The Royal Wedding

I have had an excellent day so far today, parked on the sofa at my mother-in-law's house, watching the Royal Wedding on wide screen in high definition with my mother-in-law on one side and my grandmother-in-law on the other, keeping up a running commentary on twitter to my loyal followers (ha) and by text message to my lovely sister. A Royal Wedding pretty much sums up my kind of day - a nostalgic event affording a day off from work and a chance to watch TV with little substance involving love, weddings and fashion, eating cake, drinking champagne and tea and surrounded by family. I also enjoy the sentimentality and the outpouring of public affection and the chance to be proud to be British.

I have always felt some kind of affinity to William and Kate as we met the same year, both at university, I am 4 days older than Kate and M is 3 days younger than William. My home town is the nearest town to Kate's village. I was particularly looking forward to this day, to their wedding. I love weddings and I was only sad that their wedding was not the same year as our own :)

I thought the wedding service was lovely and I particularly enjoyed the choice of music. Two of the hymns (Love Divine All Loves Excelling and Jerusalem) were two of the same hymns that we had at our own wedding and we also had a choral motet during the service (ours was performed by our university chapel choir). The acoustics at Westminster Abbey are fantastic and I loved the way that the music was at once personal yet soared right up to fill the entire Abbey.

Fashion wise, I enjoyed not only spotting the clothes but also getting ideas for what does and doesn't work for wedding outfits. I had read in Tatler that Samantha Cameron might break with tradition and not wear a hat, but despite her lovely dress, I really think it was sad she didn't wear one for such a formal occasion. There are many occasions to break with the dress code, but I really think she shouldn't have drawn attention to herself by not wearing one. I also thought Beatrice, Eugene and Anne looked bloody awful. Kate however, I thought looked stunning. Understated but also regal. Perfect.

I loved Kate's dress but for me, the stand out dresses were those of Pippa and the baby bridesmaids. I suspect a fair few upcoming brides will be wearing a version of Pippa's gown and I am already working on getting my sister to get capes for her baby bridesmaids. I particularly enjoyed little Grace Van Cutsem's habit of covering her ears when the cheering got a little too loud (both on entering the Abbey and standing on the balcony) and am thinking I might teach that to my sister's littlies too. Other stand out moments for me included the extended royal family climbing out of a fleet of little buses, the Queen rolling her eyes as Camilla curtsied awkwardly to her, Prince Philip trying to get into his carriage afterwards and William's colleagues revealing how they have purchased souvenirs for the kitchen and implying that William drank his tea at work out of a William and Katherine mug.

I also enjoyed the opportunity to watch the William and Kate film on channel 5 - it was so poorly made and acted that it was almost funny. And now, more champagne drinking, some bowling on the Wii and preparing for the rest of the weekends festivities which include my mother-in-law's 60th birthday.

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photo by the British Monarchy's Flickr stream

Paris

 

I very nearly didn't come back from the Paris. 

Hot sunshine, hot waiters serving beautiful food, cool calm shops, 

hours walking and talking and sitting and drinking. Sleeping. Planning. Plotting. 

But we did come back, and I will tell you about it soon. But first there is family to visit and a royal wedding to watch and bank holidays to enjoy. 

Bisous

x

Oxfam Bridal

I'm over at Any Other Wedding today, talking about my dress and Oxfam Bridal. Pop over if you're interested to read more.

And if you're here from Any Other Wedding, welcome.

Husband and I spent our first weekend in the new house this weekend. We unpacked some more, walked down to the beach via fields full of lambs, admired apple blossoms, picked wild garlic, ate ice creams by the harbour, sat in our new garden in the sunshine enjoying coffees bought in the village, listened to lots of Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, Spiritualised and Super Furry Animals, drank pink fizz in a lane by a gate in a patch of sunshine and watched an extremely unusual high tide whereby the coast path was completely underwater. 

We have had proper conversations. We have watched football. We have stood in complete silence in the evening sunshine, just being. We have laughed lots. It has been wonderful.

Friday afternoon at 1.45pm

More smugness. Otherwise known as Friday lunchtime. Where better to have to escape from your desk than the beach - where you can overhear conversation such as "does candy floss class as a meal" and other such gems.

Things are busy round here. When I am not moving house (post to come one day if I ever manage to unpack anything) going on trips to Brighton to see other lovely internet ladies and their assorted husbands and little ones and organising a hen party and baby shower for consecutive weekends in less than a months time, I am frantically trying to work out what to pack for my long awaited trip to Paris. I know. It's a hard life.

Posting to resume soon.

Wednesday afternoon at 6.45pm

Every time I go back to London (in fact, twice last weekend) someone asks me whether I am missing London and whether I am glad to live in the countryside.

This afternoon I left work on time for once. Drove almost all the way home but stopped near the beach. Parked in a National Trust carpark and walked through woodland filled with birdsong and scented with wild garlic until I came out on the coast path, where the moor meets the sea. I climbed half way up the headland and sat on my favourite bench, looking out to sea, listening to the waves bash against the shore, the air amber in the evening sun. I was in shirt sleeves (and a suit skirt. and my Timberland boots. Sartorially speaking, it was a good job I was on my own)

I then drove home and cooked my supper by an open window, the air ruffled by the sound of bell ringing.

On evenings like this, it is safe to say I do not miss London one iota. [except living with my husband - that I miss - but that's another answer to a question no-one likes to ask]

Florence and Florence

Seems I'm a sucker for vintage websites with pretty things. Not content with my blanket from Bucket Tree, I've now ordered something from Florence & Florence. (I will share it with you when it arrives - it may or may not be suitable for part of a present I have planned for an event later in the year. ooh, the crypticness...)

Anyway, have a look at their beautiful website with stunning photographs. You won't be disappointed.

Photo by Florence and Florence

Oh, and I went to a charity shop and found another cake stand for a fiver. I think I might need help...

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Florence and Florence via Anna and the Ring