SUBLIME.
Well, that whole thing went just swimmingly, did it not? From Meghan Markle’s radiance to Prince Harry’s inexpressibly sweet words to his bride at the altar, the Royal Wedding was everything magical and good and beautiful, with Swiss meringue buttercream icing on top.
My Top 11 Moments:
1. The Castle. The couple’s choice to be wed at St. George’s Chapel, a 14th-century jewel on the grounds of Windsor Castle, was spot on. Not only were the stained glass windows breathtaking, but outside the church? The fortress walls and tunnels, crenelated turrets and pinnacles enhanced the fairy tale.
Gareth Fuller/Pool/Getty Images
2. The Queen in her lime green suit. Commentators are calling it “citron,” if you please, but they don’t fool me or QE2. Our gracious queen was decked out like the sassy lime she is. When life gives you limes, have your personal designer create a suit that suits you to a glowing, green T.
3. The Queen and Prince Philip. At 96 and 92, Harry’s grandmum and grandad are one foot in the next world. Before the wedding, it was almost a foregone conclusion that Prince Philip would be home recuperating from surgery. I was thrilled to see them both there, cheering on this special grandson (in their own staid, regal, stiff upper lip way. You know inside they were ecstatic, right?).
4. The Mulroney twins bring a Canadian twist: 
We all had big old toothless grins of excitement on our faces, mirroring the glee of the adorable 7-year-old Mulroney twins, who carried Meghan’s train. Meghan, who spent seven years in Canada, found her BFF there: Jessica Mulroney, daughter in law of former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney! This just underscores the fact that everyone in Canada knows everyone else. Twins John and Brian and their 4-year-old sister Ivy, a flower girl, were a big part of the day.
Andrew Milligan/Pool/Getty Images
5. Princess Charlotte, all day long. She waves. She smirks. She sticks out her tongue. Her eyes sparkle with mirth. She’s in on the joke, whatever the joke may be.
5. Meghan’s veil. I definitely liked her dress in its spare elegance, especially the bateau neckline and 3/4 sleeves which will set new trends. But I loved her veil, a gossamer concoction embroidered with 53 flowers to represent the 53 countries of the Commonwealth. For Canada, did they choose the maple leaf or the white trillium of Ontario? Meghan also added the California poppy as a nod to her home state, so the veil was rich in meaning as well as beauty.
6. Harry’s face when he saw his bride. You could have poured it on pancakes as the commentators said. And then his words to her, picked up by some lip reader (thank you, lip reader):
“You look amazing. I’m so lucky, I love you.”
Whereupon the galaxy melted like buttercream. JUST PERFECT.
7. Prince Charles speaking gently to Meghan as he escorted her part way up the aisle. What did he say? I’d love to know. I forgave him some grievances at that moment. He seemed so pleased. And we were pleased for him.
Jonathan Brady/Pool/AFP/Getty Images
8. Camilla’s fascinator, like a decorative cushion from 1979. Had I been Kate Middleton, I would have been extremely tempted to pat it during the ceremony. I am also interested in sitting on it, just to see what would happen. Would it squash down or hold up? Perhaps this is why my invitation got lost in the mail.
9. The Preacher Man! From Chi-Town, no less. Bishop Michael Curry brought home a rousing barnburner of a Gospel message, likely never been heard before in these rarefied environs, a fact which could be noted on the faces in the crowd. Kate smirked and shot Camilla a side eye. Princess Eugenie (who will be married in the same church in October)’s eyes twinkled merrily. And David Beckham just smiled his astonishing smile. In short, they had the church giggles but could not bust out laughing, though we all could at home. Curry brought church to the chapel and blew the dust off everything. Perhaps Eugenie can still book him for her wedding before his prices go up. He definitely livened the place.
10. The KISS. I sighed again. Didn’t you? The way Harry leaned in and their lips lingered…This was more than a peck the likes of which William gave a giggly Kate on their wedding day (no shade on them, of course!). This kiss had some heat behind it! And the way Meghan gazed at Harry, all “You Are My Big Man Crumpet and I Fancy You”? Oooh, cheeky!
11. The CAKE. I don’t even know if I like elderflower or not, but I am besotted with the IDEA of the cake, which “incorporated the bright flavors of spring. Per another tweet from Kensington Palace, the cake contains 200 Amalfi lemons, 500 organic eggs from Suffolk, 20 kgs of butter, 20 kgs of flour, 20 kgs of sugar, and 10 bottles of elderflower cordial made from the trees at the Queen’s estate in Sandringham. The cake will serve 600 guests at the wedding reception.” (Cosmopolitan.com)
Kensington Palace
I want a slice, don’t you? Elderflower cordial harvested from the queen’s trees???
So, what were your favorite moments from the Royal Wedding?
Comment below for your chance to win a tin of Royal Wedding Tea from Harney and Sons!
I felt that Queen Elizabeth co-ordinated her outfit with Doria Ragland’s on purpose. I like to think that HM asked Meghan what color her mother was wearing, and had her dress made in a similar color.
What a celebration!
Wouldn’t that be just so queenlike to coordinate outfits with Doria? I love that idea!
It was perfection. So hard to choose. Sigh. Kiss-Veil-Charlotte? That child is all in, whereas George looks slightly annoyed whenever I see him.
Ha! He did smile rather broadly in the wedding photos, I was happy to see!
I loved it all. How do you choose a favorite moment?
