Three days after our royal nuptials, we had our first duty as royals together. Archie and I went to Southern Africa (South Africa, Malawi, Angola, and Botswana) for three weeks and it was my first time in Africa period.
He always told me about how this was one of his favorite trips to take because his Mom was so passionate about it. He really took me under his wing to show me how to handle all of this royal stuff.
I loved interacting with the schoolchildren, going to meetings with country leaders to talk about conservation, going through minefields, and just experiencing a new culture.
I knew that everything Archie did in Africa was so sacred and close to his heart, I was happy that he felt to share it with me.
Then we went back to London for all of a day before flying to California with the whole royal family for our second wedding.
I rolled over to see Archie propped up in bed, playing 2048.
"Good morning to you too." I spoke still half asleep
He looked at me and smiled, "It's three in the afternoon."
I shot up, "Arch, we have rehearsals at 5:45!"
"I know, I know but we've had a wild past few days and you needed your sleep." he put his phone down
I gave him a small kiss on the cheek before I got up to brush my teeth, wash my face, do my hair/makeup, all of that jazz.
Archie was a pro at getting ready in ten minutes which is exactly why I taught him how to curl my hair so I could multi-task.
"You're going to be a pro at doing our daughter's hair." I told him, "Although we wouldn't straighten it like I do mine."
He knew I straightened my hair and got keratin treatments so it would be better received in the media. But he also knew how much I missed my curls and coils which is exactly why we would teach our daughter to embrace them regardless of what other people said. Then again it was easier said than done.
"This is a weird thought but do you ever wonder how our child would talk? Because I'm British and you're American." Archie asked me as I finished doing my eyeshadow
"I was thinking about that a few days ago. I guess we'll have to wait and see." I answered his question
He put down the curling wand and rubbed my arms, "One more rehearsal."
We headed to the venue of our second wedding - The Fitzgerald Bay Club - that had a beautiful view of the pacific ocean.
For this wedding, we only had about ninety people cooming which was nothing to our previous 2,000+ crowd.
Our ceremony was going to be outside at six in the evening on a Verdana that overlooked the beach. The reception was going to be in a beautiful dining room that had a classic, timeless theme.
The decorations were absolutely stunning.
It was everything I wanted.
Not too over the top but not underwhelming.
I couldn't wait to celebrate with all of our friends and family with the love of my life.
I loved all of my wedding dresses but there was something special about this one.
Maybe it was the fact that David didn't have to slave over it for months.
The moment I put the dress on, I remembered why I picked it. It was a mermaid gown that had lace all over with some floral patterns on the bodice. The back had a v-neck and the signature buttons going down that I was madly in love with.
My hairstylist curled my hair and put in a subtle stone headpiece that I thought I would hate but ended up loving. It complemented the dress and the venue well.
As for my makeup, it was a soft glam, barely-there kind of vibe. I was wearing silver sandal heels and the same earrings I wore for the royal wedding.
The thing about this wedding is that it wasn't necessarily a wedding. We weren't really exchanging rings or formal vows again. There wasn't even an official officiant, it was Parker. The whole "ceremony" was everything we wanted to say to each other but couldn't because of formal vows.
Then after there was a big party with all of our closest friends and family. Our photographer was the same woman - my aunt (not Sydney's mom) - who took my senior pictures so we knew they wouldn't get out. Our videographer was one of Archie's close friends from university.
"What do you think?" I asked everyone (Aubrey, Peyton, and Mom) after they finished helping me get ready
"I love it." she approved with a big smile
Peyton nodded her head in approval, "I love it, Duchess."
I clasped my hands together and looked in the mirror.
"It's perfect." Aubrey approved
I turned to her, "Duh, you help me pick it out."
This time around, both of my parents walked me down the aisle to Archie who was wearing a simple black tux. There was no extra chorus, just the instrumental music I found on Spotify.
"No veil blocking your face this time." he whispered to me
I squeezed his hands, "The funniest person I know."
Parker cleared his throat and began to speak, "Well, I've never done this before but you should do and learn something new every day. But don't worry I did consult the internet and prepared a little something."
The crowd and us let out a quiet little chuckle.
