Middleton emerged from a Rolls-Royce in a gown designed by Sarah Burton of Alexander McQueen, prompting swoons of admiration from onlookers. The dress had lacy shoulders and long sleeves with a plunging, sweetheart neckline. She also wore an intricate, hand-embroidered veil topped with a Cartier tiara, on loan from Queen Elizabeth II.
William, second-in-line to the throne after his father, Prince Charles, wore the scarlet tunic of an Irish Guards officer, reinforcing his new image as a dedicated military man.
As Middleton made her way into Westminster Abbey, William had his back to her, making sure he would be surprised. Prince Harry, to the right of William, kept his brother posted by taking peeks down the aisle.
Middleton walked down the aisle of the abbey with her father, Michael Middleton, and joined William at the altar, at which time he told her, "You look beautiful." Holding each other's hands and gazing into one another's eyes, the two said their vows without stumbling. William, 28, slipped a wedding band made of Welsh gold on the finger of the 29-year-old Middleton.
Following the pronouncement by Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, Middleton's brother, James Middleton, gave an inspirational reading from the scripture of James.
About 1,900 guests were in attendance, including soccer star David Beckham and musician Elton John. The two are now known as the duke and duchess of Cambridge - the royal titles serve as the couple's first royal wedding gift, which came from the queen.
The new couple signed the wedding registry and paid their respects to the queen, and then they were driven to Buckingham Palace in an open-topped State Landau, a carriage built in 1902, escorted by four white horses and followed by scarlet-clad troops on horseback.
Horse throws its rider along parade route
One of the horses following the couple's carriage was spooked by the crowds and threw its rider. The dismounted rider, a member of the Blues and Royals horse guard, ended up on the ground when his horse tipped along the parade route.
The rider grabbed the horse by the reins and tried to pull it to the side, but the horse bolted past the newly married couple.
Newlyweds share first public kiss
At the palace, the royal couple then emerged onto the balcony. After waving to the cheering crowd, they shared two sweet, self-conscious kisses, followed by a ceremonial flyby of vintage and modern Royal Air Force planes.
Later in the afternoon, William and Middleton delighted the crowds outside of Buckingham Palace by going out for a spin in a dark-blue Aston Martin Volante convertible decorated with ribbons, bows and balloons and bearing the ceremonial license plate "JU5T WED."
The prince drove the car down London's Mall for a few minutes before pulling into Clarence House.
The Aston Martin, which has been owned by Prince Charles since 1969, was accompanied by a search-and-rescue helicopter in a special flyby. William is a serving search-and-rescue pilot on the island of Anglesey in Wales.
Millions watch wedding on computers
Millions followed the royal celebration in live streams on their computers, in addition to commenting on social media sites. On top of the many outlets offering webcasts of the event, the Royal family also offered live video on their YouTube page and tweets from the prince's official residence.
Akamai Technologies Inc., which delivers about 20 percent of the world's Internet traffic, said that global page views peaked at nearly 5.4 million per minute Friday morning.
That was good enough for the sixth largest amount of traffic ever, but well shy of the record of 10.4 million page views per minute set during the World Cup in 2010.
Parties for royal wedding guests
After all the hard work, the parties began. The palace held two parties - one hosted by the queen for 650 guests and a black-tie-evening bash for 300 close friends and family.
Middleton was seen wearing a brand new dress as she headed to the dinner reception.
The queen and her husband promised to go away for the evening, leaving the younger royals free to party the night away.
Kate wedding gown knock-off debuts
While Kate Middleton's designer dress was pricey, brides-to-be can soon get an affordable knock-off version.
All eyes were on Kate Middleton and her dazzling dress when she emerged from her Rolls-Royce at the royal wedding.
While her designer dress was pricey, brides-to-be can soon get an affordable knock-off version.
The look-a-like wedding gown made by designer Allen Schwartz made its debut Friday night in Los Angeles during a charity where it would be auctioned off to the highest bidder.
You can watch the royal wedding rebroadcast from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on the Live Well Network on ABC7 channels 7.2 and 7.3. Check here for other cable channels that will re-air the wedding.
ABC News and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