I missed quite a bit (Life!) but I am going back to watch it later. Right now I am eating up all the highlights (like this).
And I am watching Anne of Green Gables with my two youngest boys tonight because, well, do I need a reason?
You do not need a reason!
I loved the whole ceremony. My favorite was How beautiful the bride looked and The Song Stand by me
So beautiful–I agree!
Well you saw all my favs on FB, but I also loved the drop jawed, big-eyed look on one of the twin’s face when he got to the door of the church and the fanfare rang out. Priceless!!!!
That was maybe the best photo of all! Loved that boy’s face. So weird that his name is “Brian Mulroney,” which is the same name as his grandfather, the former prime minister of Canada. It would be as if there was a page boy at the royal wedding named “Bill Clinton” or “George Bush”! 🙂
I mean! So many moments but I’m going to go with those sweet smiles and words right at the beginning of the ceremony. And how he lifted her veil. So magical.
Loved your blog! And learned some new things too. I watched on the BBC; they didn’t say anything about the twins and who they were, and they hardly knew Meghan’s co-stars on Suits. I also hadn’t heard the lipreader’s comments. Interesting about the bias even of Auntie!
Your list was pretty wonderful. I’ll add a few more secondary moments I loved beyond those: Sheku Kanneh-Mason, the 19 y/o cellist’s perfect performance. “This Little Light of Mine” being sung to greet the couple as they processed into the sunshine. The sunshine! The flowers! And the p.s. of her stunning halter-neck reception dress, and Harry opening the door of the Jag for the new Duchess of Sussex . Loved the whole day!
I have not watched the entire process yet (6 hours- YAY!) But I did watch up to the ceremony, and I love that Harry and William are so close, and approachable. When they were walking into the chapel, they took the time to stop and speak to the “commoners” I love it that they were not stuffy, or felt put upon, but took the time to talk and speak. I also loved Bishop Curry’s message. He brought church to the chapel and millions around the world heard the gospel message. I know the queen had to remain staid in expression, but I like to think that inside, she was jumping and yelling”Preach it!”
Your article was delightful. Loved the bit about the Mulroney twins . Prince Charles melted my heart by his tender care of Megan and her mother. The highlight for me was the simple beauty of Megan’s dress & the joy of the couple.
I enjoyed the Royal Wedding immensely. Everyone looked lovely. The colors were beautiful. As usual the Queen was dressed to perfection. It was good to see Prince Phillip at the wedding after his recent surgery. I love watching and keeping up with the entire royal family. My favorite Royal is Lady Sarah Chatto, Princess Margaret’s daughter.
Marilyn
Bishop Curry was the best thing about the wedding hands down. He sounded like a beacon of hope and put those stuffy English aristocrats on notice.
I agree, I loved all of Charlotte’ s faces and antics. I also like to wonder what they all whispered to each other. And the veil… sigh. I could definitely use a piece of that cake just now, too. Wonderful post.
The tiara and veil were sooo dreamy!
Well weddings make me cry so I had tears in my eyes while she was walking down the aisle. I loved the smile on Harry’s face when he first saw her, that was priceless!
The gown…not too elegant but to each their own taste. But her veil, wow, that was beautiful! And Meghan has beautiful hair, I thought it should have been done differently. And her bouquet was nothing spectacular. I guess just a simple wedding…nothing wrong with that though.
I didn’t know her 1st is Rachel.
The queen looked beautiful in that lime green suit and I didn’t know Philip is 96, I’m glad they were there even though they had serious faces on. But I think I saw Philip smile at least once! 🙂
I loved the choir that sang Stand By Me, they should have put on the screen who they were and the gentleman playing the cello? Oh wow, he was really good! Was he family, friend?
How about when Harry and Meghan walked out after their vows and people looking around at each other thinking “what do we do now?” Haha.
Oh Lorilee, you crack me up with your #8 moment. I think she wanted to out do everyone with that thing on her head. 🙂
I was surprised to see Prince Charles being very friendly with Meghan’s mom…that was nice.
Wishing the best and a very happy and long marriage!
Thank you so much, Lorilee, for this entertainingly perfect overview of the wedding, the dress, the kiss, the cake and all. For me, this was extra special to read because — gasp! — I did not watch. We cut our cable about a year ago and while I could probably find some way to watch it, I just didn’t. I feel like I was the only one who didn’t watch! But I enjoyed peeking in on pictures online and a few video clips of special times. Lest you think I don’t care about the royal weddings and such . . . many many years ago I planned an entire event around THE wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana. (I was just a baby then. Hehe.) I guess I’m a lapsed Anglophile. Does re-reading Dickens and Austen, loving Elizabeth George’s Inspector Lynley, and watching Downton Abbey (more than once — alone and then again when I convinced my hubby to watch it — and he loved it! –) and The Crown make up for that?!
Anyway, thank you for sharing. Loved reading this. So fun.
My fav parts were Harry greeting the guard before he walked in, the Bishop, Stand By Me, This Little Light of Mine, the cellist, the veil, and Harry’s tender emotion. …. just all of it!
Oh…I forgot to list Meghan’s mom….what an experience for her!
The Markle Sparkle was alive and well. Every look, smile, handclasp, word, twinkle of the eyes, and kiss was full of romance, light and love. And the bouquet with forget-me-nots added, handpicked by Harry that morning, in Kensington Gardens, in honor of his mom. Melt my heart. . .
This was a great article! Thank you for writing it!