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Design by Cristina Cianci
Welcome to the Royals Issue—an issue dedicated entirely to royal weddings, a topic that is not-so-secretly a fan favorite here at Brides.
So, grab a cup of tea and settle in: We have a lot to cover!
Why are we so obsessed with royal weddings? What is the allure of them? Why do they still matter to us, especially today? These are questions we explore in the issue, of course, but what I’ve decided is that royal weddings are momentous occasions, and they matter to us for a number of reasons.
On one hand, I think there’s the romantic notion that, somehow, in today’s chaotic world, there is a time and a place for these epic love stories to exist. There is the possibility that these stories are still being written—the idea of “history in the making” romance. Our cover star, newlywed India Hicks, is a perfect example. She just married her partner David Flint Wood, the father of her five children, at age 54 after 26 loving years together. They just celebrated their four-month anniversary.
Then, there are the moments that we experience secondhand. The royal weddings we’ve watched on TV in our lifetime—our screens filled with people, places, and feelings that are so immediate and so distinct, however many years later. And, finally, there are the memories and traditions that have been handed down to us, sometimes without us even knowing. The fashion icons and silly traditions and stories we just know.
While all different, I think the lesson here is that there’s always an opportunity to make a lasting impression. That’s what is cool about royal weddings today. Sure, there’s history, but history is also still being written. So, while we revisit old and new, celebrate tradition but also break the rules, remember this: It’s 2022, and what a fairytale looks like today is different for everyone. Every love story is unique, unexpected, and, as India reminds us, a work in progress. That’s something to celebrate, too.
— Anna Price Olson, Editorial Director
P.S. In the spirit of David's "of all the gin joints in the world" story, check out this selfie of India and me at Rosewood Baha Mar in December. You never know when you’ll run into a "royal" poolside!