I know, I know. It's been all over the news for the last month or so. People all around seem to be becoming completely bored &/or annoyed with the constant media attention to the royal wedding. I had actually stayed out of it until a couple of days ago when my cousin, Justine, informed me that she was going to be getting up to watch it. The idea of spending some more time with my cousin and family to watch the event actually sounded fun. Thus plans were made and Thursday night we were both in bed by 9. I, however, remained awake with my thoughts harassing my mind until 12 or so, giving me hardley an hour of sleep. I awoke at 1 am and waited for the rest of the family to arise. Justine was up second and we both prepared coffee and warmed the hazelnut chips scones she had baked the night before. Minutes later we were in her basement, watching CNN and enjoying scones and coffee. Soon enough, Justine's sister, Lindsay and her mother, my aunt, Nancy had both joined us and were sitting awestruck watching the event unfold.
There was so much information being given that I hadn't any idea about. I must say, I was ill-informed of most of the news because I had kept my nose out of it all. I wasn't even aware that Kate (Catherine) Middleton was what Brit's call a 'commoner'. I was equally intrigued by the story of her mum's journey as an entrepreneur. Her mom, Carole, actually looks a lot like a woman I do ballet with. Everytime I kept seeing Carole on t.v., I kept thinking I knew her in person. It was so bizarre.
Here's the woman I do ballet with.... And here's Kate's mother...
Does anyone agree that these two women seem to be eerily similar in looks? So similar they could pass as sisters...Even twins...It's creepy... 
I was so awestruck by the fantastic and strange looking hats. I loved them all! My favorite had to be what I like to refer to as the "Lady Gaga look-alike". Princess Beatrice outdid herself with her bow shaped, salmon colored "hat" on the top of her head and really truly looked like Lady Gaga. Justine liked Princess Eugenie's dress. I liked the color but felt the cut was awkward...I know this is going to sound awful but I don't know if I had ever even seen Queen Elizabeth, other than in pictures. So to see her in person brought a whole new perspective. She looked so agile. I would never have guessed that she was 85 years old! The same for her husband. He didn't look at all his age. Queen Elizabeth has such a charisma about her that her husband seems shadowed by her personality. As I watched her walk gracefully through Westminster Abbey, I realized that she is the type of woman I would want leading my country. She acts so poised, strongwilled and confident yet equally as caring and loving toward her people.
And then, when Catherine Middleton came from her Rolls Royce and walked humbly and elegantly into the Abbey, I knew, as did the whole country, that she is really something special. I think her dress equally stated that she is her own person. It wasn't overdone. She didn't try to be more flashy then Princess Diana. Instead it was just simple and beautifully done. It was a rather humbling experience to watch her walk out delicately from the vehicle. Smiling radiantly and walking toward her future husband. 
The whole wedding was so spectacular. I love weddings and I truly felt I was there, watching a completely historical event with the rest of the royals. I think what amazed me most was the amount of people who had come to watch. The other commoners who had come out and had been sitting or standing for hours just to watch the event on the ginormous tellies or to even just catch a glimpse of the royal party who were entering the church. It was so joyful to see everyone sitting in anticipation, cheering galantly whenever something remotely interesting was happening. When the royal family left the building and rode the chariots back toward their home it was incredible the amount of noise the public made! That type of excitement could never be seen in America, at least not without incident. News reports stated that there was not a bit of misconduct that the police had to deal with. Everyone who was there had come to celebrate. Not a bit of anger or irritation. It seems that the happiness and joy had escalated and was growing as the hours passed. No unhappy faces could be seen from the crowd of people who were milling around for hours and then standing in anticipation. It was the most amazing thing to see only joy from thousand and thousands of people. It was so rare to see such an episode unfold. I was left awestruck for the rest of the day.
After I had seen the event and driven back to my home in the early hours, I wondered where Helena and Tim had been during the wedding and then imagined that if they had not been sleeping, they had been watching the telly together to witness the extrodianary event. Afterall, HBC is likely an "anglophile"
: a person who greatly admires or favors England and things English [1]
I know she's proud of her roots and thus I'd think she was intrigued by the wedding.
I am excited to say that I learned recently that I also have English roots in my blood. And I hope one day I get to also live in the United Kingdom. My home away from home.
