The moment we wrapped up our wedding rehearsal in arguably one of the most beautiful churches in the world, everything started to hit me.
Holy shit! I'm getting married to a fucking prince.
Twenty years could go by and I still would be in shock about it.
Archie held my hand as we walked out of the church with security surrounding us. There was a crowd of people cheering and clapping as we got into a car to head back to the palace for dinner.
He squeezed my hand, "It's all starting to hit me."
"Just wait until tomorrow." I grinned
The moment my eyes opened on April twenty-fourth everything hit me at once.
I was getting married.
To the prince. The guy I met at a club.
My wedding was being shown on television to people around the world.
Today would start my lifelong commitment not only to Archie but to an entire country.
Aubrey looked at me as we both laid in the bed. We had a sleepover last night since I couldn't see Archie the day of and just because. We were staying in a hotel that was only a mile away from Westminster Abbey.
"Today is the day." I said in realization as I rubbed my eyes, "And it's very early."
Aubrey stretched her arms, "It is very early, but we could probably get up so we can start getting ready."
I got up to get ready and put on a white satin robe that had 'bride' embroidered on the back. I looked at myself in the mirror and took a deep breath.
Everything is going to go well.
My whole family was staying at the hotel but in my suite was my makeup artist, stylist, my Mom, Ruth, Annie, and plus my pageboys and bridesmaids - which were children.
"There is the future princess!" Annie clapped as I walked into the living room that had a small breakfast buffet set up
I smiled, "I'm very excited and nervous."
"Just take a deep breath, everything is planned down to the wire it will be fine." my mom advised me
I wasn't even hungry but I knew that I needed to eat. So I got some fruit, a bagel, and some orange juice. The stylist painted my toenails the same pinkish-nude color that was on my fingernails while I ate.
Ruth reminded me of how the ceremony would go while my makeup artist did my makeup. We were going for a soft glam that was still natural and dewy. I loved the way it looked. It wasn't too much or too little.
For my hair, I was getting it done half up and half down. The stylist also put loose curls in my hair which gave it a nice effect. I couldn't wait to see how it looked with the crown and veil.
"When should we put the crown on?" Ruth asked as she motioned toward the glass container with Frances' crown
"I think we should wait until the dress is on and everything. I want to somewhat sew it into her hair and the veil so it doesn't fall out because if it falls out that could be bad." the stylist answered her question
Annie nodded, "Good thinking."
My something old was my Mom's dangly diamond earrings that she wore for her wedding day, something new was my dress/veil/shoes, something borrowed was Frances' crown, and something blue was my garter/panties.
I looked at the dress through the bag, "It came out so gorgeous."
"Yes and because of you that young man's name and brand is going to get out there and become big." my Mom spoke as she gently took it out the bag
Was my wedding dress what my sixteen-year-old self pictured me wearing? Not at all. Sixteen year old me wanted a big, frilly mermaid dress, but she also didn't know that she'd be marrying a prince.
In my opinion, my dress was everything that the future Duchess of Wales should wear on her wedding day.
The dress is what David described as the love child of old-world romance and new age passion.
The dress had the traditional royal family ball gown with modern lace. The dress had long sleeve lace with an illusion neckline. My favorite part of the dress was the back. I loved that David incorporated my number one wish, buttons. I loved the lace design on the bodice and the tulle skirt which had a similar lace detailing with a cathedral length train.
All of the lace detailing was inspired by Archie's Mom's wedding dress.
David did an amazing job on the dress from all of the tiny details to making sure the mesh matched my skin.
I looked in the mirror as my Mom, Aunt Annie, and the stylist put the crown and veil in my hair.
Aubrey's eyes were watering as she looked at me. I would've never expected my goofy, dependable, charming sister would be tearing up.
"Amie, you look absolutely gorgeous." my sister beamed as she looked at me, "I'm so happy for you."
I smiled, "Thank you, Bree-Bree."
Annie held my hands as she studied me, "God you're the most gorgeous bride. Everything looks amazing the dress, the shoes, and especially the crown."
"Thank you for everything Annie." I gave her hands a squeeze
I didn't want to hug anyone because I couldn't risk staining this dress before the ceremony.
When I looked in the mirror I couldn't believe I was looking at Amaryllis Alena Thompson. It'd been a wild ride but I was so happy about where life was going. I looked so good I couldn't believe it.
