Royally Obsessed

when you're on the precipice of entering your third decade on earth, you come to accept a number of truths; aches and pains are a part of a new reality, facial expressions create peculiar crevasses on your forehead, and hangovers have a convenient way of lasting two whole days. this monday i am battling a unique form of illness known as the royal wedding hangover. still struggling from my sleep deprivation from waking before even the garbage men descend onto the streets of manhattan, i am bursting with the overwhelming desire to dissect every minute detail of saturday's festivies, and plagued with the melancholy one faces when the show you have just binge watched ultimately comes to an end. but since we're optimists here lets focus of the dish and chat about meg and harry's day. brace yourself, i've got a lot of opinions. 

it's no secret that i've been ambivalent about my feelings for the newly minted duchess of sussex. sometimes i get the feeling she is imagining she's acting in a lifetime movie about a commoner who falls for a dashing prince, rather than showing her genuine personality (and for the love of god please stop holding harry's hand on public appearances). but, for the most part, i've come around, mainly due to her generous nature and her unwavering independent confidence. the week leading up to her nuptials had to have been a trying time for markle, with her half siblings and father determined to show the world the very best of american culture, she was the picture of composure and strength as she drove with her darling mother, in the queen's vintage rolls-royce, to st george's chapel. you will never convince me that her father actually had a heart attack (the man was seen the following day at KFC) but i can't blame her for opting to uninvite him after his scandal broke. her ultimate decision, to walk the first part of the procession solo (excluding the painfully precious bridesmaids and pageboys) and then to have her now father-in-law escort her to her prince, was the perfect solution. while i know many think her mother, who is her closest confidant and role model, should have had the honor, i'm glad she adhered to emily post approved etiquette that the MOB does not "give away" the bride. 

but meghan wasn't afraid to push the envelope when it came to the ceremony. she opted to pay homage to her heritage by selecting an unconventional, boisterous bishop to provide a sermon, and tapping a gospel choir to sing ben e. king's hit "stand by me". i know this will be an unpopular opinion, and i recognize that the current trend is to showcase elements of the couples personality during the wedding, but i'm a traditionalist and found both breeches of protocol out of place at a royal wedding. the bishop was ready to execute his fifteen minutes of fame to the fullest (rumor was he was  asked to keep his remarks short and sweet) but we lost our way rather quickly and needed more than bread crumbs to find our way back to the initial message of love. while the rogue preacher was great for some laughs, thanks to the faces of confusion amongst the congregation, i found myself praying for the boys choir to sing him off like they do during the oscars. and in a similar vein, the kingdom choir's rendition of night's classic would have been better suited (no pun intended) for the reception. having said all that, it's so refreshing to see someone so confident and unapologetic in who they are. i look forward to watching her continue to modernize the monarchy. 

but aside from those minor hiccups, coupled with one stubborn stray piece of hair, the day was perfection. have you ever seen a more glorious hedgerow? the billowing arrangements, that were created by philippa craddock, included white foxgloves, white stocks, flowering birch, beech, hornbeam, and blue delphiniums. after the ceremony concluded, they were deconstructed and rearranged and delivered to hospice patients at st. joseph's. (the interior flowers were left for a wedding later this week- what a lucky bride!). they were the perfect compliment to her hand picked, by harry, bouquet from their private garden full of diana's favorite flower, lily of the valley. 

but the biggest statement of the entire day were the dress(es). markle shocked the entire world when she stepped out wearing british designer clare waight-keller for the famed french haute couture house givenchy. the two worked very closely together to bring markle's vision to life, under such secrecy that five people total knew about the dress (the designer even managed to keep it a secret from her husband and children). based on markle's style i had no doubt the dress would be composed of simple, clean lines, lack embellishments, and have a modern twist (can you say "nailed it"). the deep boatneck was current and youthful, while the classic silhouette is timeless. the simplicity of the look allowed for elements, such as the intricately embroidered veil (with deep symbolism, showcasing flowers from all 53 countries in the commonwealth, as well as the flower wintersweet which grows on the grounds of kensington palace, and a poppy to represent california) as well as the glistening tiara from queen mary to really shine. but the biggest statement came for the evening reception. markle famously said that carolyn bessette's bridal look was her definition of "goals". so i knew she would go for a more form fitting, flowy dress for the black tie component of the day. meghan and harry stepped out in their respective wardrobe changes, her in a bespoke stella mccartney high neck sheeth gown, pale blue soled aquazzura pumps, and the most stunning aquamarine ring gifted from harry curtesy of his late mother princess diana, and he in his tux, to their awaiting steel blue (american) jaguar. while i think the car detail was a slight rip off of will and kate (that harry lovingly adorned with a "just wed" license plate and balloons), everything about this moment was flawless. 

they then drove off to meet their guests, and to dance the night away (starting with my personal favorite "i wanna dance with somebody”). the night was full of surprises; including george clooney manning the tequila bar, a signature cocktail named "when harry met meghan", and a fireworks display.

so, how many years until george ties the knot?

post script,

best dressed wedding guest: 

ceremony: amal clooney

reception: priyank chopra

cutest moment:

princess charlotte enthusiastically waving the couple off 

honorable mention:

kate middleton: she had a baby three weeks ago and she still looked like a rock star