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Who: HRH Prince Charles the Prince of Wales and Camilla Parker Bowles

When: April 9, 2005

Where: The civil ceremony was conducted inside Guildhall in the town of Windsor.

The Civil Ceremony: A love story thirty-five years in the making came to fruition as the Rolls-Royce Phantom VI (which royal watchers will recognize from the nuptials of Prince Edward and Sophie Rhys-Jones in 1999) pulled up to Guildhall, a 17th century edifice constructed by Christopher Wren. Quickly acknowledging the crowd cheering them on, the bride and groom made their way to the Ascot room, decorated with lilies of the valley gathered from Highgrove as well as Camilla's home, Raymill House.

In view of a portrait of his mother Queen Elizabeth, the future king of England slipped a wedding band fashioned from gold obtained from Clogau St. David's mill and the River Mawdach on to the bride's ring finger during the 20-minute ceremony. The band of gold accompanies a square-cut diamond engagement ring, embraced on either side by three baguette diamonds, which was passed down from The Queen Mother.

The Blessing Ceremony: While only twenty-eight people attended the civil ceremony, over eight hundred guests, including such notables as Joan Rivers, singer Phil Collins, actor Kenneth Branagh, "Mr. Bean" star Rowan Atkinson, and "Absolutely Fabulous" actress Joanna Lumley witnessed a public declaration of the pair's love inside St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle. The 45-minute ceremony, conducted jointly by the Archbishop of Canterbury and The Dean of Windsor, was held amid the burgeoning branches of crabapple trees and an array of flowers ranging from cowslips and camellias to narcissi and violas, all of which are to have a permanent home on the grounds of the Highgrove estate and at Clarence House as living reminders of the couple's wedding day.

The Civil Ceremony Dress: The bride chose Robinson Valentine, a design team which has created several of her outfits in the past, to concoct a demure coat of oyster silk in a basket-weave pattern over a pale chiffon dress with a hem striking just below the knee. As the bride walked into Guildhall on flesh-colored suede shoes with a 1.9-inch heel by LK Bennett, she held on to a white clutch handbag fashioned of calf leather, which contained both a matching coin purse and a mirror to check her make-up, which was applied by make-up artist Julia B., before the commencement of the ceremony.To complete the look, the bride donned a wide-brimmed straw portrait hat detailed with plummage and ivory French lace.

The groom looked dapper in a black morning suit with grey pin-striped trousers by Anderson & Sheppard. Ever the nature lover, Charles added a flower from his garden at Highgrove as a boutonniere, while a dash of color was added to the ensemble with a blue and yellow tie.

The Blessing Dress: While a crown may never rest upon the newly-titled Duchess of Cornwall's head, the bride attached to her blonde tresses a regal golden feather Philip Treacy headpiece accented with Swarovski crystals which harmonized with the five varieties of gold thread that were woven into her Robinson Valentine light blue coat dress, creating a warm glow around the bride as the metallic material captured the light inside St. George's Chapel. Holding fast to a small nosegay which contained a sprig of myrtle from Cornwall for luck and lilies of the valley interspersed with grey, cream and golden blossoms, the bride exited the house of worship in a pair of grey silk shoes, again by LK Bennett, which were embellished with gold embroidery.

The Reception: Invited guests congregated in the State Apartments of Windsor Castle to partake of smoked salmon on brown bread and roast venison as well as an assortment of light refreshments including caramel banana slices, caramelised lemon tarts, ice cream coronets, glazed mocha fudge, and twenty fruit cakes. The Prince of Wales' Naval sword sliced into a wedding fruit cake embellished with the crests of the Duchy of Cornwall and The Duchy of Rothesay as well as symbols of the lands the couple holds close to their hearts-- English roses, leeks and daffodils for Wales, and thistles as a representation of the country where the newlyweds would soon be headed-- Scotland.

The Honeymoon: Multi-colored balloons, which had been tied on to a vehicle decorated by Princes William and Harry with the words "Just Married", danced in the wind as the couple made their way to the airport for a flight to Scotland, where the newlyweds would spend ten days at Birkhall, a residence the groom inherited from his beloved grandmother, The Queen Mother.

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