Alexandria
Heir Apparent
- Joined
- Jan 14, 2003
- Messages
- 3,207
- Country
- Canada
June Newsletter: The Princess Brides
I have dubbed the first half of 2005 as "The Year of the Wedding." I have been to no less than four weddings during the first five months of this year, which is almost a wedding a month, though two actually took place in April. And in between all those weddings, bridal showers, bachelorette parties and stag and does. I should be "weddinged out" by now -- but I'm not! So, when the idea for a wedding-related newsletter to celebrate two of the things I love in life -- royalty and weddings -- came up in discussions between Julia and I, I embraced it and ran with it. Thankfully, the other members of the TRF Team agreed with this idea and contributed to it with as much enthusiasm as I had for it.
It is with a great effort on the part of many members of the TRF Team that this letter was put together:
Mandy for her tireless contributions in sharing pictures, information and doing many of the write ups herself.
Anna R for doing the "leg work" of finding the links and supplying information, as well as for making a video to supplement this newsletter.
Elsa M. for providing information in the Spanish and Portuguese brides.
norwegianne for the more than 100 special wedding avatars found in this thread: http://www.theroyalforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6041.
Of all the weddings I have attended this year, the one that took place last month on May 21 is the one dearest to my heart. It wasn't just that I was part of the bridal party so I had been part of all the planning and events that took place over the course of the 21 months from when the engagement was announced to the big day itself, but it was because the bride is someone very special in my life.
In my immediate circle of friends, there are six girls in our group, five of us who met on our first day of kindergarten and have been steadfast friends ever since. Through more than 21 years of friendship, we have weathered through some very difficult times, but also very many happy times, as well as the everyday, mundane moments that mark any relationship between those polarizing moments. None of us have sisters -- all of our parents graced us with brotherly love -- so we became sisters to each other. As such, this wedding wasn't just the wedding of a cherished friend, but the wedding of a cherished sister.
I don't know of many people who are still friends to this day with their childhood friends, but it has been for me, a most surreal experience to watch someone you used to finger paint with and make sand castles with become someone's wife. So, on a most sunny and glorious day -- thankfully since her bridal shower and bachelorette party had been marred by torrential rain -- my friend became a Mrs.
As we put this newsletter together, I realized that whether it's a royal bride or a celebrity bride, or a "regular" bride like my friend, everyone loves a wedding. I may have grumbled a bit along the way about how much time the wedding was taking out of my evenings and weekends, or about this and that, but in the end it was worth it to see my friend so happy -- and to have a new "brother-in-law." My friend may not have worn a diamond-saturated tiara or worn a centuries-old veil as many of the brides covered in this newsletter did, but the sentiments and well-wishes for a happy bride and groom, a joyous wedding day and a long, healthy marriage are all there, no matter what title you possess, or will get upon your marriage.
Weddings are ultimately less about titles and higher statuses gained, the yards of silk used for the train, too many bows or too much lace, or the size of the tiara, but about two individuals who have found each other somehow in the chaos of this world we live in and who are committed to spending their life together and building a foundation and family together. It is about finding happiness and love and embarking on a journey together.
For those who are engaged, getting married, newlyweds, and those who have been happily married for decades, I hope that this newsletter will bring you fond memories of your special day or your special day to come. And for those of you who would like to be married one day, I hope that this newsletter will inspire you for your own special day.
Alexandria
Royal Forums Administrator
An additional footnote: The tossing of the bouquet and garter is an ancient tradition, based on the belief that the bride's bouquet and garter possesses luck, and that the individuals who caught these items would be the next to be married. Whether or not you catch the bouquet or the garter, shouldn't discourage you. A wedding is a romantic enough of an occasion to inspire all lonely hearts. Just because you don't catch the bouquet doesn't mean that the seeds of love can't be sewn -- I didn't catch a single bouquet in any of the weddings I've attended, yet I left with something wonderful blooming in my life.
