Royal Wedding Madness

The anticipated morning has finally arrived and thankfully passed without incident. Actually, I'm most grateful that it has passed, period. The long and long-winded road to the royal wedding of William and Kate was overkill at its finest. In retrospect, I suppose I can't blame the networks for vying for royal wedding coverage....it is a rare event and really, I don't think NBC has promoted it anymore than they have The Voice. Frankly, I'm surprised they didn't break in, smack in the middle of the royal kiss, to show a promo for The Voice.

It is a once-in-a-lifetime event.....wait, this is three times in my lifetime?....oh, hell, there's Harry, too, he's probably next....never mind. If you haven't guessed, I'm a tad underwhelmed with these royal nuptials, to be honest. The outcome of the last two royal marriages has left a bit of a sour taste for this latest pomp and circumstance. We didn't get up at the ungodly hour the coverage began but we did Tivo it to fast forward through the highlights. As a matter of fact, we had planned our first garage sale to begin today and while that didn't pan out, it certainly could have pierced the air of civility that royal wedding watching would cultivate. I can see it now, just as that magical moment arrived, when the sun peeked out and Kate stepped from the limo to reveal the dress, a deep voice bellows from the garage...."I'LL GIVE YA FIFTY CENTS FOR THIS BOX OF CRAP!!"

The royal wedding is an occasion, nonetheless, so I did make something to nosh on during the rapid DVR viewing of the wedding. My bookstore received the inevitable copies of The Royal Wedding For Dummies last week and had I followed its initial suggestions for royal wedding food, I would have made guacamole and hummus....uh, what? Nigella Lawson posted a recipe for Strawberries and Cream Mini Muffins in People magazine and she was quoted as saying that this was a proper English breakfast and that "strawberries and cream are about as English as you can get." Imagining Nigella's husky voice saying this could cause the stiffest of upper lips to quiver, so make them I did. Strawberries are in season and the muffins turned out light and lovely. I felt as if I should be sipping Earl Grey also, but I'll stick with a cup' o' joe.

Frankly, the food was as ever among the highlights of royal watching. I would have loved to have attended some of the street parties, particularly the one in the photo. Harrod's window displays featured various designer's wedding cakes made to celebrate the big day. I thought the elaborate hats at the wedding were a kick as well....many of the sculptured Phillip Treacy creations were akin to modern art but the hats on Fergie's girls were.....interesting,to say the least. The Beckhams arrived looking like they were carved out of ivory and Elton was appropriately and disappointingly low-key in his own outfit. C'mon, Rocket Man, where's the obnoxious chapeau? Hell, if I were the crafty type, I might be inspired to fashion my own hat, utilizing the platter the muffins were on and the philodendron atop the TV.

Truth be told, I wish Will and Kate the best. William and Harry have carried on their mother's spirit of service and seem to be somewhat level-headed. Kate's a lovely girl and she and Will deserve as problem-free a wedding day as anyone. Good on yer, Will and Kate!