Prince William of Wales married Catherine Middleton. Just hours before the wedding, the Queen gave Prince William a dukedom, which would allow Catherine to have her own title, otherwise she would have just been known as Princess William of Wales. However now that the Queen has given William his Dukedom, Catherine can now be known as the Duchess of Cambridge.
The wedding went all according to plan and even the sunshine stayed out, despite what weather reporters had predicted. Prince William looked ever so handsome in his regiment regalia as he arrived with his brother and best man Prince Harry, also dressed in his regiment's regalia.
Crowds filled London, there was estimated to be nearly a million people gathered in the capital today to try and catch a glimpse of the royal couple. They were also there to try and catch a glimpse of THE dress. I had visioned her to be in quite a long fitting gown to accompany her long slim figure. I also imagined her train wouldn't be too long as she wouldn't want to be too similar to previous royal brides. Princess Diana set the record with a 23 metre long train.
Catherine arrived with her father, on time, looking a little nervous, as would any bride on her big day. She gripped her father's hand tightly all the way up to the altar in Westminster Abbey where she stood beside Prince William. The most beautiful moment of all was when you could see William say to Catherine 'You look beautiful'. Catherine's dress was designed by Sarah Burton of Alexander McQueen. It was a mixture of both the present fashion and previous. The top have was a lace bodice with lace sleeves with intricate buttons on the wrists and down the back. The skirt section was either made of silk or taffeta and was embroidered with flowers, a mixture of daffodils; thistles; roses and shamrocks to symbolize each nation of Great Britain. The long veil was held in place by a halo tiara, loaned by the Queen. The Queen mother presented this tiara to the Queen on her 18th birthday. Catherine's parents bought her earrings especially for the special day.
As the couple said their vows, there was tension as everyone listened carefully to see if the vows were said correctly, especially with William's long name, William Arthur Philip Louis. Both of the vows were correct so it was left to William to place the ring on Catherine's finger. It was a tight fight but after a struggle William managed to put it on Catherine's finger. After signing the marriage records they emerged from the abbey as husband and wife, Duke and Duchess.
All that was left for now was to head to Buckingham Palace in a beautiful open top horse drawn carriage for their wedding lunch. Not forgetting the balcony appearance and the long awaited kiss. After making their way up the mall and into Buckingham Palace, the crowd cheered and waved with affection. They were shortly followed by other members of the Royal family. After having the official wedding photographs taken in Buckingham palace with the Royal family they appeared on the balcony and kissed. After a short while you could see William say 'One more kiss' so they did and the crowd roared! Shortly followed by William saying to Catherine 'That's it, no more.'. Tradition is to see the royal couple kiss once on the balcony after their wedding, not twice! This was definitely a privilege and wonderful sight indeed.
After the balcony appearance, the couple headed back inside Buckingham Palace to have their Wedding lunch, hosted to 600 people. The couple had two wedding cakes, one official and more traditional 8 tier iced cake, the other a request from William as it is apparently his favourite - a chocolate McVitie's cake!
Tonight, Prince Charles is hosting the couple's evening party, where Prince Harry has been rumored to have ordered bacon sandwiches for the party goers at 5 am for those who wish to party all night! This is also where Prince Harry shall say his Best Man speech. Eyes were on Clarence house once again this evening to see what gown Catherine had decided to wear as they left for Buckingham Palace. (After having left Buckingham Palace for Clarence House earlier this afternoon to prepare for the party).
Catherine had decided to wear a gown from the same designer, Sarah Burton of Alexander McQueen, a strapless white ball gown with a diamanté waist and accompanying cardigan.
All in all, today has been the most wonderful day, many a time I have had to hold back my tears. The first time I have ever seen a future monarch's wedding day and it shall definitely be a day I will never forget. The couple looked as if they had the best day of their lives - rightly so. They look beautiful and relaxed with each other. I truly believe that this is a marriage that will definitely last.
No comments:
Post a Comment