Royal Weddings

So in all my internet surfing, I have recently discovered a new love of mine - LIFE.com. I remember going to flea markets with my parents and looking through old issues of Life magazine and being amazed. Not only were they great 'cause they were like a portal into the past, but the images were just so mesmerizing. Then again, I'm a total image freak.

The types of image galleries Life had was insane and I went crazy. I couldn't help myself from venturing into an album titled "Royal Weddings."
Often regarded as perhaps a fairy tale gone wrong, here we have the wedding of Princess Diana and Prince Charles. Even though their marriage turned out to be fairly unhappy, their wedding was jam-packed with opulence as expected. Princess Diana looked like an 1980s meringue and her train looked like a giant strip of white paint dragging down the aisle. Oh and those flower girls looked like tiny golden bells. The best part of all was the mug set.

And then there is the famed wedding of movie star Grace Kelly and the Prince of Monaco who met while Miss. Kelly was filming what would be her final film for Hitchcock, To Catch a Thief. Although it is the wedding here with some of the fewest pictures, I like to assume it is immediately my favorite and the most beautiful. I cannot image a more dream-like and glamourous union.

This was Grace Kelly's hand-pearled bible used in her wedding ceremony. So elegant and beautiful, it really is like something out of a 1950s dream.

Well shame on me for forgetting so quickly who this royal couple was... Nonetheless, the images from their day of matrimony still excite me. Just look at all those flower girls and bridesmaids in their dresses. They look like they're outfitted in tiers of ruffles on their shoulders, their busts and the edges of their hemlines. I can't help but see them as poofy glacial fairies. Just imagine how wonderful a hug from someone in those dresses would be. There is also the Princess's tiara, almost too shiny and splendid to be true.

The best part is this image of the bride's lace train. It looks like bed of flowers floating behind her.

I stuck these in here mostly because of its adorable backstory. This beautiful princess, fell in love with her personal trainer. Out of all the pictures I shuffled through, the emotions in these seemed the most genuine. Everyone looks happy and love.

And then of course we have American Royalty. I could not resist. The Kennedys' marriage didn't really work itself out into something beautiful, but rather something filled with secret affairs and ugliness (similar to many other high-profile weddings) only to end in a tragic assassination. The mystery and darkness behind the classic all-American façade really adds an extra appeal to the Kennedys' style (as disturbed as that sounds).