Why I Love the Royal Wedding (And Why You Should Love It Too)

In case you weren't one of the estimated 2 billion people watching, or in case you've been living under a rock for the past few months and have just now crawled out and chosen my blog as your news source, I'm here to tell you that today Prince William married Kate Middleton in Westminster Abbey, in London.  It's kind of a big deal.

I wasn't one of those die-hard people who woke up at 3am to watch the ceremony unfold, but I DID record Good Morning America's entire 6 hour broadcast and watched almost the entire thing when I finally did wake up around 9:00 this morning, and I watched about 2 more hours of news coverage/documentaries after an afternoon shopping adventure.  Actually, that shopping adventure included buying wedding gifts for my three friend-couples who will be getting married this summer and included happening upon an imitation of Princess Diana's (now Kate's) engagement ring at Charlotte Russe.  You might say it was a wedding-tastic day...except that instead of eating canapes and bacon butties I had a bowl of cereal and Five Guys Burgers and Fries.  Classy.

Back to the royal wedding, I can give you several reasons why I loved it.  Here are five specific, concrete details that I thought were absolutely fantastic:

1) Kate's dress: OMG.  Beautiful, right?  Classy and timeless and fabulous in every way.

2) William's red uniform: Like a fairy tale prince popped out of a Disney movie into real life (except less naive than James Mardsden in Enchanted).

3) Maple Trees as Decoration:  Sounds weird, but it was a fabulous idea.  They looked beautiful juxtaposed with the gray pillars of Westminster Abbey.  Whoever thought that one up should get a high five.  I had a fleeting thought that I'd like to do such a thing for my hypothetical wedding, until I remembered that one maple tree probably costs more than the entire budget of my hypothetical wedding.  Ah well.

4) London Flashbacks:  I've been to both Westminster Abbey and the general area outside Buckingham Palace, which were the two principal locations of the day, so it was fun to see them being all royally fabulous and whatnot.

5) Carriage Procession: Can you GET any more fairy tale-ish than to have the royal newlyweds travel off in a horse-drawn carriage complete with footmen?  I don't think so.  Maybe if that thing had turned into a pumpkin or something...otherwise, no.

But the thing that made me truly love the royal wedding, the thing that made me actually start to get a bit choked up sitting on my couch in my pajamas...it was all just so happy.

I've heard a lot of comments lately from people saying they're "over" the whole royal wedding news thing.  Whether people were sick of hearing speculation of what color hat the queen would wear or rumors about Kate's dress, whether people were tired of seeing William and Kate's faces plastered on magazines, or whether people were annoyed at primacy that the story was getting over other world issues, people were ready for it to be over.  I can understand the first two reasons; if you're not into the whole royal wedding thing, I'm sure that the constant blabbing about fashion and cutlery and guest lists gets boring and redundant after awhile.  But, honestly, I just don't understand the last reason.

I can understand the general thought process of people who were annoyed with the royal wedding for this reason; they think that with everything else going on in the world, with wars and monstrous storm damage and economic downturn and what not, news reports would be better spent by focusing on these "more important" things.  The social justice-minded people feel like so much money shouldn't be spent on a wedding, or that the amount of news coverage for the royal wedding should match the amount of news coverage about the plight of those living in poverty.  I totally agree that these are all hugely important things.  Extremely important.  But do we always have to focus on the tragedy of the world?  Every time I turn on the news, I'm bombarded with story after story of chaos and sadness and destruction.  Why can't we take the time to celebrate the joyful moments that make headlines?

When it comes down to it, I believe this is why 2 billion people around the world tuned into the royal wedding, and why people camped out overnight outside Westminster Abbey.  This is why the people of London lined the streets and filled Green Park, waving the British flag in the air and raising cheers that shook the walls of Westminster Abbey when William and Kate took their vows.  It's because the royal wedding was a sign of hope and happiness in the middle of a world in constant struggle.

Weddings are, by their very nature, forward-looking events.  They may always pop up at the end of fairy tales, but in real life they're just the beginning for the newly wedded couple.  The royal wedding, bursting with the joy of two people who sincerely love each other, marks a hopeful future for William and Kate that is tied to a hopeful future for their country, and by extension the entire world.  The very Cinderella-esque quality of the wedding makes it seem like anything is possible, like any circumstance can be turned around.  If a middle-class girl can marry a prince and become a duchess, who's to say you and I can't have our own happy endings?

One of my favorite moments of the wedding was the processional out of Westminster Abbey.  William and Kate headed up the line, followed by Prince Harry and Kate's sister, Pippa, followed by Kate's mother, Carole, escorted by Prince Charles.  Watching them walk down the aisle, I thought to myself, "What in the world must Carole Middleton be thinking?"  I wondered if she'd ever in her wildest dreams imagined the scene that she suddenly found herself in...looking ahead of her to see her two daughters on the arms of the two princes of England (knowing one of those daughters would henceforth be referred to as "her royal highness"), and  herself on the arm of the man next in line for the throne.  A daughter's wedding day is a monumental occasion for any mother; how could Carole Middleton have possibly imagined during her flight attendant days that this moment lay on the trajectory of her life?

Happiness.  Love.  Hope.

That's why I love the royal wedding...and why you, also, should love it.