Annie, Ruth, my Mom, and my brother left shortly after I was officially ready because we were so close to showtime. My 'glam-squad' as I began to called them did last-minute touch-ups to my hair and makeup. They showed Aubrey how to hold a dress and to make sure that her hands were absolutely clean.
"Looks like the King, Ruth, Mom, and Aaron have arrived." Aubrey said as she looked at her phone
I pointed to my phone, "Put it in your clutch please."
"Is Archie already there?" I asked her
She nodded, "He's been there for about thirty minutes. Apparently he is the first royal to have a nonfamily member as his best man."
"Yeah his name is Christian, they've been close since they were young." I informed my sister
Iris walked in holding a clipboard, "Ms. Thompson, your father is downstairs waiting along with your pageboys and bridesmaids."
I took another deep breath, "Alright I guess this is it!"
Aubrey was holding my bouquet and her clutch but she handed it off to Iris so she and Theodora could help me get onto the elevator.
My heart was racing.
I swear it'd never beat this fast and I used to play sports.
My eyes met my Dad's as we walked through the lobby. The whole committee got the hotel reserved just for us so the only people in it were affiliated with the royal family.
He looked at me, "Oh my goodness, Lissy, look at you! You are stunning."
I could faintly hear the bells coming from the church and it gave me such a thrill. I could also see the covering outside the entrance of the hotel so no one could get a sneak peek.
"Thank you, Dad." I gave him a smile
Iris gave us a rundown on what was going on outside from getting into the car to the hundreds of thousands of people that were lined up to see us.
The crowd began to get louder as I climbed into the car. They were cheering and calling out my name.
Oh my gosh, this is really happening.
Iris fixed my vail as I sat in the backseat of an older Rolls Royce. She handed me my bouquet and smiled, "It's showtime."
My Dad sat next to me with my dress practically on top of him.
"Oh gosh, the car is moving." I realized
Oh shit, I need to wave.
So I began to wave out of the window at the crowd. Gosh, there were so many people waving American flags and the Union Jack.
"There are so many people!" I said to my Dad
"You are a very important woman now." he grinned at me as he gave a small wave too
It was crazy how many people were out here. Imagine how many were watching the live stream of me right now.
"This is your life now, kid." my Dad told me and I think the magnitude of my marriage just hit him
I kept smiling and waving, "I know."
My heart sped up as we got closer to the church and the bells got louder.
I watched as Aubrey walked in holding two of the younger bridesmaid's hands with the other two behind her along with the two pageboys.
She walked back out as a man opened the car door for me.
As I got out the crowd went wild, I just kept telling myself not to trip. I waved to the crowd as my sister held up the train of my dress.
"Ready?" my Father asked me as he took off his hat
I nodded as I took his hand and we began to walk inside the church. I waved at the crowd one more time before I focused on what was ahead of me.
My sister and Iris smoothed my dress out one more time before it was the real deal.
I gazed around the church and I still remembered when Archie snuck us in here when we first met.
He said he wanted to get married here and look what happened.
After the orchestra had been playing for a while we began to walk. I could feel all of the eyes on me as I walked down that long aisle with my Dad.
But I stayed calm and just enjoyed the moment because this was going to be one of the happiest days of my life.
And then I could finally see Archie. He looked as sexy as ever up there in his military uniform.
Like he was going to be my husband.
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Archie gave me the biggest smile as I finally reached him at the altar.
"You are so beautiful. You look stunning." he whispered to me
I couldn't stop smiling or staring at him. I had to stop looking at him so I could focus but it was so hard. Plus my Dad was still standing to my right as everyone kept singing.
Gosh, this was the longest song of my life.
Then the priest started to speak.
I could see Archie smiling at me out of the corner of my eye.
He was so cute.
"Archibald Charles George Winston will thou have this woman to thy wedded wife? To live together according to God's law in the holiest state of matrimony. Will thou love her, comfort her, honor and keep her in sickness and in health and forsaking all others keeping her first for as long as you both shall live?" The priest asked him, it was around this time that I started paying attention
Archie held my hand, "I will."
"Amaryllis Alena, will thou have this man to thy wedded husband? To live together according to God's law in the holiest state of matrimony. Will thou love him, comfort him, honor and keep him in sickness and in health and forsaking all others keeping him first for as long as you both shall live?" he asked me
"I will." I squeezed his hand
But then I had to let go when he asked 'Who gives this woman to be wedded to this man?'. My Dad had to take my hand, pass it to the priest, and then to Archie.
