Unless you live under a rock, you might have heard that there is a royal wedding tomorrow. All the hype and hysteria. Crazy! Seems our little girl fascination of marrying a prince and becoming a princess never wears off. As every media outlet searches for some new angle on this story, I was thinking about another royal wedding to come. Only, in this one, I really WILL be the princess bride.

The Proposal. One of the things I find amusing about all this royal wedding coverage is the speculation over details that are known to precious few. How did William propose? What was that moment really like? Let me tell you something that is NOT a secret. The King of Kings has a proposal for you. The dowry was paid through his death on the cross so that you could become the Bride of Christ. The Groom's love for you began before you were born. You see, "the king is enthralled by your beauty! Honor Him, for He is your Lord," (Psalm 45:11). In his eagerness to be with you forever, He made a way. Will you say "YES?!" It's easy... "If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved," Romans 10:9. Talk about a happily ever after! This wedding really leads to EVER AFTER.

The Betrothal. Ever since the engagement announcement last November, the media has covered just about every aspect of William and Kate's preparations and daily life. Of course, most of this is pure speculation. Everyone is curious about what Kate is doing to prepare for her upcoming role as princess. Does she take classes about proper etiquette and expectations? Does she spend hours a day reading guidebooks for her role? Is there some thick book entitled Idiot's Guide to Becoming a Princess? And, just what about us? In ancient times, the bride spent her betrothal time preparing her gown and waiting for the appearance of her groom on their wedding day. As the Princess Bride of Christ, our time on earth is our betrothal time.

(Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people.)

Revelations 19:7-8

While we assume Kate is busy learning how to be a princess, we assume that William is readying a home for his future bride. Our Groom, too, has gone to prepare a place for us (John 14:1-3). And, while Buckingham Place is quite impressive, it doesn't hold a candle to our mansion to come.

The Wedding. I think the main topic of speculation and obsession for the royal wedding tomorrow is just WHAT will Kate wear? Oh, the multitudes of designer's renderings of all the possibilities for her wedding gown. It makes me think of that Barbie dress design toy I had as a kid. You, know, it had three sections--the head, the torso, and the bottom. You flipped through the possibilities to create countless combinations. Hold onto your seats because in just a few hours, the big reveal will come. But, I have news for you. No matter how glorious Kate's dress is, our Princess Bride wedding dress will far exceed it. Can you just picture yourself clothed in the wedding gown given by our Groom--the Creator of the Universe?

I delight greatly in the LORD;
my soul rejoices in my God.
For he has clothed me with garments of salvation
and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness,
as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

Isaiah 61:10

Tomorrow, we will see the wedding of William and Kate unfold. How long will her train be? What will he wear? Will they kiss? What will the ceremony be like? What will the decor be? When I go to a wedding, my favorite part is glancing at the bride, and then watching the groom's reaction. Just like the main character says in 27 Dresses, how the groom reacts to his approaching bride says much about their union. When the groom tears up and is overcome, I can hardly hold back the tears myself. Their love and affection for each other is so palatable! If you've never considered this, turn this one over in your mind. Can you imagine your Groom, the Lord of your Life, when He sees you approaching Him for that face-to-face meeting?! It's that moment when all the preparation and waiting clashes with the reality of the amazing future to come. My hope is fixed on that moment when He will look into my eyes and hopefully say, "Well done, good and faithful, servant."

INTENTIONAL challenge: We can pretty well be certain that tomorrow, William and Kate will not share wedding vows of their own writing. Rather, pomp and circumstance and tradition will dictate something much more formal and proper. But, imagine the words of your Groom when you enter His presence, dressed in his spectacular robes of righteousness, meeting Him eye to eye for that glorious ever after, and He whispers to you, "Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, and come with me. See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone," Song of Songs 2:10-11.

Today's post taken from excerpts of the Sisterhood of the Princess Brides Bible study, written by me in 2009.