Fairytales do come true.
Just ask Meghan Markle, who wed Prince Harry at Windsor Castle Saturday.
“The wedding was super,” said Bonnie Fischer of Orillia. “They’re such a sweet couple. The love they had and the way they were looking at each other made me emotional.”
It’s an event of great significance for Canada as part of the Commonwealth, noted Fischer.
It was a seemingly perfect wedding across the ocean, but Orillia’s celebratory tea party got rained on.
The change in weather didn’t stop 300 people from celebrating the royal wedding with a high-tea held at the Leacock Museum.
“We love teas,” said Kari Hutchinson, of Alliston, who had come to the Sunshine City to join her mother for the royal tea as a belated Mother’s Day celebration.
“They just look ... more approachable than Prince William and Kate,” she said, talking about the latest royal couple.
Dawn Vincent, of Orillia, said she has been a royal watcher all her life, especially following the two princes as they grew up, after losing their mother.
“I watched Lady Di and Charles getting married,” she said, “and I watched the wedding today, with champagne and sorbet.”
This marriage, said Vincent, ushers in a new era.
“Meghan is helping to bring the royal family into the millennium,” she said. “She represents positive change for women and various cultures.”
Marie Brennan, owner of Gourmade Thyme Catering, was responsible for organizing the tea and giving guests an authentic British tea experience.
Back in November when Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced their engagement, said Brennan, she hoped they would pick Victoria Day weekend, also the museum’s season-opening weekend, for their wedding.
“And they did,” she said. “And we thought, what a way to celebrate something regal than a nice high tea.”
The guests enjoyed food that has historical significance and also indulged in classic items such as egg salad, beef wellingtons, and chocolate biscuit cakes.
The one classic British item was the clotted cream and homemade jam eaten smeared on the biscuits.
“It's something that's very decadent and something very special for celebrations,” she said.
Those items were definitely a hit with the crowd.
“It’s fabulous,” said Fischer. “The scones, the clotted cream and the jam. It’s over-the-top and delicious.”
Attendees were entertained in other ways, too, said Brennan.
“We wanted them to feel when they arrived today that it was time to celebrate,” she said. “We have trivia and great prizes and have the wedding playing on screens for those who might have missed it.”
As well, the Queen was in attendance, with corgis, as she walked down the ramp to join guests at the tea party, while choir students from Notre Dame Catholic School and Foley Catholic Elementary School sang God Save the Queen and O', Canada.
With the celebrations, noted Brennan, it was a chance for many to learn about British traditions.
“I think it's really quite nice for all the generations that watch it to see the beauty in history and the beauty of keeping traditions alive,” she said. “It's an occasion to celebrate family.”
Having opened the season with a regal tea party, said Brennan, the museum hopes to keep alive the teatime spirit by hosting a high tea every Tuesday during the season.
And it’s a suitable event for the museum, considering Stephen Leacock was British, said Jen Martynyshyn, museum coordinator.
“We’re known to do teas, so it just makes sense to take it to the next level,” she said, referencing the royal wedding tea. It was "an extravagant event for the season opening."
