My Royal Wedding Viewing

Apr 29, 2011 by Sara

As you’ve probably heard by now, I was a little excited for the Royal Wedding.

It was an event that promised to reflect memories from my childhood and some of my own wedding memories and from the moment Prince William and Catherine Middleton announced their engagement, I knew I would be up watching it LIVE.

For me, that meant staying up all night and watching the coverage from midnight on. In California, the procession started at 1AM PST and the vows occurred around 3AM, with the kiss from the balcony not until 5:25AM PST.

I’ve been talking about this event incessantly and I was very excited when the day finally arrived. My girlfriend Kristina and mother in law were some of the first to commit to watching the wedding with me LIVE. They stayed true to their word and we also recruited some of my other good die-hard friends.

So without further ado, here’s a recap of my Royal Wedding Viewing Party:

The evening started with a night out to dinner, we thought it appropriate to bring Wills & Kate along.

When I walked into the restaurant with my blue fascinator and life-size Kate & Wills cardboard cutouts, my dinner companions just about fell off their barstools. The maitre d’ kept asking me if he could ‘take my package’ and ‘put it somewhere’ to which I politely replied: “no thank you! They are coming with me”

So we set them up facing the restaurant and next to our table.

 

The meal was great, the reflections and discussions about the royal couple, marriage, and life in general was super fun. The boys that joined us (hubby and spouse #1) were good sports throughout the whole thing, good thing or we would have sent them home!

I brought cupcakes for dessert that were emblazzoned with Union Jacks and Cupcake Toppers from the free printables I’d mentioned earlier. And we had a great time with the photo props I had downloaded from paper and cake.com

 

Next we went dancing at a “local” pub which is fodder for a whole other post!

By 11:30 PM PST we headed home where some of took power naps and I started texting my other friends that we were back home. One by one, my adorable friends arrived in time to celebrate with us: 12:45AM, 1:25 AM, 1:45 AM, until we were 7 strong gathered around my living room watching the fairy tale unfold on tv.

I took some pictures earlier in the day of the party setup since I knew I would not have time later. Here’s what the house looked like:

There was also a giant Union Jack hanging in front of my house:

 

When Prince William and Harry started for Westminster Abbey, my excitement level grew and I knew it was time to see if the kids wanted to watch. My 4 year old son Jack originally said “Yes!” and then quickly said “I mean no. I want to sleep” when I went to his room while his big sister, Anna jumped from her bed into my arms and I carried her into the living room.

At 3:00 AM, right as the vows were being said, my darling husband emerged, dressed for the day, and ready to watch for as long as he could stand it. He sat there, next to me, with Anna curled in my lap, holding our daughter’s hand. It is a special moment I will treasure forever.

The room collectively gasped as Catherine Middleton emerged from her car and revealed the most gorgeous wedding dress. A dress, reminiscent of a renaissance princess, with lace overlay and an incredibly small waist.  The look was made incredibly more romantic by the thin veil and sparkling tiara, steeped in tradition, that simultaneously dazzled while not obstructing her gorgeous smile as she walked the length of the abbey.

I loved the moment when the best man, Prince Harry turned to peek as Catherine entered the nave. He smiled and jovially turned back to William, still with his back to the aisle, and undoubtedly relayed how beautiful his brother’s bride-to-be looked.

I loved the moment when during the vows, Prince William shyly grinned after his new bride correctly repeated his long list of proper names. A daunting task his mother had famously flubbed during her wedding to Charles.

I loved Catherine’s entrance, her graceful poise and smile as she glided down the aisle with her father.

I loved the maid of honour, her sister Pippa, navigating the long aisle of Westminster Abbey in that drop-dead gorgeous dress, with two 3 year-olds at her sides. That was a feat!

I pretty much loved it ALL.

This might be my favorite picture from the wedding snaps so far:

This was definitely one of “those” memorable events in my life and I was totally excited to share it with my friends and family. I’m extremely grateful to my husband for putting up with me and to my daughter, mother in law and good friends for sharing this memory with me.

Thank you everyone, I promise to return to normal now.

Well, except for maybe talking about the Royal Honeymoon. I’m still betting on Mustique. Anyone care to make a wager?

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An Abbey to Say Goodbye and Start Anew

Apr 27, 2011 by Sara

I just realized something I have in common with Prince William and his upcoming nuptials. Like me, he will be married in the same church where he said good-bye to his mother.

