William and Kate tied the knot in Westminster Abbey in 2011
The Prince and Princess of Wales’ 2011 wedding was straight from a fairytale with their ceremony at Westminster Abbey.
An estimated 24.5 million people in the United Kingdom and countless more around the world watched on as the future king and queen said ‘I do’ in the historic, picture-perfect venue.
It was their flowers that elevated the appearance of the abbey tenfold. William and Kate, both 43, arranged for six field maples and two hornbeams trees to flank the aisle leading to the altar while the flowers were on another level – all 30,000 of them.
Most of the flowers were taken from Windsor Great Park’s Valley Gardens in Surrey, including azaleas and blossoms. A theme of white, green, and cream foliage was chosen, and for a special reason, said the couple’s floral creative designer Shane Connolly at the time.
“The theme is that everything is from the estates, that everything is English, that everything is seasonal, and all along Catherine has asked that it’s just all neutral colour-wise,” Shane said, per the BBC.
A ‘country girl’ bride
“The aim is that the abbey looks unpretentious and simple and natural, and that it reflects the fact that Catherine is a country girl at heart and that the couple are the best of British,” he added.
Kate, who became the Duchess of Cambridge upon her wedding to King Charles and the late Princess Diana’s son William, was born and raised in leafy Berkshire.
Since her wedding, Kate has spoken about her love of the outdoors, saying on a public outing in April that nature is “a meaningful for me as a place of balance”. She added that being outdoors brings her “a sort of sense of peace and reconnection in what is otherwise a very busy world.”
