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Royal wedding: How a hater was converted

I had been dreading April 29. I read as little wedding coverage as possible and seriously considered filtering my Twitter stream on the night. I sighed, moaned and rolled my eyes as the royalists’ anticipation grew and people I knew – embarrassing!– started talking about hosting viewing parties. At least *I* would be getting paid to watch the broadcast, thankyouverymuch.

Ah, yes, royal wedding duties – there’s nothing quite like covering a live event, across footage, photos, blogging, social media and just good old plain text. But as the crowds swelled and we got our first glimpses into a newly-leafy Westminster Abbey, as the princes emerged in scarlet military uniform, heck, as Elton John arrived…I started to get a little bit of the warm fuzzies. The joy. The tradition. The celebration.

Even the most jaded of us can appreciate the rarity of a popular good news story that brings people together.

Well, to be honest, it probably helps that I’m engaged myself…and that I saw in maid-of-honor Pippa’s dress almost exactly what I want for my own gown eventually. Something slim, simple and stunning that speaks for itself. That was probably the moment I was hooked, actually – from the moment she emerged from the car and everyone collectively caught their breath to ask “Who IS that?”

<via Vogue>

Annoyingly, crisis-level glitches meant I missed the “first look” between William and Kate, as well as the ring debacle, and had to watch replays later on. I watched almost the entirety of the ceremony, heading home shortly after the couple left the abbey, and tuning in just before bed in time for the kiss/es.

A few thoughts:

  • Poor Wills. I have knobby knuckles too, so I totally understand the awkward ring-a-ling moment.
  • Not a fan of big dresses at all. But the skirt on Kate’s dress was quite beautiful and not too OTT. Wasn’t impressed by the top half, though.
  • I am more certain than ever that I will have no train, no veil, and will walk down the aisle to…well, I’ll reveal the song later down the track.
  • Those pecks were disappointing. When you’re a royal, you’re public property! Still, I guess there are no written guidelines on “how to conduct your first public married kiss with the whole world watching”.

Post-nuptials, I’ve also learned that Kate and Wills broke up for a while and that Harry has an on-off relationship with a Chelsy Davy. Which led me to wonder: those kinds of relationships are tough, but how much tougher must it be when one of the members is a royal? Because that adds another whole layer of complication to matters.

Let’s face it, everything else aside, I bet there’d be a small part of you screaming “But he’s a PRINCE! Don’t let this one go!” To say nothing of family and friends, starry-eyed with dreams of life as a princess eager to live vicariously through you. That must be something that’s hard to give up easily.

10 thoughts on “Royal wedding: How a hater was converted

  • Reply Kara May 1, 2011 at 10:27

    I caught the “first look” but missed the knuckle stickage, lol. I must’ve been Tweeting or something, lol.

  • Reply Lindy Mint May 1, 2011 at 10:44

    I guess some people in America were touting the media for giving so much attention to the wedding, when there are so many suffering from our recent tornadoes. But as a friend of mine pointed out, life is filled with good and bad and we need to embrace both.

  • Reply Cate May 1, 2011 at 11:17

    I also got totally sucked into the royal wedding, even though I despised hearing about it all the way up to the event. My toddler woke me up early, and while I had no intention of watching the wedding, the first thing I did was turn on the TV. I was hooked.

    I loved Pippa’s dress, too. It was AMAZING.

  • Reply Sense May 1, 2011 at 13:28

    despite having read the entire coverage by the Herald that day (had a LOT of downtime at work that day in the field and my colleague bought a newspaper which became our only defense from boredom while waiting), I totally forgot about the wedding until my roommate came home in a tizzy, blasted the tv sound, and started watching. I came out of my room to greet him and got hooked…mostly by pippa’s dress! it was gorgeous. I loved how happy everyone looked, and all of the tradition. and the HATS! my lord, eugenie and beatrice…

  • Reply bakebooks May 1, 2011 at 16:22

    I was not into the wedding at all – but had to watch some of it (ALL DAY) because it’s all that was on TV! Nuts…I can’t imagine what that young couple is experiencing really…

    Meh. I love Prince Harry. He’s HOT! 🙂

  • Reply Emily Jane May 2, 2011 at 03:26

    Aww, I’m glad you found some enjoyment in it after all! 🙂

  • Reply ashley May 2, 2011 at 11:12

    The wedding ended up fascinating me as well, even through my attempts to resist. You hit the nail on the head! It was SO refreshing to hear a happy news story that brought everyone together 🙂

  • Reply centsofacountrygirl May 2, 2011 at 13:14

    I wasn’t excited about it at all, actually, I was sick of all the media coverage it was getting. I found myself caught up in it though because my sister was messaging me details from London, and her excitement was contagious.

  • Reply First Gen American May 3, 2011 at 01:27

    I still haven’t seen it. IT was a crazy week for me, so I never got to sit down and watch. I did get a glimpse of the dress when I was dropping my kid off at daycare. Nanny had it on.

  • Reply Investing Newbie May 3, 2011 at 04:03

    I wasn’t going to be into the wedding, but my mother woke up at the crack of dawn to watch and I got sucked in too. Pippa looked amazing and Kate was just beautiful. I personally loved Prince Harry catching a glimpse at Kate walking down the aisle. I still haven’t seen the double kiss that everyone’s talking about.

    I really do hope that they are happy together. It’s clear that Wills is head over heels and I just hope that Kate isn’t caught up in the fact that Wills is a prince and is truly happy to be with him also.

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