Saturday, July 30, 2011

Zara Philips Marries England Rugby Captain Mike Tindall

Zara Anne Elizabeth Phillips, the daughter of HRH The Princess Royal and the granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II who is 13th in line to the throne, and Michael James Tindall, captain of England's rugby team, were married on a glorious,  in historic Edinburgh Saturday.

Ceremony took place at Canongate Kirk, a small Church of Scotland venue where the Queen worships when she stays in Edinburgh that dates back to 1688.


The bride made her arrival at a fashionably late six minutes past the hour in an ivory silk and duchess satin gown by Stewart Parvin – the personal couturier to the Queen – a silk tulle cathedral veil and she carried a huge bouquet of cream-colored flowers. She accessorized with Jimmy Choo shoes and a tiara on loan from Princess Anne. Tindall wore a suit adorned with coattails and a light grey stripe on the trouser legs.


Prior to the wedding, the couple hosted a private cocktail reception on the Royal Yacht Britannia, a decommissioned ship docked in Edinburgh where Zara used to travel on as a child. Tindall stayed at the Balmoral Hotel, where J.K. Rowling finished her Harry Potter novels. Zara stayed at the Palace of Holyroodhouse on her last night before she became Mrs. Tindall.

Tindall's parents, who were beaming upon entering the church, come from a modest background. His father retired as a bank official and is battling Parkinson's Disease. His mother was a social worker. Tindall has said that Phillips's royal stature is of no matter, and that even if she worked as a cashier at a grocery store, he would still be in love with her.

 
Princess Beatrice was among the first guests to arrive, wearing a turquoise hat with matching floral dress. Prince William and wife Kate (who wore a cream suit and matching hat) pulled up right afterwards in a black Jaguar. Princess Anne and her husband Tim Laurence followed and then another car brought Prince Charles and Camilla, also dressed in cream.

The guests posed for the throngs of people lining the narrow, cobblestone streets, while Queen Elizabeth, in a dignified peach dress and hat, and Prince Phillip smiled to the crowd upon their arrival.

At the bride's request, the Gordonstoun Chamber Choir – the student chorus from the private Scottish private school she attended – sang at the ceremony, performing the 'Gaelic Blessing' and then 'Amazing Grace' at the signing of the register.

The reception will be held at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the Queen’s residence, not far from the church. Zara spent many school holidays visiting her grandmother there. The Queen is donating the use of her residence as the wedding reception venue for $60,000, which is being closed to the public for five days. It will cost a reported $800,000 to police the wedding, including marksmen at vantage points to protect the royal guests.

With guests expected to number no more than 300, the couple looked forward to a private, family affair. "My wedding will be nothing like Kate and William's. For a start, there won't be anywhere near as many people. It will be a lot smaller, just close family and friends. Kate and William's wedding was amazing but ours will be very different," Phillips told Hello Magazine.

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