Weddings on the Brain

My alarm is set for 4 a.m. to watch the Royal Wedding (which, for some reason, is now a proper noun and can be capitalized). My grandma is from England and is staying with us, so that's what I use to justify my excitement for the wedding. Mashable says that over 2 billion people are expected to watch the ceremony tomorrow. Billion. With a 'B'. There are currently 6.7 billion people in the world, so just under a third of the world's population are going to be watching. No pressure, Kate. I'm already having mild panic attacks when I look at my wedding countdown clock (72 days!) and there will only be about 150 people witnessing our ceremony.

Needless to say, I have weddings on my mind. I wish I could post pictures of my dress and cake, but that will have to be a post to come. In the meantime, I'd love to share a few of my favorite weddings. 

I certainly wasn't alive to see Grace Kelly become Princess of Monaco, but as a little girl, I had a set of Grace Kelly paper dolls I played with daily. She looks so regal here. And that cathedral veil...wowza!

I didn't witness this wedding either, but how could I not include it? I wish I could crop Charles out of this. I also wish that puff sleeves were 'in' and Kate would rock something like this.

My grandparents got married in February 1958. My grandma met my grandpa when he was stationed in England for the Army. He wooed her and when she was just 17, she moved to the U.S. to marry him. Their love story will always by my favorite. My grandma told me that she and my grandpa spent their wedding night at a hotel in Windom (about 25 miles from where they got married in Worthington) and drove up to the Twin Cities for three days for their honeymoon. Kind of makes me feel silly for looking at $3000 Caribbean all-inclusives. In case any of you still think I'm crazy for waking up at 4 a.m. to watch the Royal Wedding, I hope that you knowing that I have a lump in my throat as I write about my grandparents shows that sharing this with my grandma is about more than just watching TV.

My brother married Sara in March 2006. The day was picture perfect; we were on a beach near Cape Canaveral, Florida and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Sara has become like a sister to me, and I'm so thankful to have both her and Ben in my life (although it would be great if they moved back to Minnesota). I'm out of frame in this picture, which is probably a good thing because I'm weeping like a baby.

I met Ellie when I was in 6th grade. She came to a friend from church's birthday party, and by coincidence, we ended up going to the same middle school and high school. I felt so blessed to be a part of Jake and Ellie's wedding in August 2008. It amazes me that Ellie now has a one-year-old girl. I'm honored to have Ellie (who I think looks like Rachel McAdams) be a bridesmaid in my wedding this July!

Megan and Angelo are the newlyweds of the bunch, having just married this past January. They had a beautiful winter wedding and the day went off without a hitch. Megan looked like a bride out of a dream and it was amazing to witness the wedding of two people so in love. The two of them are very important to Steve and me; they'll both be in our wedding party! 

I love to think about not just the weddings, but the marriages of those closest to me. I'm off to get four hours of sleep! I promised my grandma that when I woke up, I'd make her a pancake in the shape of Prince William's head.

As my gram would say, "toodle-oo!"

xx, Emily