In 1997, I bawled as I watched Prince William and his brother, Harry, solemnly walk behind the horse drawn carriage that carried their mother, Princess Diana, to Westminster Abbey for her funeral.  The envelope addressed to “mummy” resting on top of her coffin. Tastefully, the cameras did not pan to the royal family during the service, only the procession and the speakers were broadcasted, but sitting next to my mother on our couch, I imagined their grief as I watched through tear-brimmed eyes.

Four years later I would know their pain all to well as I said good-bye to my own mother.

Now, fifteen years later, on Friday, William will return to Westminster Abbey, this time to meet his bride, Catherine at the altar.  An occasion full of joy.

And while the two women could not be more different and distinct, comparisons between the two have been made. Prince William himself has made sure his mother’s presence will be felt. He has given his betrothed his mother’s sapphire and diamond engagement ring; and they will return to Buckingham Palace in the same carriage, where the world will greet the newlywed royals as we did his parents.

I married my best friend 2 years almost to the day of my mother’s funeral, in the same church where we’d said good bye to her. Leading up to the decision of where to get married I was definitely conflicted and sad, I did not want to miss her any more than I had to on this special day, our day. But we chose our church because it was also a place of happier memories, confirmations, Christmas and Easter concerts, and it just made sense. Upon making the decision though, I worried about how I would react, being there, without her.

Like William, I wanted my mother’s presence to be felt, to be known.

So, we listed her name on the program.

And I asked the florist to provide a single rose at the altar in her honor.

It was simple and it was sweet.

But when it came time for me to enter the church, I turned the corner of the archway alone.

I walked up the aisle by myself to meet my prince at the altar.

She was the only one that could have walked me down the aisle, but she wasn’t there. So she did it with me in spirit.

Alex walked down to the third pew and met me to walk the rest of the way together, and we started our lives together as husband and wife.

For the rest of the ceremony I did not worry about being sad, or missing my mom. She had been properly represented.  Her friends and family were there with us on that day sharing in that moment with us on her behalf.

I focused on him. I focused on us.

It was my own fairytale wedding.

So Prince William, take heart. I know your sadness in your mother not being there to share this special day with you both. You have done your part to make sure she is represented and not forgotten. When you get to the Abbey, yes, you may be sad for a small moment but when see your partner, you will know that this is your moment to start anew. Your mother will be right there by your side wishing only the best, because that’s what mothers do.

 

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Royal Wedding Printable Roundup

Apr 24, 2011 by Sara

If you are throwing a royal wedding party, at this point, you are cutting it kinda close to getting some cute decorations.

 

 

Fear not, there are a bunch printables out there that are darling and will help save the day. They are not all free but they are super cute. Have a look and enjoy!

If you find some that I haven’t mentioned, please be sure to send them to me!

Need a party game? Boden, yes the UK clothing company, has a really cute free downloadable BINGO game! The download is part of a special online catalog. There’s also a free downloadable invite and other party games like ‘Wedding Spotters’.

 

For $9.95 you can download these ADORABLE photo booth props from Paper and Cake.com

 

One of my favorite blogs The Tom Kat Studio gives us this gorgeous printable for cupcakes picks and they also provide this amazing recipe for Champagne Cupcakes with Strawberry Filling by teaming up with With Style & Grace. Click the photo below to go their post.

 

Serving PIM’s at your event? Then you might want some Union Jack drink flags for your cocktails. Here’s a sweet one from You are in Good Company

 

Probably the most popular printables are these GORGEOUS ones from Design Editor. So amazing, really!

 

Brides.com also has a bunch of free printables, including a ‘take the day off from work’ form letter, bunting, favor tags, cupcake tags. Got to love free stuff!!!

 

Free Royal Wedding inspired Thank You Card from The Thank You Card Shop, via The Pretty Blog

 

 

And I mentioned this one before too, but here’s a link to free royal wedding subway art by me!

 

Cheers!

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New Favorite Word: Tchotchke

Apr 20, 2011 by Sara

Wordless Wednesday. Look what I realized I’ve had in my cabinet all these years!  It houses my collection of obscure spoons.  My Charles and Di tchotchke mug!

Yup, that’s me, all kinds of crazy!

 

Happy Hump Day All!

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Dancin’ Down The Aisle

Apr 16, 2011 by Sara

If only Wills and Kate would break with tradition like this. But they won’t because they are British and we would kill them. We want our formal royal wedding without any shenanigans.

This would be fun though… I could not get over how great the look-alikes were. Especially the Charles and Camilla. Prince Harry was pretty spot on too.

enjoy!

 

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