Royal Wedding Roundup! | UKbride

The Venue: Westminster Abbey will seat all 1,900 of the royal couple's guests. The abbey is steeped in more than a thousand years of history and has hosted numerous royal weddings, coronations and funerals. It has been a backdrop for fifteen royal weddings, and is the final resting place of seventeen monarchs. The service will be conducted by The Dean of Westminster, whilst The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, will marry the couple. Both the afternoon and evening receptions will be held at Buckingham Palace — the procession is due to arrive there at 12.30, when the couple will appear as husband on wife on the balcony as spectators world wide watch on. Prince Charles and Princess Diana shared a kiss on the Palace balcony back in 1981, and this was the defining image of the day.

The Dress: The design of the dress has remained a closely guarded secret — rumour has it that Kate has commissioned three different wedding dresses to prevent details of her gorgeous gown being disclosed prior to the big day. Predictions have ranged from Alice Temperley to Alexander McQueen, and it is expected to be modest in style. We're sure that whatever she wears Kate will look suitably stunning. In a similar vow of secrecy, details of Diana's flowing silk taffeta gown remained undiscovered until she stepped out at St. Paul's Cathedral.

The Flowers: Tradition states that a royal bride's bouquet should contain a sprig of myrtle from the bush grown from the original myrtle in Queen Victoria's wedding bouquet. Teams of florists are said to be decorating Westminster Abbey in white, green and cream foliage to epitomise Kate's English country style. Royal Wedding florist Shane Connolly said that the arrangements are sure reflect Kate and William's personalities. There will also be six 20ft-high English Field Maple and two Hornbeam trees in the abbey, all of which are said to be sourced from within Britain.

The Ring: When the news broke that Prince William had proposed to Kate with his mother's 18-carat sapphire and diamond engagement ring, the design was replicated across the British High Street. It has since been announced that Prince William will not wear a wedding ring, but Kate's ring will be made from the Queen's gold as is royal tradition.

The Cake: Leicestershire baker Fiona Cairns has been commissioned to create the couple's cake. "It's multi-tiered, doesn't have colour – it's cream and white (icing) – and it's a traditional cake but also quite delicate and modern, all the tiers will have a different theme," she revealed. A chocolate biscuit cake is also being made by McVities, which was a special request from Prince William. Charles and Diana's cake took 14 weeks to create so expect something of similarly epic proportions...!

And here's what you won't see at the Royal Wedding...

Commemorative Plate: This plate, emblazoned with the words "Thanks for the free day off" marks the "Four day bender" in place thanks to the Royal Wedding.

Royal Mug: Perhaps the royal family and their guests will be sipping Champers from these regal china mugs... or perhaps not!

William & Kate T-Shirt: Whether or not the royal wedding guests will be sporting these t-shirts remains to be seen...

And finally, Kate and Harry... to marry?! Well, according to Chinese firm Guandong Enterprises they are! The souvenir mug shows Kate Middleton and her fiance William's red-headed brother... let's hope the beautiful bride-to-be doesn't make the same mistake on the big day!

Here at UKbride we can't wait for the royal wedding, and would like to take this opportunity to wish Wills and Kate all the best for their big day — we wish you a long and happy life together!

If you haven't done so already, congratulate the royal couple on our Forum!