It's a Matter of Perspective

The music starts, the door opens, and in walks a beautiful bride surrounded by the sunlight as it streams in behind her, the halo helping to create the vision in white. The bride begins her long walk down the aisle by herself, her prince waiting nervously at the end. Half way down the seemingly endless walk, the bride is met and escorted by her future father-in-law, handed gently over to her nervous groom, their love and happiness pure on their faces as the world watched their touching union.

These thoughts were running through my mind as I stood in St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle, surrounded by hundreds of years of history and the the final resting place of kings and queens alike. I remember thinking, as I watched the ceremony, how large the chapel seemed, how full of grandeur it was. Standing there, though, I was surprised by how intimate the space seemed, unlike the way it was portrayed in the film of the wedding. There was the seat where Meghan's mother sat, there, was the place where Harry stood to wait for his blushing bride, there were the steps where they came out of the chapel and greeted the well-wishers. I was expecting something larger than life, something awesomely big. Instead, I was greeted with something, while smaller, far more special and heartwarming.

In choosing St. George's Chapel, Meghan and Harry made a statement about who they seem to be as a couple. While the church is steeped in history and importance (King Henry VIII is buried right there in the aisle with his favorite wife and infant son), it still has a closeness, and intimacy to it that must have made it more special for them and their family and friends. To me, when you take away that it is St. George's Chapel, an important piece of British history and culture, it is still a family church, a place to worship together, to celebrate and mourn together. To me, I felt it made the wedding that much more special to have seen with the rest of the world.

It's amazing how the way we view the world is all just a matter of our individual perspective. When we see things in books or in pictures or on film, it is the eye or pen of the artist that helps to dictate our view of the world. Going to see these places and things for myself, however, helped me to see with my own eye. This, I am learning, is one of the most interesting and important parts of travel -- all one need do is go and open her eyes to what she sees in front of her.