Royal Weddings

On this day of the Royal Wedding of Prince William and his lovely bride, Kate, I find myself harkening back to another Royal Wedding.  The most special and wonderful wedding I can recall took place on October 24, 1998.  That was the day I wed my beloved husband.

Ours was without pomp and circumstance.  Ours was sans grandiosity.  Ours was small and simple and the guest list was short.  I wore a pretty beaded champagne-colored lace column dress (back when I had the body to pull THAT off!).  Marty looked brilliant in his tuxedo and Spencer wore one to match (so cute I can hardly stand the enormity of the memory!).  We married at 6pm on a Saturday, the day the clocks were to turn back, at the Kelley Chapel.

If you are not from the Cape or you are not familiar with the Kelley Chapel – it is a magical, little historic chapel off the beaten path (literally) surrounded by beautiful trees in their full Autumnal regalia with small wooden pews and a wood-burning stove.  I wrote the vows and Marty’s mom said a prayer at the beginning.  Marty was sweating like he had just run the Boston Marathon!  Our guests all held candles which lit the chapel in the most perfect way.

Marty’s brother and his wife threw us a modest but lovely reception at their hotel and we had the pleasure of interacting with all of our closest family and friends in a comfortable and relaxing environment.  Our cake was magnificent and decorated exactly as I envisioned it and Marty did not shove it into my face like an uncivil beast!  (I do not know who started THAT tradition but they should be publicly stoned.)

There was a moment in today’s Royal Wedding that brought tears to my eyes.  Prince William was standing at the altar when his bride joined him and he mouthed to her, in a seemingly private moment, “You look beautiful” – and I wept.

Twelve and a half years ago, I walked down the aisle of the Kelley Chapel to join my groom, my husband-to-be, at the altar and he whispered to me, “You look beautiful.”

If the new Duchess of Cambridge is as fortunate as I have been, a dozen years from now her husband, the Duke, will still be telling her she is beautiful every day of her life, as mine does.