It's Not So Much About the Royal as About the Wedding

Okay I'll admit it outright - I found the mass hysteria surrounding the royal wedding completely inane. Both among the Brits and Indians. It was just two people getting married at the end of the day. Thousands of couples get married all over the world everyday. And come on, who cares about royalty in this day & age of democratic governments? I fail to understand how Kings & Queens still exist in so many countries across the world....it's such an antiquated concept. And I can't fathom why the Britishers are so enamoured with their royals.

Even more ridiculous was Indians and the Indian media getting excited about the wedding as if one of our own was getting married. Hell, we don't get as kicked even if when one of our national icons gets married, do we? So why the excitement over the wedding of the grandson of the Queen of another country which ruled us for a couple of hundred years? Was it a sign that we haven't been able to shake off our colonial hangover yet?

When my mother and grandmother announced they were planning to watch the live telecast of the royal wedding, I made fun of them. One has to be truly jobless in life to sit & watch two people getting married all day on television. But there was that curiosity within me to find out what Kate Middleton was wearing on her big day. Rather, WHO she was wearing. So I tuned in to the repeat telecast of the wedding just to check her dress out, and ended up watching most of it! Well, till they kissed on the balcony of the Buckingham Palace.

First things first though. That woman didn't disappoint with her wedding dress. Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen - an unusual choice given that most of Alexander McQueen's creations are so radical and out there. But Sarah Burton - who was appointed the creative head of Alexander McQueen after his suicide - is known to be relatively more understated than the man himself. And what a dress she designed for Kate! I loved it! It was modern and chic, yet so timeless and elegant. Simple yet so stylish! The plunging neckline balanced the sleeves beautifully, the bodice was very well fitted, and the trail was long without being imposing. Breath-taking creation. And I have to hand it to Kate for not getting carried away by the occasion and keeping her make-up and jewellery minimal. Have you noticed how Indian brides end up looking the ugliest they've ever looked in their lives, on their wedding day? Ironic, isn't it?

What struck me the most about the wedding though, that made me all mushy inside and made me want a marriage (not a wedding) just like that right then & there, were the vibes between William & Kate. They were talking to each other at regular intervals throughout the ceremony, he was holding her hand, helping her climb/descend from carriages, and they kept deferring to each other throughout. Showing in little ways that they really care about each other. It was so heart warming. The way they kept looking at each other, you could tell they're so much in love. It made me, a marriage-o-phobe, crave a wedding with the man I love right then & there :/

It must be such a special feeling. Sigh!

Some of my friends were really stoked about the commoner-marrying-a-prince bit but I was moved by the love between the couple and the fact that they made it after ten long years of courtship and inspite of two break ups. I just wish the kiss had lasted longer. For the meantime, this is what we'll have to make do with...