You know you are in love when you see the world in her eyes, and her eyes everywhere in the world.
I have dubbed the first half of 2005 as "The Year of the Wedding." I have been to no less than four weddings during the first five months of this year, which is almost a wedding a month, though two actually took place in April. And in between all those weddings, bridal showers, bachelorette parties and stag and does. I should be "weddinged out" by now -- but I'm not! So, when the idea for a wedding-related newsletter to celebrate two of the things I love in life -- royalty and weddings -- came up in discussions between Julia and I, I embraced it and ran with it. Thankfully, the other members of the TRF Team agreed with this idea and contributed to it with as much enthusiasm as I had for it.
It is with a great effort on the part of many members of the TRF Team that this letter was put together:
Mandy for her tireless contributions in sharing pictures, information and doing many of the write ups herself.
Anna R for doing the "leg work" of finding the links and supplying information, as well as for making a video to supplement this newsletter.
Elsa M. for providing information in the Spanish and Portuguese brides.
norwegianne for the more than 100 special wedding avatars found in this thread: http://www.theroyalforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6041.
Of all the weddings I have attended this year, the one that took place last month on May 21 is the one dearest to my heart. It wasn't just that I was part of the bridal party so I had been part of all the planning and events that took place over the course of the 21 months from when the engagement was announced to the big day itself, but it was because the bride is someone very special in my life.
In my immediate circle of friends, there are six girls in our group, five of us who met on our first day of kindergarten and have been steadfast friends ever since. Through more than 21 years of friendship, we have weathered through some very difficult times, but also very many happy times, as well as the everyday, mundane moments that mark any relationship between those polarizing moments. None of us have sisters -- all of our parents graced us with brotherly love -- so we became sisters to each other. As such, this wedding wasn't just the wedding of a cherished friend, but the wedding of a cherished sister.
I don't know of many people who are still friends to this day with their childhood friends, but it has been for me, a most surreal experience to watch someone you used to finger paint with and make sand castles with become someone's wife. So, on a most sunny and glorious day -- thankfully since her bridal shower and bachelorette party had been marred by torrential rain -- my friend became a Mrs.
As we put this newsletter together, I realized that whether it's a royal bride or a celebrity bride, or a "regular" bride like my friend, everyone loves a wedding. I may have grumbled a bit along the way about how much time the wedding was taking out of my evenings and weekends, or about this and that, but in the end it was worth it to see my friend so happy -- and to have a new "brother-in-law." My friend may not have worn a diamond-saturated tiara or worn a centuries-old veil as many of the brides covered in this newsletter did, but the sentiments and well-wishes for a happy bride and groom, a joyous wedding day and a long, healthy marriage are all there, no matter what title you possess, or will get upon your marriage.
Weddings are ultimately less about titles and higher statuses gained, the yards of silk used for the train, too many bows or too much lace, or the size of the tiara, but about two individuals who have found each other somehow in the chaos of this world we live in and who are committed to spending their life together and building a foundation and family together. It is about finding happiness and love and embarking on a journey together.
For those who are engaged, getting married, newlyweds, and those who have been happily married for decades, I hope that this newsletter will bring you fond memories of your special day or your special day to come. And for those of you who would like to be married one day, I hope that this newsletter will inspire you for your own special day.
Alexandria
Royal Forums Administrator
An additional footnote: The tossing of the bouquet and garter is an ancient tradition, based on the belief that the bride's bouquet and garter possesses luck, and that the individuals who caught these items would be the next to be married. Whether or not you catch the bouquet or the garter, shouldn't discourage you. A wedding is a romantic enough of an occasion to inspire all lonely hearts. Just because you don't catch the bouquet doesn't mean that the seeds of love can't be sewn -- I didn't catch a single bouquet in any of the weddings I've attended, yet I left with something wonderful blooming in my life.
You know you are in love when you see the world in her eyes, and her eyes everywhere in the world.
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