Royal Wedding 2011: Did Pippa Middleton Outshine Kate Middleton?

April 29, 2011 — -- Pippa Middleton may be the royal wedding's surprise standout after wearing a white dress that rivaled sister Kate Middleton's lacey gown.

Pippa Middleton, 27, served as her older sister's maid of honor. She fulfilled her duties, holding the bouquet and carrying the train of Kate's gown, all in her own white ensemble.

"Does the bridesmaid or maid of honor wear white?" asked Joy Behar on "The View." "I've never heard of something...you're not supposed to compete with the bride."

The ivory satin based crepe dress was designed by Sarah Burton of Alexander McQueen, the same designer responsible for the Grace Kelly like wedding gown worn by Kate Middleton.

Explore Kate's Dress and Wedding Dresses of the House of Windsor

In royal weddings, the bridal party is typically full of younger girls whose gowns are similar to the material of the bride's dress. Kate Middleton broke tradition when choosing her sister as her maid of honor and Pippa Middleton broke tradition by wearing white.

Pippa Middleton, best friend to her sister, chose a minimalist, cowl necked, form fitting dress.

"Her dress was so sexy," said Sherri Shepherd on "The View." "I'm going to make sure none of my bridesmaids outshine me. You will be in a freaking muumuu."

Fashion experts thought the minimalist style worn by Pippa Middleton was a possible trend that Kate Middleton considered before settling on her gown.

"Having spent the last week in London and hearing all the speculation about what Catherine would wear, what people were saying she would wear is exactly what Pippa was wearing, a very classic column. So I like the counterpoint that they gave each other," said fashion expert Tim Gunn. "Very interesting that Pippa would wear that dress everyone predicted Catherine would wear."

Watch the Royal Wedding

After seeing Prince Harry and Pippa Middleton stand together on the balcony of Buckingham Palace when Prince William and his bride kissed, royal watchers pondered if Harry and Pippa might make a cute couple themselves.

While her older sister has been linked to Prince William for nearly a decade, Pippa Middleton has fast become one of Britain's most coveted bachelorettes. In 2008, Tatler magazine named her the number one society singleton.

She's technically attached. In December 2010, she began dating former cricket player and current businessman Alex Loudon, 30. But after all but stealing the spotlight at today's wedding, some are hoping she and Prince Harry might ignite a royal romance of their own. Prince Harry attended the wedding with his on-off girlfriend, Chelsy Davy.

Twitter was abuzz with tweets about Pippa Middleton and Harry. British model Calum Best tweeted: "Pippa is a beaut haha. Harry and Pippa next! #jealousmuch haha."

Pippa also caught the eye of international pop sensation Justin Bieber. After the wedding, he tweeted "congrats to William and Kate ...and Kate's sister. She was a hit with @thatrygood," referring to his stylist, Ryan Good.

Although commonly referred to as Pippa, her full name is Philippa Charlotte Middleton. But family members call her Pip.

As Kate Middleton has increasingly been in the spotlight, Pippa has found herself popular among the paparazzi too. She's raised her profile by stepping out at parties with Richard Branson's kids and been at the side of Kate Middleton at Prince William's polo matches.

In summer of 2010, Pippa Middleton put her English degree from Edinburgh University to use when she launched The Party Times, an online party magazine. The site is a must-see destination with everything you need to know about planning parties, and includes theme ideas, tips and games. She knows a lot about the party planning business considering her parents founded Party Pieces, an online party supply company in 1987.

Part of Pippa Middleton's wedding duties included planning tonight's big bash at Buckingham Palace featuring disco balls and a DJ.