Scones, mimosas and well wishes

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 30/04/2011 (5438 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WHILE most Winnipeggers slept, the ladies beamed and raised champagne flutes to a future king and queen.

But for all the ceremony, the pomp and circumstance, the real celebration at one local wedding-watching party was for unions much closer to home.

“You won’t ever get to do it again in this regard, all dressed up,” smiled Joan Martin, 79, one of about 30 grandparents, parents and grandchildren who partied before dawn at the Canoe Club condo complex in St. Vital.

Indeed, the group arrived at the complex’s lounge looking fit for Westminster Abbey. Decked in gaily coloured hats and pristine white gloves, they sipped mimosas and dined on cucumber sandwiches and plates of scones.

While many wedding-watching parties taped the ceremony to watch later, the Canoe Club revellers wouldn’t have had the party any other way.

“For a lot of us, we remember the other royal weddings,” Martin said. “We know probably this is the last one we’re going to see… So we decided, let’s do it. It just means going above and beyond and being with your friends.”

Friends, and also family: Gwen Goodridge hosted a pre-wedding sleepover with her daughter and two teen granddaughters; the group could barely sleep, she grinned, so excited were they for the nuptials. “It’s been a great time,” she said, adjusting her cherry-red hat. “I’m just so happy for us.”

And also, of course, for the happy couple. “We just have a lot of hope,” said Frances Macdonald, who watched the ceremony with her daughter and grandsons. “We’ve had hope with all of them, but we’ve been let down — but (in Kate and William), the monarchy seems to have had a real revitalization.”