The opportunity to be in London for the May 29th Royal Wedding between Prince William and Lady Catherine Middleton was one of those absolutely irreplaceable once-in-a-lifetime experiences that you can tell your children about someday and I must say it certainly did not disappoint. I am so grateful to have had the chance to experience such an amazing event and I have the photos and memories to last a lifetime.
While we could not actually attend the wedding unfortunately (I believe that my personal invitation from the Royal Family was lost in the mail) we did manage to find a little patch of pavement in Trafalgar square where it was being broadcast on a jumbo screen in the midst of a Royal Wedding street party fueled by champagne and a traditionally British concoction known as “Pimm’s”. There was a live band playing covers of famous love songs, and the Mayor made a short appearance after the ceremony to present the crowd with the gift prepared for Kate and Wills (a two-seater bicycle; it amused many members of the crowd). We were able to watch the entire ceremony on the screen, from the vows to the fighter plane salute that flew by over head all the way to the second (yes, second!) kiss on the balcony, all the while enjoying the bubbling excitement and fervid flag-waving surrounding us. At one point, the news crews cut to Trafalgar square and confetti canons set off all around us followed by a roar of pride from all those present and a surge of even more vigorous flag-brandishing.
The noise was deafening and the genuine pride and excitement was palpable all day, even after the crowds began to disperse into assorted celebratory pub-crawls. It was a contagious energy, and everywhere you turned there seemed to be people chattering away in enthusiastically clipped British or singing “God Save The Queen” and wielding flags before them like swords. Abandoned Pimm’s cups and confetti littered the street and street sellers hawked their Kate and Wills paraphernalia to passing crowds of consumers eager to own a souvenir or two to remind them of the events. I did, of course, buy a souvenir, but I managed to refrain from purchasing a “Will and Kate Tea Towel” or an “It Should Have Been Me” plate and instead opted for a small china jewelry box in the Will and Kate Royal China print. Someday, it will sit on my souvenir bookshelf, filled with the handful of confetti I caught in Trafalgar Square, and every time I look at it, a small wave of nostalgia will wash over me as I think of the patriotism and manifest excitement that prevailed in London on May 29th 2011. 
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