Princess Catherine's Bouquet... a close up view.

It's not just with royal weddings, but with most weddings... you never get to see the back of a bouquet very well.  Of course I may be the only person in the world interested in seeing the back view a bridal bouquet.  But, something about the construction techniques used in floral design simply fascinates me.  In the picture above, we get what will probably be the best view ever of the back of this particular bouquet.  I can see for sure where the designer/manufacturer were going here... if indeed the "shield" or "heart" shape was intended, then it makes sense.  They probably started out with the longer stems, obviously, and added shorter stem lengths as the fan of the stems grew wider.  At one point the taped wires were simply bent downward at a certain point to make the handle, and the handle being well concealed with ribbon and a rather smart and understated bow at the turning point.  Interesting and simple, this bouquet doesn't have the typical "top half" that most all wired cascading bouquets would have... those stems wire and inserted so that they go upward towards the bride's face... all of the stems here are going down.  I dare say once the wiring and taping of the individual stems were finished that pulling them together in the order of longest to the shortest was not too hard of a task.  But, I know that no matter the simplicity... if I had been doing it, tension and stress would have been very high.

And so, the bouquet found it's way back to the Abbey.  Or, one of the bouquets, as I am assuming that more than one was made for the event.... Princess Diana had three identical bouquets.  This, in my opinion is one of the most poignant royal traditions.  And, for this royal wedding, one of the most talked about... would she or wouldn't she lay down the bouquet.  From the news reports and blogs I've read this week, some were surprised that Princess Catherine didn't lay the bouquet there on their way out.... But, go back and watch the videos and film clips... Sarah Ferguson, nor Princess Anne, nor the Queen for that matter laid down their bouquets on the way out of the Abbey.  There bouquets are returned to the Abbey later in the day by palace staff.

Another information buzz is the still the dress... and it's striking similarities to two other vintage gowns that are the height of style and "Grace"... and one that wasnt' exactly an asset to the Abbey. ;)

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Royal Wedding Tib-bit for the day...According to my wonderful friends, the Lloyds, in England...  the BBC did and interview with the woman responsible for making the big floral displays in the Abbey. Apparently the whole theme was to be as natural as possible with nothing imported from outside England. So the big trees, maples and horn beams were grown in England. The other flower displays were done by senior members of NAFAS (National Association of Flower Arrangement Specialists) and were told of their role just a very short time before the wedding.  NAFAS are a group of British flower enthusiasts, work non-commercially in an amateur status.  Another way this wedding was kept local and kept green.  All who worked on the floral and other decor did a Smashing job!