We recited more passages after the priest, kneeled, sang some more, listened to the Sermon, kneeled and prayed more (Catholicism and the Church of England were very similar), we sang "God Save the King", we went in a back room to sign a register (basically a marriage license with our parents, best man/maid of honor, and then we came out.
I walked out of that room being married to Archie which was an insane thought.
I could feel him squeezing my hand as we walked out but we couldn't walk out before bowing to the King.
Walking down the aisle with Archie was crazy. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine this. We were both beaming from ear to ear.
When we walked outside, the crowd was cheering. I loved hearing the cheers, the wedding bells, and the orchestra still playing in the church.
I watched as a horse-drawn carriage pulled up and it wasn't a cheesy one, it was a legit carriage because hello, I married a prince.
Archie put on his hat and gloves, "Ready for the best ride of your life?"
"Debatable." I said through my smile and he knew exactly what I meant
He got in first to help me with all ten feet of my dress. I sat next to him as Aubrey and a guard stuffed the dress into the carriage.
Archie got in next to me and then we took off.
So many people were gathered around, just for us.
This would be a moment I would never forget.
We waved to everyone as they cheered and hollered.
"This is one of those surreal moments." Archie whispered to me, "I can't wait to relive it through pictures and videos."
I looked at him and nodded, "It's breathtaking."
Once we got to Buckingham Palace, Archie helped me out of the carriage and we were immediately rushed to take wedding portraits which took about an hour.
I could tell everyone was getting hangry.
Believe me, I was too, I had to look thin today.
After we finished pictures, we stepped out on to the balcony and the crowd went absolutely nuts. Everyone started to cheer and it was almost unbelievable how far back the crowd was stretched.
"Oh my gosh." I said aloud as I looked at the crowd
We waved at everyone.
"Insane isn't it?" Archie glanced over at me
I almost thought about how this was a once in a lifetime experience but really how many people had/would this ever happen to? My Mom was Miss Universe and I don't think she'd ever seen a crowd quite like this.
Our bridal party + Winston & Ruth, Archie's sisters, my siblings, and my parents stepped out onto the balcony.
We stood there for atleast five minutes just looking around.
I could hear the crowd chanting "Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!" and it made me grin.
Archie looked at me, "Lainey."
My eyes met his.
"I think they want us to kiss but I can't tell." he smirked, "Let's do it."
I smiled as my lips met his and the crowd went insane yet again. It was a quick one - for us anyway- and then we went back to smiling and waving.
We gave one final wave after standing on the balcony for fifteen minutes.
But a Duchess work wasn't quite done.
We had a luncheon with a lot of important people and our families and then we finally had a moment alone. But only an hour before we had to start getting ready for our reception with our friends and family.
Archie and I were laying on the bed together, wearing robes and just chilling.
I held his left hand and just looked at the gold band on his ring finger.
"Being a husband looks good on you." I complimented him
He kissed my cheek, "And being a wife looks good on you."
"Are you ready for this wild ride that we call life?" he asked me
I took a deep breath, "I'd like to think so. Everything will be fine with you by my side."
Archie intertwined our hands together, "I promise you."
I beamed, "I know."
"We get to do it all over again but on a beach." I brought up, "At least it will be more intimate and we can say whatever vows we want."
Archie laid his head on my chest and closed his eyes, "I know and then we can jet off on a honeymoon after."
"Awe, is my husband tired?" I asked as he put his arms around me
A smile came over his face, "It does sound nice."
I gave him a small kiss on his forehead before I laid back and closed my eyes. It felt like we slept for approximately two minutes before someone came in and said we had to get ready.
For the royal reception, I thought I would go for more of a fitted dress but how many times in your life can you wear a ball gown dress?
So I decided on a simple off the shoulder ball gown with a sweetheart neckline. I loved the buttons going all the way down the back.
I switched my hair to a low bun with two loose curls in the front.
Everything about the reception was perfect.
Our first dance was to Spend My Life With You by Tamia and Eric Benét.
Our families and friends all had a blast.
We had to have a nasty fruitcake because of tradition but oh just wait until next week.
I couldn't wait to spend the rest of my life with this man.