Ivy and Myrtle

Thirty years ago, I was one of those folks who got up in the wee hours of the morning to watch the royal wedding of Princess Diana and Prince Charles. We didn't have a bazillion cable channels to choose from. We had ABC, NBC, and CBS. There wasn't any VCR or such thing in our household so if I wanted to watch it, it had to be live.

Thank goodness for DVR machines today. I was glad I didn't have to get up before the crack of dawn to get in on the royal pageantry this past Friday morning for the royal wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton.

When I woke up this past Friday, the ceremony was over and the newlyweds were getting into the very cool 1902 carriage. They looked happy. Genuinely happy and as giddy as the royals could get, according to their protocol I am guessing. That young woman was beaming. Her prince looked dashing in his red Irish guard uniform.

Much has been made about the dress. I never have been or will be a fashionista but the bride got it right. Her sister was very pretty too. The groom and best man looked pretty good in the uniforms. Their mama would have been proud.

One of the details that caught my attention was the one I read later. It was specifically about the bridal bouquet. The bride carried myrtle, ivy, lily-of-the-valley, sweet William and hyacinth in a shield shaped bouquet designed by a royal wedding florist. Each flower had a different meaning.

The ivy and myrtle represent love and marriage. Hyacinth represents the constancy of love. Sweet William means gallantry.

The myrtle stems were reportedly from plants that were originally planted by Queen Victoria back in the 19th century and has been an ongoing royal tradition since Princess Victoria, Queen Victoria's eldest daughter, carried them in her bouquet in 1858. http://www.cbsnews.com

The British do pomp and circumstance as well as anyone and it was quite a bit of fun to watch. Thanks to the DVR, I will be able to watch it again.

What did crack me up were the photos of all the hats that the ladies sported at this event. There were some very unique hats. My question is how do those hats stay on their heads? If you were unlucky enough to have to sit behind someone with one of the those very tall creations on their heads, you would not have had a very good view, either.

When everything is said and done about this event, my wish would be that the fairy tale wedding with all its glitz, tradition and pageantry will led to a fairy tale happily ever after for the young newlyweds. I am hopeful the ivy and myrtle can work their magic.