Here's to the Happy Couple.

Certainly the most lavish, regal, wedding I've ever witnessed...and perhaps the sweetest! Call me eccentric, but I have no regrets about waking up at 4 am to watch the ceremony on TV. Prince William and Princess Kate appear to be a truly lovely - and loving - couple! How precious is this photo of the newlyweds surrounded by all the flower girls and "pages" ?

Royal Wedding Splendour

Tomorrow is the big day for William Windsor and Kate Middleton - and anyone else who has been enamoured with the history and glamour of the English crown! Though I do think the Western World has gone a little over-the-top in its attention to the Royal Wedding, I can't deny that I am excited to witness the marriage of the handsome Prince William (yes, I know the most recent pictures of him have revealed that he is "losing his bloom" - and starting to go bald! - but he is a much handsomer prince than Charles ever was, and he always looks so "smart" in his suits and uniform) and the truly beautiful Kate - "middle-class" - Middleton. In honor of their special day, I thought I would share a couple wedding-related pictures that I took on my recent stay in England:

A shot of Westminster, Abbey - the location of Will & Kate's lovely nuptials, which will be exchanged at 11 am tomorrow.

I couldn't believe some of the outrageous Royal Wedding paraphernalia that I saw in the UK! While window-shopping in Bath, England, I spotted this heart-shaped teapot upon which the bride and groom's names are painted in gilded letters (also note the ornately decorated plate in the background with William and Kate's faces on it!)

The Choir

My parents and I are addicted to the BBC reality TV show, "The Choir." It was filmed a few years ago in the UK and is now being broad casted on BBC America. We don't actually get BBC America as part of our cable package, but fortunately we do have Comcast OnDemand which allows us to watch new episodes a day after they are released. If you've ever sung in a choir, as I have for many years, you will really be able to relate to the show's singers and sole "choirmaster," Gareth Malone.

Retro Video

Check out the outfits in this music video for Brooke White and Summer Bellessa's song, "I am A Girl." Very retro chic - I'm loving the red lipstick trend!

I Am A Girl - The Girls With Glasses Theme Song from The Girls With Glasses on Vimeo.

Speaking of the Queen...

A photo of Killarney National Park, Killarney Ireland, Co. Kerry

The Muckross House at Killarney National Park

This past May I had the awesome opportunity to visit Ireland with the Messiah College Concert Choir. For ten days we toured the southern part of the country, visiting pubs and popular tourist locations by day, and then performing by night (though not every night, fortunately) - mostly in Catholic cathedrals. Among the places we visited was Killarney National Park. On the grounds of the park is the famous Muckross House (featured above) which was dedicated by its owners to the park for museum purposes. We were given a fascinating tour of the house by one of its tour guides (p.s. I LOVED hearing the tour guide's accent!). Throughout the tour, our guide kept pointing out decorative elements in the house etc. that were added by its owners in honor of Queen Victoria's visit to the house. Its earliest owners, Henry Arthur Herbert and Mary Balfour Herbert, spent 6 years preparing for the Queen's two-days stay at the Muckross House! Their goal was to score brownie points with the Queen when she came to visit them and they expected that she would compensate their warm hospitality by honoring them with the titles of Lord and Lady Herbert. However - her visit happened shortly before Prince Albert's young death at 42 and apparently the Queen was so devastated by his death that she completely forgot about the Herberts and never offered them the ranking of lordship. The tour guide said this lack of attention from the Queen probably led to the Herberts decline in finances and social standing - an unfortunate circumstance for them, but who can blame Queen Victoria? Prince Albert was an amazing husband and if he looked anything like Rupert Friend in real life, I'd also be grieved by his death! According to "The Young Victoria," Queen Victoria had Albert's clothes laid out every morning of her own life, after he died. She never could forget him I suppose!

A photo of me standing in the gardens surrounding the Muckcross House which included a variety of beautiful plants! The rhododendron bushes (pronounced "rhodeeedendron" by the Irish) were absolutely enormous!

The Young Victoria

Last weekend I watched "The Young Victoria" on Comcast OnDemand. Two words: GREAT MOVIE. The film is both historically accurate and aesthetically appealing. Furthermore, it is no cheap chick flick! Emily Blunt and Rupert Friend do justice to the genre of romance - although I suppose it is their characters, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, who give love a good reputation! I never knew both Victoria and Albert were such strong individuals. The movie gave me a new respect for these historical figures!

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