Tea at Trianon: Wedding Preparations

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Monday, March 28, 2011

Wedding Preparations

Here are my reminiscences of the hectic days before my wedding and how I lived through them.

Being a bride is a full-time job, especially when you’re getting married on a tight budget. Getting married on a tight budget means being your own wedding planner and florist. It means that everything else in your life is going to fall by the wayside as you get ready to be a wife, including your husband-to-be. It means making a zillion phone calls, sending a zillion emails and wishing you had a private secretary to help you keep up with it all. It means hardly having time to eat, and being glad for an occasional can of Slim-Fast to keep you going. (Read More.)

Julygirl said...: Wise and wonderful way to prepare for the great day! Enjoyed reading all about it.; March 28, 2011 at 10:20:00 AM EDT
Dymphna said...: What a pretty dress. Where was your wedding?; March 28, 2011 at 5:57:00 PM EDT
elena maria vidal said...: Thanks, Julygirl!

Dymphna, I was married in the Chapel of Our Lady of Mercy at the Visitation Monastery in Frederick, Maryland.; March 28, 2011 at 6:00:00 PM EDT
The North Coast said...: Beautiful wedding photo... you look great in this photo and the dress is lovely.; March 30, 2011 at 8:54:00 PM EDT
elena maria vidal said...: Thank you, NC. Thank is very kind! I have had requests for more photos so I will be posting some later.; March 31, 2011 at 9:47:00 AM EDT
Divine Theatre said...: Oh! You are so beautiful and you look so very happy! I love this photograph!

Andie; November 12, 2012 at 12:22:00 AM EST
elena maria vidal said...: Thank you, Andie, it was a happy time! (Andie is my sister's name!); November 12, 2012 at 8:05:00 AM EST