"Today is a celebration. A celebration of love, of commitment, of friendship, of family, and of two people who are in it for forever. You don't have to have a ceremony to have a marriage. And when you think about it, the whole thing is kind of weird, right? You're standing on a stage, looking fancy, holding flowers, and being stared at by pretty much everyone - literally over one billion people watched your wedding, the first one that is." Parker spoke as the crowd erupted in laughter
"So why do we do it? Because despite all of our differences, love is what we all share. It's the great unifier — the one universal truth. That no matter who we are, where we've come from, what we believe, we know this one thing: love is what we're doing right. That's why you both are standing here. That's why you all are here to watch them stand up here. We have all loved in our lifetimes, and at this moment, we're reminded that the ability to love is the very best part of our humanity." Parker spoke and it kind of got me going.
I didn't expect that to come out of him, it was beautiful.
"With that being said, I invite the bride and groom to share what they wrote." Parker stepped to the side and Aubrey handed me the small book that I wrote everything down.
I took a deep breath as I opened it.
"As most girls do when moving to a foreign country, they go to a super exclusive club in London that you can't even bring a phone into. The night that I expected to just be me and my girlfriends getting plastered and having fun changed the moment I locked eyes with this cute guy across the room. I still remember having a 'dance' or two with you before talking about serial killers and criminals for hours." I laughed and so did everyone else
"I thought that was the end of it until I went to the palace to style royals. To this day, I still remember how I felt when I locked eyes with the guy from the club who happened to be the prince. I was panicking and the first thing he said to me was 'Amaryllis' in a sly voice. That sly, cute, smirky guy ended up to be my husband who is standing in front of me."
"From the moment I met you, I knew what it felt like to be adored so deeply. I remember us talking by the pool for hours, you renting out the London eye for us late at night, arguing over British vs American words - something we still do, and just how deeply you cared for me from the get-go." I could feel myself begin to tear up as he wiped it gently away
"I don't even think I could fit what you've shown me in the years we've known each other into this book. Archie, you've always had my back and I know you always will. When others tear me down, you build me up. When I only see darkness, you are my light." I looked up at him, "Archie, I love you so much. You are my best friend. I promise to encourage and inspire you, to laugh with you, and to comfort you in times of sadness and struggle. I promise to love you in good times and in bad, when life seems easy and when it seems hard. You are everything that I've ever dreamed of and I cannot wait to spend the rest of my life with you." I finished
Archie wiped his tears away and squeezed my hands lightly.
He pulled out the same small book I had and opened it.
"Lainey, the night we first met I played every moment we had in my head over and over again. I always thought about how beautiful and funny you were and how stupid I was for not getting your number or your name. I prayed to God and my Mom to bring that woman back into my life and the next thing I knew, you were standing there styling my sister." Archie started
"The more we talked, the more I knew I wanted you in my life forever. You reminded me a lot of my mother from your similar names to the fact that your name is her favorite flower. There is no doubt in my mind that she would've loved you." he began to get choked up, "You never judged me on my past or of my flaws. You never saw me for what I had. When others saw a screw-up, a prince, or a future king - you just saw Archie."
"The feelings you give me are indescribable and the things that you have done for me I'll never be able to thank you enough for. You showed me how to be me, you've given me a shoulder to cry on, a person to always talk to, and given me unconditional love. I was always asked how I knew you were 'the one' and well look at what you've done for me. Before meeting me you had an Instagram fashion page with over 500k followers, a personal page with just about half of that, a life that you could go to the grocery store wearing whatever you wanted, and so much more - and then you met my ass."
The crowd laughed at the end of his last sentence.
"When I gave you reasons to run and sometimes pushed you away, you stayed. You make me the happiest man in the world and having you in my life has healed me and allowed me to grow in more ways than you could imagine. I don't know where I'd be without you and I promise to go to the ends of the world for you, always protect you no matter what, and always put you first. I love you to the universe and back." Archie ended and he wrapped his arms around me
Parker stepped back under the arch, "As you go through the peaks and valleys of your marriage remember the words you've said today and the feelings you have for each other."
We lit a unity candle which was one of Parker's ideas that ended up being pretty cute.
Then we were able to seal our love with a kiss and took pictures on the beach.
For this go around, our first dance was to 'I Wanna Dance With Somebody' by Whitney Houston which happened to be one of the songs that were playing the night we met each other.
Our friends and family gave toasts to us and it was nice to know we could trust these ninety people in the room.
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous about the future but I knew that I had a husband that had my back 110 percent.