So you’re planning a wedding this season. Got your commemorative plates all set to go? The ones with the hand-painted portrait of the bride and groom? Has that million-dollar diamond-encrusted tiara been polished to a shine? Is your carriage all gassed up and ready to roll? (At $5 a gallon I’d recommend your driver moves r e a l slow.)
And how prepared are your flower girls and ring bearer? No concerns whatsoever that your little nephew will walk down the aisle fixing his wedgie, or that your adorable 11-year-old niece won’t clumsily handle the basket of rose petals? She is approaching that awkward stage. No, of course not, they will be the pinnacle of proper etiquette and refinement.
And if none of the above mirrors your plans, no worries. It’s not as though there is a wedding that the world is watching and your guests – although certainly without expectations – will involuntarily compare to yours. Okay, there is.
Pardon my presumptuousness, but I doubt your wedding will even remotely match up to that of Prince William and Kate Middleton. So don’t even go there. It’s too tempting to copy some of their regality – costly, regality. Even Macy’s is advertising a ring that just happens to be a sapphire surrounded by diamonds. The ad makes no mention of what the ring is intended to copy. Then again, a picture is worth a thousand words.
This is your (or your son’s or daughter’s) big day, a day that reflects on whom you are. If you want a black tie affair with carved ice sculptures and a 12-piece orchestra (and someone’s paying for it) then that’s your wish. If you’re more into the Sunday afternoon outdoor wedding along a bustling creek with a buffet lunch and a bridal party in short cocktail dresses, (hmm, which sounds very appealing) then go for that.
And if you had planned months and months ago to have a golden carriage pick you up and drive you to the cathedral, then clearly you had the idea first. So don’t change a thing.
If you have a wedding approaching – and I know you must since even I’m invited to four of them this summer – do what feels best to you, what fits your personality. And please accept my congratulations.
BTW, I kind of like the idea that Kate’s engagement ring isn’t a diamond. Although what’s a diamond engagement ring when you have access to the crown jewels?
