On 1 October 2021, St. Petersburg looked as if it had gone back a century. In the majestic St. Isaac's Cathedral, Grand Duke George Romanov married Rebecca Bettarini - the first wedding of a member of the Russian imperial family in Russia in more than a hundred years. The last Romanov to say "I do" on Russian soil was Prince Andrei Alexandrovich, in Crimea, in 1918 - just a few months before the Bolsheviks killed Tsar Nicholas II, Empress Alexandra and their five children.

The 1917 revolution ended more than three centuries of Romanov rule and scattered the surviving branches across Europe. The groom's mother, Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna, today's head of the Russian Imperial House, had her church wedding to Prince Franz Wilhelm of Prussia in 1976 in the Russian Orthodox chapel in Madrid. George descends from Tsar Alexander II through Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich, from the branch that for decades kept the memory of the court alive in exile.

The bride came from a completely different world. An Italian, the daughter of diplomat Roberto Bettarini, she was building a career in international relations when she met George in Brussels. After a few years together, they announced their engagement in 2020. Before the church wedding Rebecca converted to Orthodoxy and took the name Victoria Romanovna Bettarini, although in public she is still known as Rebecca.

A six-metre train and a kokoshnik-style tiara

The wedding dress was by Reem Acra: a classic design in Italian silk mikado, with a wide, voluminous skirt, long sleeves and a round neckline - the look of the classic 20th-century bride. The most spectacular detail was the six-metre train, made to measure for a stage like St. Isaac's. Over the dress went a cape by Russian designer Elina Samarina, embroidered in the traditional Torzhok gold-thread style with stones, as a tribute to Russian craftsmanship.

The crowning touch was Chaumet's Lacis tiara: white gold woven like a light net and over 438 diamonds of different sizes, inspired by the kokoshnik, the traditional Russian headdress. The most telling detail is what Rebecca could not wear: the historic Romanov jewels. The tsars' collection today belongs to Russia's state heritage. The family may marry beneath the domes of St. Petersburg, but it may not wear its own family diamonds. Those belong to the state.

The guests: from Madrid to the Balkans

Among the 1,500 guests were representatives of former and current European royal houses. Spain was represented by Queen Sofía, as George is the godson of her and King Juan Carlos. From Bulgaria came the former Tsar Simeon with his wife Margarita Gómez-Acebo, and from Albania Prince Leka. King Fuad II of Egypt was there too. So the Balkans had their place at the celebration of a Russian monarchy that no longer exists - through heirs to thrones that are also gone.

Curious onlookers, journalists and photographers gathered outside the cathedral, and the groom entered escorted by a uniformed guard. After the ceremony the newlyweds walked out under an arch of sabres and stood before the Russian and foreign press. One of the most symbolic moments came later, when the couple visited the Romanov tombs in the Peter and Paul Cathedral.

The celebration continued that evening at the Russian Museum of Ethnography, with a menu that combined both their origins: traditional Russian dishes, Italian wines and French champagne. The sweetest moment was the "Victoria Romanovna" cake, created by chef Michael Lewis in honour of the bride's Orthodox name; she changed into a second dress for the occasion. The festivities lasted three days and ended with a brunch at the Konstantinovsky Palace, once home to one branch of the Romanovs, where around 700 guests were expected, with a charity auction and a concert marking the launch of the Russian Imperial Music Society.

Five years later, the wedding is remembered for its blend of history, fashion and tradition. But the photos from October 2021 look different today: just four months later, in February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine. How many of the 1,500 guests who gathered in St. Petersburg back then would go back there today?