Top 5: Royal Wedding Edition!

Today I witnessed a Royal Wedding Miracle (yeah...  I just went there, miracle) but it was!  I wasn't planning on getting up at 2:00, 3:00, or 4:00 to watch the wedding ceremony of William and Kate, I set my DVR to record two different channels and went to bed excited to watch when I woke in the morning.  Well, I woke at 3:33am, excited about the wedding, I'm not kidding!  I couldn't go back to sleep so I grabbed a blanket and snuggled up on the couch with the remote and my laptop (I knew someone else would be watching!).  I turned the tv on just in time to see the last guests walking into Westminster Abbey, Charles and Camilla arrive and The Queen and Prince Phillip drive in and walk into the Abbey.  Perfect timing!  I had chills as the people cheered, as the Queen smiled and as the world caught the very first glimpse of Kate's veil and then dress.  I can understand people not being interested in a wedding, or Will and Kate, but you can't deny the power and excitement of watching the same thing at the same time with a billion people all over the planet.  I did it for Columbine, 9-11, the space shuttle and of course I'm going to watch this happy moment for the Royal family after the loss and sadness they've experienced.  Not to mention after spending a semester in London I'm rather fond of all things British and Royal Family : )

On to the Top 5 stand out moments for me on this Royal Wedding Day!

1.  HRH Princess Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge

The anticipation and first peeks and Kate as she rode to the Abbey, then as she stepped out of the car, ah!  So exciting!  The wild thing, is that for the second time ever, I watched the Nate Berkus show yesterday, he had fashion expert Louise Roe on talking about her predictions about what Kate's dress would look like.  Here's her sketch:

She called the lace, the A-line skirt and attention to Kate's tiny waist.  Aside from the plunging neckline, she had it right on!  Crazy, right?

Ben Stansall / AFP - Getty Images

I loved Kate's modest dress, hair and makeup.  I was pleased to see her wearing a tiara, like a real princess and simple, dangly diamond earrings, a gift from her parents!  How special considering she has access to the crown jewels!

2.  The Aisle

The Abbey was perfection today!  Cathedrals can easily feel dark, okay, very dark.  I don't know if they turned the lights on or if it was because the sun came out as Kate arrived, but it was bright and large trees lined the aisle, it was gorgeous!!  It almost made me forget there are people buried all over the place ; )

Photograph: David Jones/PA

3.  Hats and Fascinators

I don't know about you, but I'm dying for a reason to wear a hat like the ones seen at the wedding today!  It's such a cultural difference, could you imagine that being the norm here?  There is so much you can learn about the Brits from watching this wedding alone, about tradition, the rules of what you can and can not wear in the Abbey and in the presence of HRH the Queen, the jewels (that date back hundreds of years), the carriages and cars, and of course, the fashion... did you see the Beckham's there?  *swoon*

If you watched, you couldn't miss this pair:

Photo from www.dailymail.co.uk

Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice sat right behind their grandmother, the Queen, and are apparently known for their crazy hats.  Wanna know my first thought when I saw these two?

Yeeeah.

4. Crowd Processional

Estimates are that there were around 20,000 people gathered in Trafalgar Square.  After The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (that's Will and Kate) arrived at Buckingham palace, there was a processional of the massive crowd in the square, down The Mall to Buckingham palace to witness the first kiss on the balcony.

Click map to enlarge.  I had to zoom out a bit to put my flat on the map ; )

Oli Scarff / AP  Photo from Todayshow.com

It is estimated there were around 500,000 people gathered along the Mall and around the Queen Victoria Memorial in front of Buckingham Palace.  It was so huge and so powerful and so loud!  A great moment!

5.  The Aston Martin

The unexpected surprise of the day was when Will and Kate left Buckingham Palace in a Seychelles blue convertible Aston Martin DB6, decorated with red, white and blue ribbon, balloons and an "L" on the grill.  One reporter stated the L stands for Learner, as in a new driver with a learners permit, but in this case it probably refers to the newly-weds... well, that or Charles wanted to put a warning on his car-on-loan ; )

Sean Gallup / Getty Images

Christopher Furlong / Getty Images

For more great still photos check out Todayshow.com

The rest of my miracle story goes like this...  after the 'good parts' were over (this is between ceremony and getaway car) it was only 5:45am.  I was able to go back to bed for two hours and still... get this... still wake up before my kids at 8:00am.  A miracle indeed!


Super Bonus!

Arms of Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge