Something Blue! Meghan Markle Finds Stylish and Sentimental Ways to Add Color to Her Reception Look

Meghan Markle may have opted for monochrome and traditional white palette during her wedding ceremony, but the new royal embraced another wedding tradition by adding touches of blue to her second look for her wedding reception.

The Duchess of Sussex, 36, stepped out with Prince Harry for the evening party in a sexy open-back Stella McCartney evening dress featuring a high halter neck.

Her first something blue was sneakily and stylishly incorporated into her second look courtesy of the soles of her custom white satin Aquazurra shoes which were dyed baby blue.

Meghan also honored her mother-in-law, the late Princess Diana by wearing her emerald cut aquamarine ring on her right hand, PEOPLE confirms.

Diana famously wore the emerald cut Aquamarine stunner to an auction of her own clothes at Christie’s in 1997. The jewel is part of a set — the other piece is an aquamarine bracelet, where it’s connected by five strands of pearls. She wore both to a gala dinner in Australia in 1996.

Eva Hartling, the vice president of Maison Birks — Meghan’s favorite brand — tells PEOPLE she expected the bride to wear something blue during her wedding ceremony but thought the sweet touch was perfect.

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“I thought she could have gone with something blue with a piece of jewelry for example in her first look, but we saw it in her second look with her ring belonging to Diana,” says Hartling. “I think that was symbolic.”

Meghan Markle, Princess Diana

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Harry also found ways to pay tribute to the wedding tradition, driving the couple off to their reception in a silver-blue Jaguar E-Type Concept Zero.

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Meghan also changed up her hairstyle — and hair stylist — turning to George Northwood to create her effortless updo, after go-to Hollywood stylist Serge Normant created her bridal hair moment for the ceremony.

The former actress once said that Carolyn Bessette Kennedy’s bridal look was “everything goals” and she appears to have taken notes from the late star with her own elegant and effortless bridal style.

Meghan and Harry had a fairytale wedding in St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle on May 19, where she wore a gorgeous custom Givenchy design by the label’s British Artistic Director, Clare Waight Keller, that was fit for an elegant princess.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle greet crowds outside of Windsor Castle following their wedding ceremony

HANNAH MCKAY/Getty

The service was attended by close family and friends, including Queen Elizabeth, Prince Philip, Prince Charles, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, Prince William and Kate Middleton. Charles had a special role in the service, escorting Meghan down the aisle after it was confirmed that her father, Thomas Markle, couldn’t attend the wedding.

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Following the ceremony, the newlyweds will climb into the Ascot Landau carriage from the Royal Mews to take them on their first horse-drawn journey through the streets of Windsor.

The pair began dating in July 2016 after meeting on a blind date and were first revealed as a couple in October 2016. During their high-speed, long-distance courtship, Harry and Meghan spent time together at each other’s respective homes in London and Toronto, where Markle filmed Suits. The seventh season of the USA legal drama was Meghan’s last.