Under a sunny sky and warm temperatures, thousands of Swedes lined the streets of Stockholm, and European royals, dignitaries and family members entered the palace courtyard en route to the chapel. Prince Daniel arrived with Crown Princess Victoria, who was praised for wearing a flowing grey and white eco-conscious gown from the new H&M Conscious Collection. She was also wearing the Connaught Tiara for the fist time — originally a wedding gift to Princess Margaret of Connaught when she married Sweden's (future) King Gustaf VI Adolf in 1905. Later her son gave it to his bride Princess Sibylla in 1932; it is often called Princess Sibylla's Tiara.
Princess Madeleine made it to her brother's wedding, heavily pregnant with her second baby (who was born less than 48 hours later). She was glowing in a dress by Lebanese designer Elie Saab, and wore the same tiara and Vasa earrings she wore on her own wedding day in 2013. She arrived with her husband Christopher O'Neill and 16-month-old daughter, Princess Leonore, who wore an apricot colored dress, said to have originally belonged to King Gustaf VI Adolf, her great-great-grandfather.
Queen Silvia entered with King Carl XVI Gustaf, who was in full royal regalia. She was wearing an embroidered lilac dress and the Leuchtenberg Sapphire Tiara, one of her favorites.

The wedding ceremony
Inside the Royal Chapel, trees lined the walls, and splendid pink, peach, coral and yellow flowers were cloistered everywhere; this grand floral theme was repeated on the palace balcony and in the reception halls as well. The ceremony began at 4:30 p.m., officiated by the King's Chaplain Lars-Göran Lönnermark and Pastor Michael Bjerkhagen. It lasted about 40 minutes.
The prince walked down the aisle with his best man, and waited eagerly for his bride. As hoped, 3-year-old Princess Estelle, who is Prince Carl Philip's niece and goddaughter, was a flower girl and walked down the aisle with three other girls — all in matching white dresses with peach flowers.
The untraditional service began as the bride entered on her father's arm to the music of Enya and the prince blinked back happy tears as he walked to meet her in the aisle — she was breathtaking in a gown by Swedish designer Ida Sjöstedt, made of silk crepe and organza, with lace sleeves and a long train. And in her hair was a new, sparkling emerald-and-diamond tiara. There had been speculation that she might wear Princess Lilian's laurel wreath tiara as “something borrowed” from Victoria, who inherited it, but this new crown, now called the Värmland tiara, would be her own, a gift of welcome and affection from her new in-laws, King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia. Her hair, which was twisted into an elegant low chignon that held her veil, also sported green sprigs of myrtle — a tradition since 1935 for royal Swedish brides.
Stockholm joined in the moment as shouts of glee could be heard from afar when the groom and bride affirmed their vows with the Swedish “Ja.” After performances of modern but meaningful music and a personal homily by the pastor, the very happy couple recessed down the chapel aisle to the accompaniment of gospel music, while the crowned heads of Europe clapped along to the memorable version of Beethoven's “Joyful, joyful we adore thee.”

Public celebration
Upon marriage, Sofia Hellqvist became Her Royal Highness Princess Sofia of Sweden, Duchess of Värmland. It is up to the king to decide whether anyone who marries into the Swedish royal family should be offered a royal title. A month before the wedding, King Carl XVI Gustaf announced his decision to name her a princess. And so, following tradition, after the church ceremony, HRH Prince Carl Philip and HRH Princess Sofia made their first public appearance as newlyweds traveling through Stockholm in a horse drawn carriage. Well-wishers waved Swedish flags and called out congratulations for their Prince Carl Philip and his bride Sofia, a commoner from the small town of Älvdalen, Sweden and now a real-life princess.
Sofia and Carl Philip, in his model 1878 uniform of the Swedish Amphibious Corps with military and royal medals, returned to the palace balcony and were greeted by a 21-gun salute from Skeppsholmen. The prince, with his bride and family at his side, addressed the crowd from the front of the palace, showing his humility and charm: "Dear friends, let me present my dear wife, Princess Sofia. With humility, let me thank you for coming to share our happiness. One of the most important and most beautiful memories that we will take with us is that so many of you wanted to come and celebrate love and show that Sweden is a warm country, a country with a lot of love."

The reception
Inside the Royal Palace, a lavish reception for about 370 guests was waiting in the Vita Havet Assembly Rooms. The prince, who has a keen interest in fine cuisine, was personally involved with helping to choose the food that was served at his wedding dinner. The menu included white asparagus “Princess Sofia”- cooked in elderflower juice with roe from Älvdalen, asparagus and chive emulsion, Langoustine simmered with coriander served with grilled scallop, wood sorrel and split peas, pike-perch with grilled spring vegetables, caramelized crème fraîche and smoked butter, peach and raspberry tartelette with white chocolate, champagne and peach sorbet.
The couple cut the tiered cake that looked like a royal monogram, then danced their first waltz. The evening got underway with dancing in Karl XI's Gallery, with no shortage of moving tributes and speeches throughout the night, which was an overall joyous and relaxed celebration; no matter if guests were royalty or from Älvdalen, everyone partied and mingled with each other. In keeping with the theme of contemporary music, two of Sweden's best known music acts performed — dance music star DJ Avicii and Icona Pop. And guests who needed a break from dancing were served Jansson's temptation, cheese, sausage and bread. The royal couple delighted the guests and stayed until the end, which is reported to have gone on until 5:30 a.m.