Friday, April 29, 2011

The Ceremony -- Color Commentary

3:10 -- The ceremony begins, after the hymn.  Kate looks beautiful but tired and is showing a bit of the strain.  I can't imagine that she got a lot of sleep last night.  The vows -- then her father passes her hand to the Archbishop of Canterbury and he passes it to William.  Cheers outside as they complete their vows.  Wills has a little trouble getting the ring on -- it looks like an absolutely simple band.  Now the prayer is led by a guy with kind of wild bedhead :)     



3:20 -- Big cheers outside as they are pronounced man and wife.  Her father and Harry leave the altar; Wills and Kate go over to the side as they sing another hymn.  I need to find something to eat :) -- an English muffin, in honor of the occasion.  The choir sings a beautiful anthem -- interesting that the choir is all men and boys -- no women or girls at all.  That's a little antique, isn't it?  And now . . . the sermon.  (That's not me yawning in the background -- no, not me.)



3:50 -- Everyone outside is singing along to "Jerusalem" -- and now, "God Save the Queen."  Prince Phillip sings along, but the Queen herself doesn't.  Now they're all off to sign  the marriage register.

4:03 -- The recessional begins --  Will and Kate walk out solemnly, although she can't help a huge smile as she passes by guests.  And what a long, long walk it is -- I would have tripped about 10 times by now.  Now Will is smiling, a little bashfully, it seems.  And now, here they come out of the church -- standing in the arched doorway while everyone cheers -- what a fairy tale it is.  Ah, here comes Cinderella's carriage with four beautiful white horses.  William dons his gloves and they climb in.  She just said, "I'm so happy."  Off they go, with the Household Cavalry on black horses in front and behind. And the Queen, in another carriage, has actually cracked a smile.



And here they are at Buckingham palace.  Harry's riding with the little 'uns.  What's remarkable is that Will and Kate have yet to kiss -- what kind of a wedding is that, that you can't even hug and kiss at all?  :(

4:25 -- I don't know if I'm going to make it to when they emerge on the balcony -- it won't be for another hour.  That may have to wait for replays later in the day because I'm toast at this point.  Well, as Piers Morgan just said, you probably won't see this again in your lifetime -- the wedding of a future king.  I've seen two and that's probably all for me.  I wouldn't have missed it.  William's mother would have been so proud.  'Nite, all.

7 comments:

Nancy said...

Good for you! Love your commentary, Elise.

I'm not a Royal Wedding kinda person. I find the whole concept rather strange, based on the state of world right now...

But I don't begrudge anyone for enjoying it. :)

Elise Ann Wormuth said...

Thanks, Nancy -- I'm an unabashed Anglophile, and though my rational mind agrees with you, the little girl in me still loves the pomp and pageantry, which the British really know how to do up right, and the fairy-tale-ness of it all. And I did love Princess Diana, so I see this as a happy end (I hope) to a very sad story.

Bohemian said...

Thanks for the Royal Wedding preview and for stopping by my Rose Post. I agree that a child of such a tender age should not be unsupervised but you'd be appalled at how many are and social services rarely intervines, such a shame.

Dawn... the Bohemian

Kristy Hom said...

We didn't make it up to watch it live, but caught the rerun at 6am. at the kitchen table, with coffee. (-:

I really enjoy your remarks on the events! I found myself saying the same things, too. I was worried that Wills might fall asleep in the church service though, one he sat down. Kate's dress was perfect, I thought. As the queen was silent during "God Save The Queen"., I wondered how funny it would feel to sing that song if you were the queen!

It was nice seeing the Royals again- the William and Harry generation all grown up, and the little ones in the wedding party. I did miss Diana quite a lot, and felt the hole where she should be. I also thought how proud she would be of her children on this day though- and how well Wills has chosen.

(-:

Becky said...

It was a wonderful day, wasn't it? I am an anglophile myself, and although I wasn't too into the hype, I found myself getting goosebumps and shushing my husband as we watched the recording later that night. It was magical. Good for you for watching it live!!

Elise Ann Wormuth said...

Thanks for your comments, everyone --

Dutchbaby said...

Loved reading your color commentary. I only saw one hour live but will watch the coverage in its entirety with my daughter after this weekend.

Wills and Harry both looked amazing. Those handsome brutes! Kate looked good, and I know this is going to sound sacrilegious, but I thought she could have done better. I'm guessing that the Palace vetoed most of her ideas. Like so many people, I felt that Pippa had the best look.

Now for the flowers. I loved the trees in Abbey, but I thought Kate's bouquet was too small for the scale of the dress. The bridesmaids' hair wreaths were great.

These are my two-pence just from seeing photos at the supermarket cash register and evening news.

I can't wait to see it all. Great post!