The Royal Wedding Recap

Now I realize by now you may be royal wedding-ed out. But I do hope you’ll indulge me for this special edition post as I dish out my observations on the big event, connoisseur-style.

It is common knowledge on this blog that I am a devoted Francophile but not many of you know that I am also a hopeless Anglophile as well (after all, I did marry an Englishman!) So of course last Friday’s royal wedding was a complete treat for me- as it was for over 2 billion people around the world.

Here are my reactions, sentiments and recaps:


The bride looked beautiful. Her wedding dress, pitch perfect- the lace sleeves were reminiscent of Princess Grace. She exuded elegance. Her bouquet was a lesson in restraint. She purportedly did her own makeup which boggles my mind- she opted for a slightly heightened variation of le no makeup look. Her hair, simple and unfussy. She is a class act.

Prince William- dapper and doting and very handsome. I will admit, I always wanted to marry Prince William, but as you have probably already figured out, that didn’t happen and as I tell my husband, I got the next best thing! (It’s always good to tell one’s husband things like that).

Prince Harry’s cheekiness was refreshing and very attractive.

I loved the hats! I hope seeing all of those gorgeous hats that were burgeoning on art pieces brings back the fashion of wearing hats to more than just special occasions. I must say that the most alluring hats were the ones that complimented the ladies’ outfit and did not overtake their face. There were a few questionable choices made. I will not name names but you probably know who I am referring to.

As a side note, A few years ago I attended a beautiful English wedding in Stoke Poges at the Stoke Park Club and got to wear a hat for the first time (pictured above). Wearing a hat really adds a heightened sense of drama to an outfit. I sadly had to leave my hat in England as it did not fit in my luggage, and I long to be reunited with it again!

Pippa Middleton, sister of the bride / maid of honor, looked stunning in her alluring cowl neck white dress. What a figure! The fact that she wore white was also very fresh and modern, although I hope it does not spark a trend across the world for wedding guests to wear white!

The only reading in the ceremony, done by Catherine’s younger brother James, astonished me. His public speaking skills were excellent! I can’t imagine doing a reading in Westminster Abbey for all of those esteemed guests and 2 billion people watching all over the world. At my good friend Juliana’s wedding in Miami a few years ago I was asked to read a Shakespearean sonnet during the ceremony and out of nowhere broke into tears halfway through the reading. They were tears of joy for my good friends, of course, but no matter what the reason, it is not pleasant to break into the ‘ugly cry’ in front of a hundred guests, so I can only imagine what would happen if I were to do a reading at a Royal Wedding. I suppose it’s best I wasn’t asked.

The procession, the uniforms, the horses, the carriages, the tradition, the pomp and circumstance of it all enchanted me… we don’t have that in America and it is thrilling to see.

And, of course, the Queen looked lovely in her daffodil yellow ensemble…

To celebrate the royal wedding I threw a tea party for 10 of my girlfriends. I had it catered by the Tudor House Tea Room in Santa Monica as I did not have time to make the food myself (although if I had had the time I would loved to have done so). We served five different kinds of tea sandwiches (cucumber, smoked salmon, turkey cranberry, chicken curry and cream cheese herb and walnut), currant scones with clotted cream and farmer’s market raspberry jam, various confections and mini tarts (including apricot, chocolate, and lemon), fresh strawberries with cream and a large sponge cake with buttercream frosting. Yum.



To drink I decided to go with Mr. Connoisseur’s suggestion of Pimm’s cocktails (a splash of Pimm’s gin with lemon soda, ice and a twist of lemon rind), and French berry lemonade for the ladies who did not want Pimm’s. I gave away commemorative tea towels (pictured above) as presents to each guest.

Oddly enough, at the end of the party I realized we didn’t have a drop of tea! Oops! (I did ask, but everyone seemed contented with their Pimm’s!)

All in all it was a lovely day spent with friends to celebrate a lovely occasion. Cheers to Prince William and Catherine Middleton the new Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. May they have a very happy life together.

** Please note, this special Sunday post will take the place of the regular Monday evening post. Join me again this Thursday for a special skin care review.

** I would like to send my prayers to the families that have lost loved ones on 9/11 and send a thank you to our troops. God Bless America!

What a week!




My Royal Tea Party table is pictured above...

The picture of the Duchess of Cambridge is courtesy of Access Hollywood.

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