now that i've watched most of the 20 hours or so of the wedding coverage i taped, i felt the need to do a little (maybe?) blog post about it :)
first of all, the watching the crowds was fun....they were so excited! it made me wish i could have been there to feel the electricity and experience the atmosphere in person. people from all over the world coming together to celebrate love, a new beginning, restoring that which was lost. a true community feeling took over on friday. it wasn't just a wedding, but a time to come together as a people. we were part of something. something that wasn't terrible or heartbreaking, but wonderful and joyful.
i loved the anticipation surrounding catherine's dress. what will it look like? modern? traditional? who will design it? finally seeing the dress did not disappoint. she looked stunning. the dress was simple and elegant, and both traditional and modern. not over the top, but definitely a dress for a princess. in fact, nothing was over the top. her tiara was gorgeous, perfectly complimenting her dress and hair and veil (and it was given to her by the queen because she obviously didn't have one....which is traditional apparently, and she gets to keep it from what i heard).
the wedding was absolutely fantastic! i just loved it. definitely swoon-worthy. the abbey was beautiful, especially with the trees they brought in for decoration and the background of the altar was breathtaking. i also loved that even though there were 1900 people there, they did their best to make it intimate, with only their friends and family at the very inside part where the altar is.
i loved when catherine was walking down the aisle (a 4 minute walk!) and prince william would not turn around to see her, although his brother did. but when catherine finally reached the altar, william turned to her and said "you look beautiful" with a smile (and i heard the lip readers said he also said fabulous). it was just precious. they were so in love.
after the wedding, when they walked out of the church as a newly married couple and stood on the red carpet before getting into the carriage, all i could think of was "its just like cinderella!" (even though i hated the cinderella story as a kid...was more of a sleeping beauty/ beauty and the beast girl myself). but they did look like cinderella and her prince.
they were so cute riding in the carriage, waving to everyone and being just married. and then, the balcony scene. when they walked out onto the balcony and to say hello and take part in the traditional kiss (twice!), it was just great. then they rode away in the balloon-decorated aston martin with a license plate that said "just wed", just like a normal (other than the aston martin) couple might have. and check out the cake!
the whole thing -- the crowds, the cars, the carriages, the dress, the balcony, the abbey -- was such a fairy tale. it was so romantic and sweet.
other things:
1. seeing everyone in their wedding outfits, complete with hats, made me wish that people in america wore hats more often. i had a strong desire to wear hats. sadly, we don't do that here in the states, and i don't look particularly good in them anyway.
2. prince andrew's daughters were unfortunate in their choice of hat, but really? i think he kind of lessened their chances for sucess when he named them beatrice and eugenie.
3. i have to admit that i teared up during the wedding. yep. really.
4. who would have thought that the message given by the archbishop during the royal wedding would be inspirational? i love the quote he began with: be who god meant you to be and you will set the world on fire (st. catherine of siena). and then he also said: spiritual life grows as love finds its center beyond ourselves. amazing. hearing him talk and say these things, being impacted myself by his statements and watching everyone's reactions, made me wonder what all the people there really thought as he was speaking. did they agree? did they believe?
5. i love that the newly married royals are going to live in the middle of nowhere wales while william finishes his work on the search and rescue team....no servants, not a lot of royal stuff, not a lot of paparazzi, not a huge house....just living as a normal, newly wed couple.
5. i just love weddings. really. just love them :)
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