Congratulations Prince William and Catherine
After months of speculation and hype, Prince William and Catherine Middletonare married! 2 Billion people were watching around the globe, due to the interconnectedness of the internet and Cable/TV networks. Prince William & Catherine Middleton did not disappoint! Their wedding has had all the royal pageantry that one would expect and at the same time seems simpler and more down to earth than Royal Weddings of the past. 
Catherine’s dress is beautiful as expected. Ivory though, not white. Possibly a more modern choice? Her train was not as long as other Royal Brides but this is more practical because every foot of train adds another few pounds of fabric and is very heavy to carry. Catherine’s veil was short (fingertip length) and edged with intricate lace. A more traditional look than I expected and the veil was not a light fluffy material so it clung to her hair rather than floated above it. This may have been on purpose because the wind can blow Catherine’s hair around a lot and she did decide to wear it down rather than up, which was more modern also.
The wedding dress itself was a very conservative design that felt like a modern take on a very traditional look. (almost a modern medieval revival feel to it, kinda also looked sound-of-music to me) The lace overlay on her shoulders and sleeves was really amazing and most likely hand made. The dress did have lace around the edge of the skirt and train but it was not visible from afar. Only in pictures showing it up close.
William looked happy and at times concerned for Catherine trying to navigate in and out of carriages in this dress. Catherine’s dress did have less fullness to the skirt than many royal wedding gowns in the past but it is still a challenge for anyone who runs around in jeans or skirts to navigate in a floor length gown with a train and petticoat. I found it to be cumbersome and difficult to move in, and mine wasn’t nearly as long.
Prince William and Prince Harry both looked very royal in their military/royal uniforms. The Queen, Camilla and Mrs. Middleton all looked very casual in comparison to William & Kate. All three of them wore very pastel colors and had a just below the knee length to their dresses/jackets that looked like something to wear to Easter Sunday Mass. I think this may have been an attempt to be less formal than in the past and also stand apart from the couple getting married. The photos on the balcony after the wedding also showed that the families were off to both sides and Kate & William were in the center alone. I’m not sure why that would be, except to let them shine, yet it didn’t look like the family was very close.
There are so many interesting details to this wedding that were different than what you would have anticipated. One is that the carriage they rode back from the ceremony in, was open. No covered carriage with windows or bullet proof glass like in the past. This looks more accessible and down to earth. Catherine’s bouquet was a small bouquet by royal standards, made of Lilly of the valley, sweet William and hyacinth. Very non-traditional wedding flowers, and no sight of the Royal Myrtle talked about in tradition. One thing about that bouquet, it was likely very fragrant.
Another interesting design idea was bringing in live trees in pots to line the abbey isle to give the feeling of being outside and bring nature into the ceremony. These trees will be replanted, and they specified that the other plants that can’t be replanted be donated to charity after the wedding. It is nice that they have taken some cues to respect nature in the process of the wedding and also do things like donate to charity and ask for donations to charity instead of gifts. It is a new take on the Royal Lifestyle.
Another twist on tradition was to drive off in Prince Charles vintage Aston Martin convertible after the procession was complete. I think the public identifies with an image of a just married couple in a car together more than the formality of a carriage. And its a nice twist that they used a car they already had. Saves a little bit on the budget.
I am so happy for Catherine and William. They have put together a wedding that was both royal and down to earth at the same time and despite all the hard work and planning that must have gone into it, they look like they were pretty relaxed and happy. Congratulations you two, we all wish you the best of health and happiness together.

Prince William and Catherine Middleton have had Buckingham Palace send out the invitations for the Royal Wedding this week. I think we all forgot how lucky they are to have a staff to do these tasks for them, although there is far more to planning a Royal Wedding than an average wedding. I almost expected to see Kate & William stuffing envelopes with the staff, but I guess not. 

