Chapter 364 - 361: Royal Wedding II
As if by royal appointment, the weather for the day was perfect. It was the 25th of September, the sky was partly cloudy with cool gentle breeze blowing. It"s a little overcast, enough to cut the glare of the sun and shadows, but not enough to feel like outdoors was in a bad mood.
Although the ceremony was to begin at noon, from 9 am, the doors of the St. Vincent"s cathedral, which was the largest and grandest cathedral in the whole of Windsor, was opened and some of the guests with no specific role began to arrive.
At 10:30 am, on the steps of St. Vincent"s, the wedding entourage arrived. The bridal party, composed of just 3 flower girls and 3 bridesmaids Gizel, Via, and Milly, with enchanting wreath of flowers in their hair went down of their respective carraiges, followed by just 2 pageboys, wearing sailor suits.
Then, more prominent guests started arriving. Crown heads of the empire and other head of states outside the empire, happy for once to play second fiddle. Princes, princesses, dignitaries, extended family, personal family friends and so on.
At 11:25 am, the King and Queen arrived, as tradition required, the minister of ceremonies, who was chief in charge for royal weddings welcomed them. The crowds cheered and before entering the cathedral, the king and queen waved to the people.
Inside the cathedral, the king and queen of Windsor followed by their other royal relatives (royal dukes and d.u.c.h.ess etc.) walked down the aisle making way past the 2,000 wedding guests who were standing to show their respect, as they take their places.
When everyone was seated, the stage was set.
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At 11:45, the landaulet carrying Geoffrey arrived punctually. He and Frederick alighted, and everyone cheered louder, both turned to give their respective waves to the expecting crowds.
The trumpet blared three times to signify that the hero of the day has arrived. The orchestra inside the cathedral started playing. Everyone stood up again as Geoffrey made his way down the aisle escorted by Frederick.
As they processed to the wedding march, they stopped to bow to the king and queen who has now stood and come to the front of the balcony to receive their homage. After, they continued to walk until they stood right before the altar where Geoffrey was to wait for Serena, his bride.
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At 11:52, as the privilege given to the bride, Serena"s family was the last to arrive at the steps of the cathedral. The whole day, a superb example of precision and timing.
The crowd finally caught a whole glimpse of the fairytale princess, demure behind her veil. The wedding dress was made of white silk, overlaid with tulle and Honiton lace. It was embroidered with bright sparking crystals like diamonds, mother of pearl sequins, and pearls. The train, 21-feet in length was sewn at the back of the dress so that the bride won"t have too much difficulty walking with the weight. Her veil, trimmed with the same lace as the gown featured roses, shamrocks, and thistles, and was held in place by the Maxwell tiara, worn by her mother on her own wedding day.
Even with the veil, she was a sight to behold. Her hair was not tied up but rather left in waves behind her. The design of her wedding dress was off shoulders, so the necklace given to her by Geoffrey was on full display.
The crowd was enchanted, bewitched even. When they recovered, they all started chanting Serena"s name like crazy.
Hearing her name, Serena turned around, she smiled and waved. It drove the crowd even crazier.
"This is almost madness." Leonard could not help but comment hearing and seeing the crowd from their mansion to there. He knew it"s a royal wedding, but the scale and magnitude, how the crowd was responding, it was something never seen before.
Simoun laughed. "It"s the wedding of your sister, what else did you expect?"
Anyhow, when they were joined by Celine and Serena, they all smiled at each other. It was a beautiful day for the Maxwell family, their only daughter will be the first in over 300 years without royal blood to become their crown princess, the future queen. Although it"s a fact known to them for 4 years, to be standing there that moment, it still felt surreal.
Which family would not feel proud to get their daughter to become the second most reveled woman in their kingdom? Empire even?
Celine and Leonard entered the cathedral first, while Simoun, being the father was left with the task to walk Serena down the aisle and deliver her to Geoffrey. "I am so proud of you, Serena." Simoun said.
Serena looked at her father who was standing proud and tall. She knew that whoever she married he would be happy, but of course, let"s not be hypocritical. Who would not be proud to get their daughter married to the friggin crown prince of their kingdom?
"Thank you, father." Serena replied. Once upon a time, she did not like this wedding arrangement, but now, she was truly thanking her father for Geoffrey. He was right. Geoffrey as he saw was a responsible man who will love and cherish her for the rest of her life.
Truth was, when she was with Charlton, she did blame her father a little for letting the engagement between her and Geoffrey happen. She even knew that he was pro-Geoffrey later on as she realized that Leonard could not have possibly been able to reject Charlton"s card without his authority. Anyhow, they were all water under the bridge. Besides, she understood where he was coming from even then.
After a while, the doors of the cathedral opened revealing the bride with her father. The aisle was a long walk and getting from the door to the altar would take 4 minutes.
Everyone was standing, and the orchestra were playing the notes of the music she supplemented in secrecy for them to sing on that day. She wanted to surprise Geoffrey with the song. It was her gift and promise to him.
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TBC