And so I found myself setting my alarm for 3am to witness a moment in history with 1/3 of the world’s population.  I’m sure that I would have woken up to mark this historical moment regardless of what was going on in my life, but to be honest, a recent event made this a special moment in my history as well.

To make a long story short, my associate and I moved our business into an artisan building 2 years ago and befriended a neighbour and fellow artisan, milliner Lucie Gregoire.  A Royal Wedding is, in effect, the most glamorous hat party there is and Lucie Gregoire, being a true master in custom hats……hats we are hardly ever witness to anymore, was sought out as the milliner who could help in Her Excellency’s outfit for this fabulous event…yadah yadah yadah,  3 weeks ago, we found our small and fairly unknown Montreal jewelry company with a commission to design and create a necklace, bracelet and earrings for the Governor General’s wife, Her Excellency Sharon Johnston, to wear to the Royal Wedding.

So there I was, at 3am, in our pitch black living room, my hand on my dog’s head (a loyal friend who will wake up with me regardless of time, weather or reason),  my fiancé asleep in our room, and the TV on the lowest volume setting ready to watch.

Well, for a hat party of sorts, it was quite a party! Tall, wide, colourful or black; there was everything and anything you might expect……and not expect.  I, for one, was not aware that there are hats that are worn off the forehead or that brims can be so wide that one has to bend back to see who is in front of you.  Regardless, it was truly a wonderful show of design and workmanship!  I can only hope, in part for Lucie, that this will spur a renewed interest in hats.

A couple of hours later, I watched as the world was witness to the dashing Duchess of Cambridge.  Simplicity met elegance at its best as she sat in the car next to her father, waving to the endless crowds, on her way to get married.  As a jewelry designer, I inevitably noticed her accessories; beautiful earrings with an historic tiara as the only jewelry pieces.  To be honest, I was looking forward to seeing the style of necklace Kate would wear, but found her choice perfect in its simplicity once again.

Although I dozed off a few times, my waking up in the middle of the night to watch history in the making was well worth the exhaustion the following day!  – Alix