Meghan Markle’s Wedding Photos Now Mean Something Very Different

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry tied the knot eight years ago and their wedding captivated millions who tuned in to watch them exchange their vows. Now, Meghan has taken to social media and shared seen some never-seen-before wedding pics that now seem to carry an entirely different meaning.

On Monday, Meghan shared these wedding reception snaps to Instagram to celebrate their anniversary. The candid images show the couple laughing, dancing, spinning and loved up during their evening reception.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex got married on May 19, 2018 at Windsor Castle, and followed it with an evening reception at Frogmore Cottage.

Meghan shared pics of the day wedding as well as the evening celebration, which up until now was kept tightly under wraps.

Meghan wore her second wedding dress — a sleek halter-style Stella McCartney gown after she changed out of her formal wedding dress to her evening bash.

But for many royal family fans, the photos were about more than fashion, or wedding nostalgia.

The newly released images arrived years after Megxit, when Harry and Meghan cut ties and relocated to California, and Harry wrote his memoir Spare that shredded the monarchy.

What started as a modern royal fairytale, now feels more like a long-forgotten memory from an entirely different era. Because that much has changed.

Meghan shared the photos in two Instagram posts with her 4.5 million followers.

“Eight years ago today…🌙,” she captioned 12 of the evening wedding snaps.

The images were intimate, romantic, and fun as Harry and Meghan twirled, dipped and laughed together while celebrating with close friends and family members.

According to People, the couple danced to Wilson Pickett’s “Land of 1000 Dances” during their first dance as husband and wife.

“That was our first dance. It was so fun,” Meghan shared in the documentary Harry & Meghan. “Just spinning like a whirlwind. It was so great.”

Apparently, the reception was far less formal than most royal weddings and it can be seen in the couple's joy in each other.

“It was a huge dance party, everyone was letting loose and had a blast. Just a fun night and not stuffy at all,” a source told People.

Meghan's evening gown was stunning as she danced the night away with her new husband. The photos showed how much more relaxed and modern it looked compared to the Givenchy wedding dress for the church ceremony.

When Prince Harry and Meghan Markle wed in 2018, their marriage was seen as a new phase for the British phase. Meghan, was an American actress, and their wedding became one of the most-watched royal events in recent history.

But things changed, and with it, the public's perception of the couple.

When they stepped back in 2020, their relationship seemed to change with the other royal family members, particularly after certain interviews. Since then, the public has kept a watchful, and sometimes criticizing, eye over them.

The anniversary snaps also show how much control the couple now have over their own images. When they got married, the wedding was tightly managed by the palace, but now the new photos were simply shared through Meghan's personal Instagram account.

The celebrities are now free to tell their story on their own terms, be it through streaming projects or interviews.

But the wedding photos now tell a story of a bygone era in the Sussex's lives, before family tensions, media battles and the royal fallout began making news headlines.

In her Instagram Stories, Meghan also shared a candid homemade video of their anniversary.

It showed Harry entering the room with a lemon elderflower cake, him singing along with the kids, and a beautiful wooden sculpture of two penguins. There was even an envelope was addressed to "The one and only."

Rounding off the picture-perfect celebration was a homemade card with Harry and Meghan in penguin outfits, flowers, and two large cards on the floor propped up against the table seemingly crafted by their kids.