My increasing interest in Kate and William’s wedding was a mystery for me. I had sort of a ho-hum feeling about it. I wanted to see the dress and the highlights but that was all I was interested in---initially. I didn’t understand the excitement about this event especially in the U.S. After all, didn’t we kick the monarchy out of here a while back? And it’s not just the political aspect of a monarchy I find puzzling, though Queen Elizabeth doesn’t have much to do with that anymore, but in our country we don’t believe in class systems; right?
Yet as the big day drew near I started to get a little more interested. I’m not sure why but when the designers interviewed on TV discussed the dress and its possible designer, with photos of previous extravagant weddings, and then discussed the outfits (and hats) that would be worn by the guests, I sort of fell into it. About three days before the wedding I suspended my negativity toward imperial/monarchial entities and just sat back and enjoyed the spectacle. And that’s certainly what it was. It turned out to be a lot of fun.
On the day of the event I had my customary insomnia, my normal sleep routine, and therefore I watched the entire event---live. I fell asleep just as Kate reached the altar which was about 3 a.m. PST. But I didn’t care. I was interested in the arrival of the guests, and in particular her arrival, and once I saw all of that I fell asleep.
The next morning I caught highlights of the actual ceremony but what I absolutely loved was the fun the women at the wedding had with their hats. At first I thought they were silly but then something came over me and I ended up loving how whimsical they were and how artistic they were. I was amazed with the engineering effort it must have taken to attach some of these outlandish creations to the heads of all those women.
Years ago I made funny hats for coworkers when they left for other jobs or retired. I decorated the hats with things they were known for and made them wear the hats at their farewell parties. Many of these creations had little dangling things and giant objects attached to the top. It was a blast making those hats and when I studied the creations at the royal wedding I realized what fun the artists must have had. Many of the women wore plain outfits but adorned their ensembles with outrageous hats. These were women of affluence and influence, many from old aristocratic families. That was not lost on me and I was not able to suspend that part of my vacation from criticism.
As they walked in on the arms of their escorts, whom no one paid attention to in the least (except maybe for Beckham), they actually seemed to strut. No easy task considering the hat balancing act and some wore five-inch heels. It also was not lost on me that they could afford to strut. Their outfits could probably pay a couple of months’ salaries for the typical London citizen, for those lucky enough to even have jobs. I had to struggle with my suspension.
In my part of the world there’s a wonderful performance venue in San Francisco---Beach Blanket Babylon, “the longest running musical revue in theater history.” I’ve attached a link to their website because it’s worth a peek. Through the storyline of Snow White (loosely) they provide hilarious insight into current events via song and dance and wear incredible costumes topped by giant hats. I’ve watched a couple of behind-the-scenes interviews and the hats are truly feats of engineering. Hats are fun.
http://www.beachblanketbabylon.com/when/index.shtml
Sometimes it’s important to suspend our belief systems in order to enjoy a moment of silliness. I believe many people did just that. I watched snippets of the Imperial House of Japan’s royal wedding years ago. The Japanese monarchy is the oldest continuous hereditary monarchy in the world still in existence. One of their princes married and it was stunning though we saw very little of it. What we saw took our breath away. The bride’s traditional Japanese wedding gown was breathtaking. Her carefully choreographed movements were intense, traditional, meaningful, and very very slow. These weddings, and the people in and around them, in no way relate to me or my life yet I find myself enthralled with the pageantry and traditions. They are fairy tales: A prince and his princess and their beautiful wedding.
But for the most part, though I thought Kate and William’s wedding was a beautiful “show,” I mostly will remember the Fascinating Fascinators. The crazier the better as far as I’m concerned.
So now I’m back to wondering why we still have monarchies in the 21st century. I suspect there are a few in London wondering the same thing.
[No part of this content may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author. Blog series began in March 2009.]
