The Wedding of the Century

Hi All, Katie here!



I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…I tend to keep up with entertainment news because I find it interesting and mind-numbing. Now that that is out of the way, I am still slightly embarrassed to admit that I spent more than a little time over the weekend searching the internet about the details of Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding. I, like so many others in the world, am slightly obsessed fascinated by their story. But there is a lot more about their story that I find intriguing and relatable than just their massive wedding and the fact that they are royalty. Indeed their wedding will no doubt be watched by possibly more than a billion people. (When Diana married Charles in 1981, over a billion people supposedly tuned in from all over the world. In fact, thirty years ago, my mom was among the people who got up early to watch.) Can we talk about nerves? Yeesh.


William and Kate have been dating for more than eight years, since they met in college. Over the years, the media has gotten impatient about when they would get engaged, even dubbing Kate “Waity Katie”, which I think is really sad. I love that they took the time to get to know themselves and each other and establish themselves as people, strengthening their relationship and their chances for a successful marriage, rather than cave to the public scrutiny and get married before they were ready. I think the course of their relationship not only defies past traditions in the royal family for the better, but also provides our generation with a very public and realistic example of two people who took their time in making a very important decision, while enjoying each other and building their successful relationship.

Their story also intrigues me because it is so relatable to my own situation, having met my boyfriend in college and been with him for several years since (and probably will be for a few more before we decide we are ready to get engaged.) Amidst many of my friends who are getting married and engaged before we do, we are decidedly NOT in a race to “beat” everyone else to the altar for the sake of being amongst the first.  My boyfriend always says we are working to end up happy in the long run, not the first to have done this or that.

As I scoured the internet for information about the upcoming Royal Wedding, I came across an interview in which a reporter asked William what took him so long, and with a chuckle he responded “I wasn’t aware it was a race.” I almost fell out of my chair, and at that moment, though we are leagues apart, I felt an understanding and a respect for their lives together that makes me really want to tune in on April 29, 2011 when they commit their lives to one another. Though they are England’s future king and queen, they simply love each other and want to spend their lives together, like so many of us “commoners.” Continuing on with the tradition my mom started a generation ago, I will mostly likely set my alarm that day and take part in their special day. I am sure it will be magical and I wish them all the happiness in the world as they continue their lives together.

And of course, I am sure I’ll blog about all the details too!