My personal suggestions (from an average wedding) to Kate & William for surviving the royal wedding and planning process are:
1. All white. (or Ivory) This is very traditional. White signifies purity, beauty and the significance of the occasion. White roses, lillies and orchids are all wonderful choices. Some people mix in some pastel green, yellow or pink with the white for some variety. (try fresia for fragrance)
4. Trendy. There are always trendy colors. Purple is hot right now. Green with brown accents has also been popular. Red & White flowers with Aqua accents has also been popular in the last few years. Orchids are the hottest of them all and they last for a long time outside of water. There was a Hydrangea trend started by Martha Stewart about 10 years ago that is still going on today because of the pastel blues and purples available in these flowers.
Buying an engagement ring is a huge purchase and if you haven’t bought a new car or house before this point it may be the biggest purchase y, ou have made yet. The range of styles and prices in engagement rings is endless. There are thousands of rings available from hundreds of retailers online (and offline). It may be difficult to think of buying an engagement ring online, but in today’s hectic world, one less thing to shop for among a bunch of retailers that are difficult to tell the difference between could be an improvement.
Diamond Color – Most people want a really white stone, as colorless as possible. D-I are best. I’ve seen someone with a huge diamond that is yellow-ish and it looks awkward next to a white gold ring. A smaller whiter diamond in that case would have worked better. Don’t let them say that a yellow diamond is “warmer” in color. It isn’t as good. The ring at left is from Shapiro Diamonds. They are a Jeweler offering
After deciding your diamond look at rings settings. Some people prefer really glamorous pave style rings with tiny diamonds encrusted down the shank, while others (like me) like a simple classic setting with a baguette diamond on each side and a thin ring with comfort fit rounding on the inside. There are also popular trends going back to vintage settings and reproducing them as well as very modern minimalist styles of rings available. Getting a set that includes the engagement ring and a wedding band saves time later when you already have that ring purchased.



Maybe Nordstrom has seen how Macy’s has lost so much of the Marshall Field’s mystique in bridal gown sales in Chicago and have found that if you have quality merchandise at reasonable prices, you can really do well in the wedding business.

We made it through not only the wedding prep process and wedding itself, but we have been married now for over a year. Our anniversary was July 11th and we went to the Golf Club where the reception was to have brunch, because it was included with our package. We have done a lot in a year, sold both our properties and bought a house. All that moving, buying and selling does make time fly. We were shocked at how fast one year went and how far removed we were from the place we were in the last time we visited Cantigny.
What does all this mean about getting married? I think it proves that there is a lot of work involved. The communicating and trying to balance what you want, he wants and has to be done all at the same time is a challenge. We do it because we wouldn’t want to be without each other ever again, but its doesn’t mean its a cake walk. We have plenty of stressful moments.
I read this post about how many women change their last name after getting married and thought about how this has affected me thus far. I got married to Steve in July of 2009 and I chose to change my last name to his family last name and use my last name as my new middle name, eliminating the middle name. I felt that a shorter simpler name (from 9 letters to 5) would be easier for business since most people when meeting me would be able to pronounce it. I also thought that it was a nice symbolic beginning to our lives together as a married couple.


8. Lamps instead of centerpieces – with candles on the table. Um, no. Most of us can’t afford to buy 13 small matching lamps and figure out how to get cords out to the tables without tripping anyone. Plus how can you see over them? Interesting maybe for the entry way or the bar, but changing the decor of the hall like that gets expensive. This makes more sense if you have a tent or room with absolutely no decor, then adding lamps brings in a lot more warmth. Kind of like draping tiny white lights from the ceiling does.

This morning I ran across an article on
So, overall I don’t think the bridal magazine business is bulletproof in this economy. I feel like wedding magazines that aren’t honest and upfront about the vendors, services, reviews and costs will probably perish in a few years. Only the ones that have a large online presence will survive, as well as the ones that are about cutting edge wedding design.





Merging finances and money processes is one of the first things we ran into with planning the wedding and directly after. The main reasons that merging money comes up so quickly in a marriage were that we had to find a way to both pay for the wedding and then we also had to find a way to deposit the gift checks afterwards.
I have several friends that decided that they would keep all their finances separate when they got married. I think that is difficult but I understand that it is hard to wipe out everything you have been doing and start over suddenly too. We decided to do some joint accounts for the house, utilities and joint projects and then keep our old seperate ones too. This helps in the short term to give us our own independence when needed and both feel like things are fair with paying the bills too.