The Princess Bride

With the royal wedding weeks behind us it seems superfluous to revisit the events of the day…..yet again. Or does it? After seeing this picture, I couldn’t help but reminisce about the celebration one more time.  I came across this photo and was dumb struck by the visual parallels between the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, now the Duchess of Cambridge, and Disney fairy tales that I have cherished since childhood.   Indeed, for girls everywhere, animated Disney classics provide the first glimpse of the “Princess Bride.”  I remember when I was a girl,  the idea of finding my prince charming, getting married, and looking like a princess on a sunny warm day in May—it was all that I could think about.   And, even in contemporary American culture, which fully embraces a feminist perspective, gender equity, and political correctness, becoming a princess bride is a standard dream that most “tweens” scribble about in the pages in their diaries.
Even though we don’t have a monarchy here in the States, reminders of the princess bride are all around, in part, courtesy of Mr. Disney.  Take, for example, the recent engagement of athlete Kris Humphries and the Celebutante Kim Kardashian.  The cake chosen for their engagement soiree proudly displayed a scene from Cinderella, with the carriage and castle front and center!  And with Ryan Seacrest and the folks at Bravo TV cheering her on, no doubt Kardashian will be borrowing more ideas inspired by Disny-esque visions of the fairy tale wedding, pictures which have most probably stirred in her mind for decades.
Walt Disney deftly delivered the cliché “boy meets girl” scene (and sweeps her off her feet) to the imaginations of little girls everywhere.   After replaying those Disney DVDs a few times, the fairytale life seems almost in reach.   Recently, the Disney conglomerate has taken royal aspirations to a new level through their “Disney Bridal Collection,” made up of jewels and dresses, each specifically linked to a particular princess featured in a Disney production (even including the newest member of the court, Princess Tiana from The Princess and the Frog).     And for the bride who wants to turn it up a notch, the “most magical place on Earth” has become a dream venue for any bride’s inner-princess.    Disney now hosts fairy tale weddings and honeymoons at their properties in Florida, California, and Hawaii—and for the seafaring princess, she can realize her vision on the Disney Cruise Line!
So I challenge you: crack out those old diaries, bust the locks, and rip out those pages.  Are there hopes and wishes of finding prince charming and living happily ever after?  I bet so.  And if we could peruse the pages of Kate Middleton’s journal from her teen years, I suspect we would find the same thing.  Always remember, dreams really can come true….
This contribution was written by Angela Pia, a rising junior at Loyola University of Maryland.  Angela is a communications major and wedding enthusiast.   She enjoyed “hands on” wedding planning experiences last summer, working at Saint Catherine of Siena parish in Trumbull, Connecticut.

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