The Royal Wedding: A Worthy Affair? (By: Megan Stulberg)

The bride, an elegant young woman, was dressed in a traditional white dress. She was escorted down the aisle of a beautiful church by her father. It was a lovely ceremony shared by the bride, the groom…and 25 million of their closest, personal friends.

For Prince William and Catherine Middleton, this was nothing out of the ordinary. Ever since their first meeting in 2001, they have been all over the front cover of every British tabloid publication, such as HELLO! magazine. For many, it only seems fitting that this “celebrity” couple’s decision to finally tie the knot on April 29, 2011, after 10 years of on-and-off dating, was to be a public event.

The international hype that surrounded the 2011 royal wedding was truly mind-blowing. The idea of a commoner (Kate Middleton) becoming a duchess is irresistible to many.

On the big day, women in dresses and tiaras across the globe threw their own royal wedding parties in their living rooms, glued to their television sets, longing to be part of the action. The desire to be part of the action and a part of history was just too tempting.

It is estimated at the global audience of the wedding ranged somewhere between 300 million to 2 billion people; where 25 million people gathered outside Westminster Abbey and watched the event live in the UK, April 29th was a public holiday in the United Kingdom.

The royal wedding took place at a perfect time. Just shortly before, the news had been focusing on tragic economical, political issues and natural disasters, such as the Egyptian crisis after President Hosni Mubarak resigned, or the devastating Tōhoku undersea earthquake that struck Japan and killed over 15,000 people.

These days, the world seems to be in a constant state of panic. During the early months of this year, much of the media attention has centered on themes of devastation, destruction and heartbreak. The marriage between Will and Kate has served as a way for many to momentarily forget about the world’s many crises and instead enjoy new reports and videos of a happy experience.

In a sense, the royal wedding is a harmless diversion with positive aspects for society to distract themselves from the major problems in the world and their own lives.

Is this a bad thing? Not at all.

However, many people have posted on blogging and social networking sites, such as Tumblr or Twitter, to express their concern that people should stop thinking about William and Kate’s marriage and begin to take things seriously.

Yes it costs a fairly large amount of money to produce a royal wedding, but the economic returns to the local economy, British tourism, etc – are incalculable.

As long as we as society do not lose sight of the big picture and continue to follow news reports that focus on world issues, it’s important to relax and remember that we all need an escape sometimes.