Its strange really that up until this middle of the night moment, I hadn't been following every move of the wedding preparations. I admit I read about the engagement and was interested in the details, what it meant for Kate as a commoner and of course when the wedding would be. Every so often in the months leading up to this moment I read articles here and there, I knew would the little bridesmaids would be and that Prince Harry would be the best man. I surfed past the lifetime original movie and almost, almost stopped to watch except that it was already too far into the movie for my liking. I kept an eye out, as did everyone, for any news regarding Kate's dress to no avail as none ever was released. I read an interesting article about what the announcement of the engagement meant to the entertainment industry and how the flurry of broadcast scheduling began merely hours after the news broke. The month long coverage was by no means an accident and judging by the flurry of tweets which I followed while I watched, not a waste of time or unprofitable.
I knew I would end up watching at least part of the wedding at the very least to see the dress though I never thought I would still be awake watching it. The media blitz isn't what drew me in, truthfully I didn't even really know what time it actually started this morning. No, what sucked me into the Royal Wedding was that as I turned on the channel it was 7 minutes away from Prince William and Prince Harry leaving for the church. 7 minutes, exactly counting down by seconds as the camera panned to Becks and Posh and that was all I need. I wanted to see the princes and as soon as they arrived I need to wait for the Prince Charles, and then of course the Queen! By that point I might as well wait for the dress and then for walk down the aisle... and now they are riding around on the carriage and there is still the kiss. But it all goes back to the brothers.
Watching Prince William and Prince Harry get out of the car I was struck with how grown up they both looked. I was amused with how the brothers appeared to be taunting each other as they walked into the church. Throughout the ceremony itself I found the moments I loved were the sincere human interactions, such as when Prince Harry fidgeted about and kept looking back at Kate walking in or when Prince William whispered to his bride when she arrived. I wanted to tear up during the vows. But the reality of watching the wedding, wasn't so much the grand displays or the fairy tale atmosphere but the fact that I felt as if I was just watching any of my friends weddings. With the amount of weddings that I attend on a regular basis of so many friends, it was a bit of shock to realize that the royal princes of England appeared as friends to me but they have been in figures similar in age (so falsely recognized as peers) for most of my life.
The princes were so young when I first encountered them and truthfully I don't remember why they entered my world, maybe it was just after the divorce of Princess Di and Charles? I cannot say, though I did watch that lifetime movie of the doomed relationship of that royal couple many years ago. I remember the photographs, so seared into my memory of the young brothers mourning their mother in 1997 and have since that moment followed them like distant friends. It might be because the brothers were always right around my age, so when they were in high school I was too. I read about their work with charities and their work in the military and their many love links. It wasn't an all the time need to know about the English princes, but it was any time that my eye caught their names in the news I had the inclination to read what they were up to like friends on facebook.
I was finally hooked into the Royal Wedding fever and now I feel like I missed out on much of the anticipation but I enjoyed the "private" ceremony and delightfully personable moments caught on film for anyone who was watching. The wedding dress was everything it needed to be, the moment when Prince William saw his bride was just like the moment that Katherine Heigel's character describes as her favorite in 27 Dresses. Prince Harry consistently made me smile, from the moment he clumsily handed off a program he had forgotten to set down to his grin at Kate's dress. But in the end it was just like watching any old friends getting married, a beautiful moment of celebration of a relationship and I wish them nothing less than a happily ever after...
Also, no one be surprised when I insist upon tails being the fashion at my wedding. And for all the upcoming weddings, we shall heartily thank Prince Harry for our survivor's breakfast to be had for any and all standing at the end of the reception and after parties.
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