The (UNSEEN) Royal Wedding Pictures

Do you feel like you've seen the same pictures rotated over and over again through the internet

of Will & Kate on their big day?

I do.

(Ha. Get it? Because we're like talking about weddings?)

Those pictures are pretty dreamy,

but I love looking through the pictures from our camera...

cause it makes me feel cool.

These photos are, admittedly, not as good as 

the AP photography you've seen in papers & online.

Those guys had a pretty good height advantage 
over me up in the press box... but I'm not complaining.

In fact, I wouldn't trade my perch for most anything in the world.

Well, except a Birkin. I would have definitely thought about it for a Birkin.

So for those that have asked

(and even those that haven't)

... here is this half-jokingly obsessed,

American-in-England's 

view of her day at 

The Royal Wedding.

I'll try my best to cut to the good parts, 

since I know your blog roll is quite heavy this morning...

Prince William and Prince Harry arrived.

Didn't they look cute? 

You could just hear the sighs of all the girls in the crowd 

as he walked in the chapel doors

and off the market forever.

The most eligible bachelor had made himself, permanently, ineligible.

Then, the moment that 

(not to be dramatic)

kind of changed my life.

When Kate Middleton arrived.

Kate got out of the car,

gathered herself,

 and stared at the crowd.

From where we stood, the sun beamed so brightly off her dress, 

it left her beaming like an angel.

 I may, or may not have, have compared her to a patronus. 

(editor's note: my husband recommended I retire that reference at the risk of being a dork. oops.)

It seemed like a million years as she stood there and stared at the crowd (us!)

before her face broke into that lovely smile,

and the crowd (us!) went wild.

There Kate was. A normal girl.

Just like any of us.

Standing there so peacefully and happily...

about to change her entire life.

Most people would claim that their lives changed on their wedding days,

but for Kate Middleton, it was much deeper and significant.

At that moment, the world saw her committing to spend the rest of her life with William

and accept all the standard risk in sharing your life with another person...

(growing apart, unfaithfulness, family issues, weight gain, etc.)

But unlike any other woman in the world,

Kate Middleton was fused into a world of scrutiny & expectations.

... cameras, rules, isolation, engagements, secrecy ...

As exciting of a notion it was

to witness a normal girl become a princess,

a very bittersweet feeling enveloped the moment.

I think my heart was about to beat out of my chest.

Since we were so close to the abbey, there wasn't a broadcast of the ceremony on our block

to prevent the noise from disrupting the actual service inside.

Once Kate waved goodbye and the abbey doors closed, 

the crowd began buzzing 

with recounts of the amazing moments they had just witnessed.

the four of us- tired but very excited!

As we retold our perspectives with those around us,

 no Brit standing nearby had a dry eye.

As Americans, we see the Royal Family as this amazingly posh celebrity family,

like the Trumps, the Hiltons, or the Beckhams.

People that elect to live in the spotlight.

But here in the UK, there is a calmer attitude towards the Windsors.

One that involves less celeb hysteria and more of a remorseful pity

for this family that never chose this attention...

They have been born into it and left without any other option 

but to be constrained to it's perimeters

 and thrive within them.

This split of opinion between how the Royal Family is perceived 

became suddenly clear earlier this month

as I was riding in a taxi around the Mall.

The driver leaned over his shoulder and said:

"We're passing the Queen's Prison."

I looked up to see Buckingham Palace pass by.

"It's not a life to want, is it?" he asked.

As hard as it is as an American to feel sorry for the Royals

with their castles, their good bone structure, their obscene wealth...

the British seem to view all those "perks" as necessary means to cope

with such immense pressure and confined lives of service.

It's an interesting perspective to consider.

After the ceremony, the bells began the first of their three hour ringing.

The crowd got back up to their perches and waited for the long walk down the aisle.

They walked through the abbey doors,

and oh my, didn't they look happy?

I thought so.

And I hope they are.

I somehow ended up standing next to the Royal Family Photographer,

Ian Pelham Turner, 

during the ceremony and as the royal family watched

the Duke & Duchess climb into their carriage.

We started talking as I read an article in the paper that featured 

a picture of Charles, Diana, and 10 month old William.

He pointed to it and smiled: "I took that picture."

When I asked if he had been to Charles and Diana's wedding,

he told me yes- and the one before that.

This is his fourth generation of Royals to photograph.

As I stuttered to comprehend what a vault of memories he must have stored away,

I asked him which generation was his favorite.

He laughed and said:

"I hope this one will be. I'm starting to have my doubts on the others."

I think everyone feels the same.

The world is excited to watch how William & Kate

change the role of the British Monarchy.

... and how they will rock the style pages for years to come ...

*all images original to Aspiring Kennedy

* please do not copy without permission or sourcing. thank you.