It was a scene as familiar as any fairytale—but wait a minute, we thought at the time. Are those trees? Yes, it was trees—a veritable woodland lining the aisle. The ‘Living Avenue’ through which Kate walked on her way to becoming a royal bride consisted of eight 20-foot tall trees that were specially installed in the historic abbey for the society wedding of the century. The six field maples and two hornbeams looked both enchanting and incongruous in the midst of proceedings as 36 million people around the world tuned in to watch Kate andPrince Williamexchange their vows. The trees were specially chosen by Kate to decorate the aisle instead of traditional flower arrangements, in keeping with her desire to have sustainably sourced decorations. Floral artistic director Shane Connolly wanted the vault of trees to echo the abbey’s famous medieval vault that soared overhead, and worked closely with Kate around her chosen theme: the ‘Language of Flowers.’ After the wedding, the trees were transported to Prince Charles’ Welsh cottage of Llwynywermod, where they were planted and presumably continue to flourish. (Llwynywermod is where Charles retreated after Prince Philip’s funeral to privately mourn the loss of his father.) All in all, Kate and William had four tons of foliage—including the trees—transported to Westminster Abbey to transform it into a ‘fairytale forest.’ The rest of the flowers were all blooms of cream and white, including azaleas, rhododendrons, euphorbias, wisteria, and lilac. In keeping with the wedding’s sustainable ethos the flowers were seasonal and British varieties, with many taken from the Sandringham and Windsor estates and replanted afterward. Next up, Here’s Why the Royal Women—the Queen, Kate, and Camilla—Wore Colorless Jewels to Prince Philip’s Funeral
