At the last minute I decided to throw together a “Tea” and enjoy the Royal Wedding with my daughter, Audrey. Since we don’t have television at our home, we packed our basket into the car and made the short drive down to the White River Lodge. Included in the basket were  the tea pot that my sister, Lana, brought me from London along with my violet patterned tea service china , sugar, cream, and of course PG Tips tea. I wish I had planned ahead and made our favorite cranberry scones (watch for that recipe in one of our fall newsletters), but had to make due with plain scones and some homemade cookies. Audrey had given me some exquisite St. Clements orange marmalade for Christmas and that definitely drove the British experience up a notch (pronounced nautch). Not exactly a true high tea by my standards, but child friendly enough for Audrey to appreciate. Normally, we would have been suffering from sleep deprivation, but Audrey was energized by the spontaneity of the event. I had my own sentimental reasons for waking her that stemmed from a 13 year old girl’s memory of another Royal Wedding.  While trying to decide late last night whether the event was worthy to attend, I scrolled through the pages of my mind and settled upon a dark morning when my own mother awakened me to watch “The Wedding of the Century”. I never did miss those few hours of sleep and we would often recount that occasion over the years. That’s when it became clear to me, that it really wasn’t so much about attending a royal wedding, but about making a memory with my daughter. I extended the invitation and was glad to hear her answer, “Yes, wake me up!”

Perhaps it is because my own 23rd anniversary is tomorrow, April 30, 2011, that I listened closely to the words of the wedding, sermon, and songs or perhaps it is just that I’m older and more mature, but I was impressed and touched by what I heard, “ In a sense every wedding is a royal wedding with the bride and the groom as king and queen of creation, making a new life together so that life can flow through them into the future.

William and Catherine, you have chosen to be married in the sight of a generous God who so loved the world that he gave himself to us in the person of Jesus Christ.

And in the Spirit of this generous God, husband and wife are to give themselves to each another.

A spiritual life grows as love finds its center beyond ourselves. Faithful and committed relationships offer a door into the mystery of spiritual life in which we discover this; the more we give of self, the richer we become in soul; the more we go beyond ourselves in love, the more we become our true selves and our spiritual beauty is more fully revealed. In marriage we are seeking to bring one another into fuller life.

It is of course very hard to wean ourselves away from self-centeredness. And people can dream of doing such a thing but if the hope should be fulfilled it is necessary a solemn decision that, whatever the difficulties, we are committed to the way of generous love.” What true and compelling words that serve as a reminder to all of us who are married.

I was enamored with the Princess of Wales and her Prince, but that fairy tale didn’t have the ending I would have written.  As I watch the Royal Wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, I know the glitter and glamour of this day will fade into the photo albums, but if they have caught a vision from the Bishop of London as to what their marriage can be then maybe they will “live happily ever after”.