Prince William & Princess Kate, the Duke & Duchess of Cambridge

It began with Kate’s request that ladies wear hats and oh the fascinators were out in all of their glory!  Watching the guests arrive was nothing short of watching the red carpet on Oscar’s Night.  And did you see David and Victoria Beckham?!  Becks was a dapper showstopper in his mourning coat – the camera’s couldn’t stop going back to him.

Princesses Eugenie & Beatrice

The ever-so-stylish Beckhams

Classic elegance by Mother of the Bride Carole Middleton, The Queen and Step-Mother of the Groom Camilla

Kate wore a classically elegant and beautiful dress reminiscent of Princess Grace (actress Grace Kelly) by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen and carried a modest bouquet.  According to the royal press release, “The bouquet is a shield-shaped wired bouquet of myrtle, lily-of-the-valley, sweet William and hyacinth. The bouquet was designed by Shane Connolly and draws on the traditions of flowers of significance for the Royal Family, the Middleton family and on the Language of Flowers.”   Kate also looked beautiful wearing a borrowed vintage Cartier halo tiara given to Queen Elizabeth by the Queen Mother on her 18^th birthday.

Kate Middleton entering Westminster Abbey wearing Sara Burton for McQueen reflected her own personal style. Simple, classic and elegant.

William looked absolutely regal in his scarlet red uniform of Colonel of the Irish Guards topped with a blue sash.  The royal wedding party stylishly mimicked the bride and groom with Prince Harry in his military uniform and bucking tradition, sister of the bride and maid of honor Pippa wearing an ivory gown.  I thought it was a stunning move and I bet we’ll be seeing this again!

Prince Will to his father-in-law, "We were just supposed to have a small family affair."

Maid of Honor and Sister of the Bride, Pippa Middleton escorts the flower girls

The dashing Princes

A Historic first - TWO balcony kisses!

The trees lining the halls of Westminster Abbey were Canadian Maples brought in to  honor the Commonwealth of Canada (Oh Canada! My home and native land…)

In a dramatic twist Prince William did the first wardrobe change and switched to his blue RAF flight lieutenant’s uniform for the couple’s stylish and historic getaway driving his Dad’s, Prince Charles, Astin Martin (I’m sure all you grooms out there are having car envy!!)  The couple enjoyed some quiet time to themselves before rejoining the festivities.

Today Prince William was the envy of every gent. He got the Princess & the Astin Martin!

The Queen’s reception following the wedding is only the first party of  the day and will feature an 8-tiered regal bridal fruit cake AND a chocolate biscuit Groom’s cake (the groom’s favorite).

The Royal Wedding Cake

Royal Wedding style takeaways:

• Honor tradition, but make your wedding your own in small details.  Those small nods to your personal style will really stand out. 
• Give your guests direction with wedding attire, be it traditional or fun Destination Wedding twists like “gentlemen in Tropical Shirts, ladies in sundresses and bejeweled flip flops” or ask your guests to dress in shades of your wedding color.  Make your guests a part of the décor. (Result:  really great wedding images!!)
• Channel your inner-Princess with a vintage tiara http://www.vintagetiarasbyjuliabeazley.com/Home.html
• Switch up your processional from the American tradition of having the bridesmaids and bridal party walk ahead of the bride and make a royal entrance with them trailing you.  This is actually a great idea on the beach where often wedding dress trains can snag or pick up “hitchhikers” along the way.
• Go Green!  See former SunCelebrity Hollis’ Princess Perfect Destination Wedding on St Croix – Perhaps Princess Kate stole some of her fairytale style?! 
• Build in a little quiet time after the ceremony just to yourselves in order to center yourselves and truly be in the moment.
• Throw your groom a bone and include a Groom’s cake of his choosing – or surprise him with one in his favorite flavor. Afterall, its his wedding too!

The first is something that’s near and dear to my heart (I’ve done some volunteer work with sea turtle conservation) – the release of a rehabilitated hawksbill sea turtle who was injured last year at one my favorite beaches – Sandy Point.  Sandy Point Wildlife refuge is one of the few truly pristine beaches left in the Caribbean.  It is only open from 10am to 4pm Saturday and Sunday from roughly October through the end of April.  Why, you ask… Well, because it is critical nesting habitat for the endangered leatherback sea turtle and heavily used for nesting by our local hawksbills and greens too.  It seems that this unlucky girl was minding her own business, laying her eggs in the sand when she was happened upon by a group of feral dogs.  Sadly, her front flippers were so mauled that eventually one had to be amputated. 

A group of volunteers aid in the release of a rehabilitated sea turtle on St Croix

However, the wonderful biologists of US Fish & Wildlife that monitor the wildlife refuge found her, brought her to local veterinarian Paul Hess at Island Animal Clinic, who stabilized her, and then they enlisted the help of The Turtle Hospital, a non-profit institution on Marathon Key where she spent a year gaining strength and rehabilitating.  Yesterday, with the help of American Airlines, who donated her flights both ways, and the many friends she has gained along the way – our little sweetie was returned to her native St Croix and released into the waters of Sandy Point.  A success story made possible by kind people who volunteered time and resources to do the right thing in our community – a true reason to celebrate!  For more information read the full article here

Another thing that Crucians are celebrating today is the passing of legislation to ensure that Cruzan Rum stays here on St Croix.  Cruzan Rum has been produced on the island of St Croix for over 200 years by the Nelthropp family.  While they don’t own the brand anymore – they still run the plant and make the run that not only becomes Cruzan Rum, but also the base rum for many other brands as well.  In fact, only 25% of the rum they produce is branded as Cruzan - the rest is sold as “bulk rum” and is used as the base of other rum products.  Its that good.  Recently, our government entered into a 30-year deal that was the driving factor in bringing a new state-of-the-art plant to produce rival Captain Morgan rum to St Croix.  Last night, the legislature passed a similar bill that gives a similar 30-year deal providing bonds backed by rum tax rebate monies.  It also allows for the development of the plant and to bring it up to EPA standards.  (It had been grandfathered out of certain requirements in the past which effectively had allowed it to release untreated effluent into local waters).   So, I’m celebrating the fact that Cruzan will remain Crucian… and they are going to clean up their act in the process!