The Royal Wedding - Kate Middleton with sweet William

Congratulations to the now Duke and Duchess of Cambridge the people of East Anglia will have a now closer alliance to the future king and queen of England.

I was pleased to find that Kate made her bouquet personal by carrying sweet William in her bouquet - how lovely.

Kate Middleton, now the Duchess of Cambridge, paid tribute to her new hubby by including "sweet william" in her wedding bouquet. 

The bouquet, as royal tradition dictates, also included a sprig from a myrtle bush planted by Queen Victoria on the Isle of Wight in 1845. Other flowers in the bouquet included hyacinth, lily-of-the- valley and ivy.

It was designed by Shane Connolly, also responsible for decorating the wedding venue Westminster Abbey with eight English maple trees. 

The symbolism of the flowers used at the royal wedding:

• Sweet William - Gallantry

• Lilly-of-the-valley - Return of happiness

• Hyacinth - Constancy of love

• Ivy  - Signifies fidelity, marriage, wedded love, friendship and affection. 

• Myrtle  - Emblem of marriage and love.

As a young couple embarking on married life together I wish them all of the above.

In terms of the wedding industry with many elements of the royal wedding influencing many couples choices for their big day,  I'm pretty certain that these flowers will heavily influence bridal bouquets the world over for years to come.

Florists stand by!!!!!!!!

Wedding Music: If Music Be The Food of Love.

During our wedding planning it became a lengthy process of negotiation and
elimination when deciding what format the music would take. Both lovers of music with
an eclectic mix of sometimes very different taste, this was a challenge, but we wanted to
stay true to what we love.  Top tip for all couples it's all about the two of you.

How did we want to entertain our guests? What did we want to hear? Did we want
live music (his preference not so much mine) - a band, ipod music? We got there in the
end because we compromised and isn't that what marriage is all about?

Music for walking down the aisle, well that was my domain, I had total autonomy here
(no compromising at all lol!!!), and that was a no brainer. After checking his schedule
unfortunately he found that he was otherwise engaged. If I couldn't have him singing
in person it had to be an ipod of HIS voice - the one and only:

The wedding party had strict instructions " DO Not start walking until after the 

first verse, walk SLOWLY" (a tall order for my 5 year old daughter, 3 year old

goddaughter and 18 month old daughter - not a problem the others could slow

things down).  I was not walking down that aisle until I heard Prince singing how

much he adores me, emmm I mean until the lyrics stress how much I adore my
husband to be.

ADORE YOU, ADORE YOU can I talk to you tell you whats on my mind?

I would appear in the doorway wait and then start walking. Yes there was real meaning
in the lyrics these particular words and as I am a perfectionist, it had to be just perfect.

Whatever your music and song choices for your day, ensure there is a reflection of the
love you have for each other, if your guests know you - they will love it too.

PLAY ON.

Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue

Something old, something new, something borrowed something blue, a silver six pence in her shoe.

Most people know the first part of the phrase not necessarily the latter.  We follow traditions sometimes inadvertantly without realising it.

I wore a lovely new bespoke wedding gown, lovely new shoes, lovely new earrings and so on and so on - yes I enjoyed and went overkill on the new as you do, it is a special day after all :-).

Maid of honour gave me a garter with a blue ribbon and I borrowed a hanky from my mum, which luckily I didn't need to use, just as well as she wanted it back post haste after the festivities were over, a practical lady my mum.

Did I realise what the significance of all of this was in terms of the true meaning behind this tradition?

Something old - Represents the link to the brides family
Something new - Good luck and success a bright future ahead
Something borrowed - Represents to bride family and friends being there wedding day and in future
Something blue - In ancient times blue was the symbol for faith purity and loyalty
A silver sixpence in her shoe - Represents wealth and security

Yes I am a wedding planner it's my job to know -  This is a typically English tradition (Victorian).

Whilst working on content for my website my mind was cast back to my day and how we incorporated our backgrounds into our day.  I am thinking about how to encourage prospective couples to infuse their day with traditions from their culture perhaps.  How wonderful to amalgamate English tradition with other traditions on your big day.

I am all about doing things a bit differently so would advocate that you take something from your cultural background and incorporate it into your day. Give people a taste of something a bit different, this can be done in a number of ways (coming up on my website soon!!)

Its all about the two of you so make it about that.