By Vanessa Barnett
They called it the wedding of the century and it definitely lived up to the hype! His Royal Highness Prince William of Wales married longtime girlfriend, Miss Catherine Middleton on Friday, April 29, 2011.
The ceremony, attended by 1900 family members and friends, was held at Westminster Abbey in London. This was a far cry from any wedding you’ve ever seen before! Two choirs, one orchestra and two fanfare teams performed as the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams officiated. The bride took her 300-foot walk down the aisle to the choral anthem "I Was Glad" by Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry and donned a gorgeous Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen gown with a demure Cartier tiara. During the vow exchange Miss Middleton opted not to “obey” her groom but to “love, honor, comfort and keep” him. Only one ring was exchanged since Prince William chose not to wear a wedding band (he will continue to wear his signet ring). The ceremony was sealed, NOT with a kiss, but with a fanfare of trumpets that marked the occasion and Catherine smiled as she heard a roaring cheer of jubilation from the crowd outside. They were announced as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
Following the ceremony, the couple rode in a horse-drawn carriage through London in front of thousands of adoring supporters. The newlyweds made there way to the Buckingham Palace balcony to wave to the masses and share their first public kiss as husband and wife…aww!
Her majesty The Queen hosted the couple’s first reception at Buckingham Palace. 600 of the 1900 wedding guest were invited to attend the buffet-style wedding brunch. Then, later in the evening, Prince Williams father, Prince Charles, hosted a smaller 300-person affair at Buckingham Palace as well. This event featured dinner and dancing, followed by an after-party thrown by Prince Williams brother, Prince Harry…let’s just call that the REAL party!
So, what’s next? Honeymoon, of course! Unfortunately, those details have remained a mystery but rumor has it the couple will enjoy their first days of wedded bliss in Jordan. I’m sure we’ll see paparazzi pics of the couple frolicking on a beach any day now (fingers-crossed!).
While reports of the wedding cost range from $10 million to $70 million, it is known that the royal family and the Middleton family will pay for the wedding but the taxpayers will be covering the $32 million cost of security and street cleaning!
It’s estimated close to two billion people worldwide watched the Royal Wedding! I am happy to say, I was one of those two billion, awake at 4 a.m., to witness royal history! It was simply stunning and we here at Trendsetters to Trendsetters would like to wish the happy couple CONGRATULATIONS!
Vanessa B
www.Twitter.com/ItsMe_VanessaB
CBS photos
THE ROYAL WEDDING WRAP UP
