things i'm loving 'royals, weddings & princesses'

Greetings all,

Oh what else could i possibly be loving this week more than the Royal Wedding.  My mother is English & a huge lover of all things royal, my father was a commander in the Royal Australian Navy & has a poster of the Queen in his walk in robe!!  I think of the public duty & charity the Royals conduct, that makes them relevant.  My husband is in the Royal Australian Army & will wear crowns as his rank, not stars or bars.  I don't want a republic.
Here's to weddings . . . i loved our wedding, we had so much fun, we want to do it again & actually eat this time.  We were young, relaxed, it suited where we were in life (me - a university student & my husband - a Lance Corporal), we didn't have much money but we had plenty of stylish short cuts. 

We paid for the dress - Tour in Strand Arcade Sydney, i still love it, it was a ballgown not a wedding dress, my best friend 'Sindy' showed it to me in Vogue magazine & I said "OMG, can i wear it??" - yes, she's still my best friend even though i stole her dream wedding dress.  My daughters want to wear it too.  We paid for the flowers - simple table displays of iris & conflowers.  Great tip - the florist said to use my bouquet as a display on the main table (clever!!)  We paid for the music - string quartet from Sydney Uni & a DJ.  We paid for the photographer - a school friend's mother was a professional photographer & i wanted them all pretty candid & fun, so she was only around until food was served, i LOVED her photos, they really captured the love.  I only had a flower girl (a niece), no bridesmaids & my husband had a best man, perfect balance.  My husband wore a tuxedo, not his dress uniform which at the time, didn't have many fancy bits & pieces.  Looking at William & Harry, how fantastic are their uniforms, i love pomp & ceremony. 

We got married at my parents home 14 years ago, it poured with rain, so we had the ceremony in the marquee with everyone sitting at their table instead of in the backgarden standing around us.  We didn't require cars & as i don't drink, i drove us home.  As per tradition, my parents paid for the venue/ marquee & catering, my in-laws paid for the alcohol.  The dinner was a full buffet of seafood & every possible meat in the world.  Our wedding cake was chocolate mud cake with white chocolate ganache, two squares - one smaller square placed on top of a larger square cake, with fresh oriental lillies to match my bouquet.  So pretty, simple, elegant.
Clever tip - we had just moved in together a couple of weeks earlier & went home, cleaned up the car & slept.  The next day we went to the Hotel InterContinental (where Oprah stayed on her Sydney visit) so we could enjoy the WHOLE stay.  The next day we went to my parents, met all our immediate family again, in the same marquee & ate left overs, while we opened the presents.  That evening we went to the airport for our European Honeymoon.  Honestly, it was so well planned to do it over 3 days like that, as you can probably tell, i don't rush anything.

Now when i say i was relaxed - i was still swimming 2 hours before the ceremony & hanging ivy up the marquee poles (much to my mother's horror).  My sister did my make up & hair, i wore an Alice band of cornflowers (i'm blue to the core!!)  Sorry, i will show you my husband's face when he retires - i didn't marry a post it note.         

 I was determined to carry a bouquet of Oriental Lillies, even if my father said they were funeral flowers.  Don't get me wrong, my father had me married off to handsome soldier after their first meeting, he didn't do the "you don't have to do this" speech either, he ran me down the aisle.  Oh nice little touch - i handed my bouquet to my mummy to hold during the ceremony & gave it away to my big sister at the end, i didn't toss it.  At both these moments, i cried but during the ceremony i couldn't stop smiling.  We didn't write our own vows, just chose a sweet version our celebrant offered us & i chose to "love, honour & respect". 

 Being married is so important to me, i love having a husband & being a wife.  My husband & i are very affectionate, our children notice & have always married off their toys.  Above is Blip Robot with his wife Bun Bun.  I know, i was puzzled too when my son said "oh, i would love one of those bunny rabbits with the moustache, Blip needs a wife".  Not really sure what to say about that one other than you never know what on earth your child is thinking.

 On my way back from my Queensland holiday, i stopped by Retro Mummy & here is her middle daughter, Princess Tillie.  I have no issue at all with my girls dreaming of princesses & fairy tale endings.  What's the harm when they are confident, self assured & intelligent women??

I love my girls' bedrooms, they are a little bit modern, a little bit mid century & a little bit princess.  For more Things I'm Loving, check out Paisley Jade today.  Love Posie
PS totally loved The Beckhams ensemble at the wedding & oh wow, THE WEDDING DRESS, glorious!!  Are the Middletons all super models??  That is how my in-laws looked at our wedding, all stunningly gorgeous, tall & slim - if you were wondering where my children get their genetics from, they are true McClellands.