gown worn by 25-year old Victoria Beckham in July 1999 was more fairytale than footballer's wife. Not to mention posh! When the former Spice Girl married football legend, David, in a private ceremony in Ireland (photographed by OK! magazine), the big story was THE DRESS! In classy champagne silk -with no frills or flashy sequins in sight - the Vera Wang creation with its 20-foot train, hinted at the style-conscious frockstar emerging from chavvy popstar. Estimated to have cost £50,000, the boned corset gave Victoria a 20 inch waist just four months after giving birth to baby Brooklyn, who was ring bearer, wearing ivory breeches and a jacket matching Dad's (David wore top-to-toe ivory with matching highlights). With her pixie haircut and Queen Titania-style £120,000 18-carat gold and diamond tiara created by Slim Barrett, Victoria rocked the fairy vibe to the max. Photographed poised on gilded thrones with Brooklyn in a crib, the Beckhams' confirmed their status as celebrity royalty. Ten years on the romance has endured and as we all now know, she has seriously upped the ante on her style choices.

Perhaps the most famous alternative to the wedding dress ever was worn by Nicaraguan beauty, Bianca Macias, to wed Rolling Stone rocker, Mick Jagger in St Tropez in 1971. Although her white jacket and maxi skirt are often attributed to Yves Saint Laurent, her ensemble was actually created by Tommy Nutter, the Savile Row tailor, popular with rock stars of the time such as the Beatles. The designer had created a shirt and waistcoat to go with Bianca's outfit but being four months pregnant (with daughter Jade) it did not fit, so she wore nothing underneath. Bianca topped off her look with a floppy hat and veil which shielded her from the Riviera sunshine - and paparazzi (the wedding ceremony was postponed by one and a half hours because a row broke out with the police over the amount of photographers allowed in to the town hall.) She also tied a floral corsage around her wrist, which almost but not quite obscured the crucial accessory of the rock wife: a blingtastic diamond bracelet.

Sinatra met Mia in 1964 on the set of Peyton Place, a racy soap opera gripping America not least because of its hauntingly beautiful and trailblazing teen star. Mia's looks, gamine proportion (her measurements at the time were 20,20,20) and cool off-screen 'model' style, had also got newspapers in a spin. She was the Cheryl Cole of her day… only she hadn't been raised on a council estate. Her father was a leading film director and her mother a famous actress whose best friend was Vivien Leigh. Although Mia caused a sensation, aged 21, when she wed twice-married 50 year Sinatra, it came as no surprise her ivory Mod-look wedding dress -attributed to West Hollywood fashion icon Pat Woolley - looked like it could have marched straight off the Paris catwalks. With hair newly chopped for her breakout role in the horror movie, Rosemary's Baby, directed by Roman Polanski, Mia became Frank's child bride in 1966 at The Sands hotel in Las Vegas. (Dean Martin famously joked he had a bottle of Scotch older than Mia). At 5'4, standing two inches lower than old blue eyes, she wore trendy flats. Alas, being the wife of the macho Rat Pack leader would eventually prove incompatible. The marriage ended two years later. She then famously sought solace on the hippy trail in India joined by The Beatles.

When 20 year old Lady Diana Spencer chose two recent graduates from the Royal College of Art, Elizabeth and David Emanuel, to design the wedding dress of her dreams in 1981, little did she know the impact this would have on fashion, on wedding gowns, on her, and on the world. The dress - viewed by an estimated global TV audience of 750 million - would help make her the most photographed woman ever. Hugely romantic, created from rustling silk taffeta with puffed leg-'o-mutton sleeves and a frilly neckline, it was a wildly imaginative interpretation of what a modern day Princess should look like. Legend has it Diana chose it whilst watching a video of the Emanuel's fashion show, squealing with delight when it came to the finale: the fairytale wedding gown. She requested a supersized adaptation. Dripping in lace, hand-embroidered with 10,000 real pearls, a 25 foot train twinkling with sequins, held in place by several layers of starched petticoats - some had to be removed during a run through because the 'stand in' Prince Charles couldn’t fit in the gold coach - this is just what she got. Despite vast acreage of silk creasing and the weight of the tiara giving her a headache, the dress - like the Princess who wore it - has proved unforgettable.

She was a sophisticated debutante and newspaper fashion columnist oozing Uptown elegance. He was a Harvard graduate and newly elected senator bristling with ambition, and a dashing sense of style. When America's most eligible bachelor Jack (36) announced his engagement to society princess Jackie (24) in 1953, the dress was said to play a pivotal role in John F Kennedy winning his eventual presidency in 1961. It was also the vehicle Jacqueline Bouvier would use to demonstrate her remarkable good taste as a potential First Lady. Created for her by Ann Lowe, an African American dressmaker who made gowns for wealthy and socially prominent families like the Rockefellers and Roosevelts - it would have been considered unpatriotic to rely on Parisian designers as she did later - it took Lowe two months and 45 metres of the finest silk to make. The dress had a streamlined silhouette but was created using a complicated construction of interwoven ribbons (a distant ancestor of the Herve Leger bandage frock perhaps?). The portrait neckline and short sleeves that fell seductively off the shoulders was balanced by a nipped in waist which flared out dramatically into a ballerina skirt. Being a willowy 5’8, Jackie was able to pull off the fullness. The lace veil belonged to her grandmother. This coupled with the Tudor cap worn at the crown of her head gave a nod to the couple's Catholic faith. Even the Pope sent his blessing to this wedding.

Why is Elvis (The King) connected with brides and grooms everywhere - especially Las Vegas, wedding capital of the world? Is it because iconic photos of the Rock and Roll star and his bouffant bride, Priscilla Beaulieu, make them look like the coolest, grooviest, newly weds ever? Having met when she was just 14, they waited until she was 21 (he was 32) in 1967 before they tied the knot at the Aladdin Hotel in Vegas. Elvis wore a shiny black brocade silk tuxedo with a white carnation in his buttonhole and cowboy boots. But it is was his wife's wedding ensemble that truly demands a place in the bridal hall of fame. The floor length whiter-than-white silk chiffon gown with its sheer beaded yolk neckline and sleeves twinkling with seed pearls, epitomizes Sixties glamour (along with eyeliner, false eyeslashes, pale lippy and hairpiece). Priscilla designed the dress herself. Topped by a cloudlike tulle veil, standing three foot long and secured in place by a mighty rhinestone crown, it's difficult to say whose hair was bigger - or blacker. Elvis' bouncy quiff pales into insignificance compared to Priscillas's towering barnet. The couple later repeated the ceremony at Graceland for family wearing exactly the same clothes/make up/hairdos/cheesy grins. Exactly nine months later their daughter Lisa Marie was born. If you look closely you might even see the glint in her father's eye...

Kate Moss wed her rockstar beau Jamie Hince from The Kills in July 2011 in the rather lovely rural location of the Cotswolds. It was certainly a stylish affair, with the groom dressed in powder blue YSL, and his best 'man' Allison Mosshart matching in her own YSL number. The bride went for her usual decadent glamour in a slim-fitting, flapper style dress in cream with gold sequin detail - designed by none other than shamed Dior designer and best pal John Galliano. A surprisingly tame and extremely tasteful affair from the bad girl of fashion.

Another hotly-anticipated fashion wedding, another amazing dress from John Galliano. For Gwen Stefani's rockstar wedding to Gavin Rossdale, the singer remained true to her punk roots with this fabulous dip-dyed creation - with strawberry pink on the train of her dress. Now being shown in the V&A, this is an iconic wedding dress in a league of it's own for daring.