Victoria & Daniel’s Wedding – Ceremony & Cortège

At 3:30pm, Crown Princess Victoria was led into the Stockholm Cathedral by her ten bridal children, the girls wearing pearl dresses and the boy’s traditional blue and white sailor suits. The bride was walked three-quarters of the way to the alter by her father, King Carl Gustaf, before they met Daniel and Prince Carl Philip just before the stairs.

The King kissed his daughter’s hand, then shook the groom’s, before he stepped aside and the bride and groom walked to the alter as a couple. Once at the alter, they were greeted by the four people who would be leading the ceremony: Archbishop Anders Wejryd, Royal Court Chief Chaplain Lars-Göran Lönnermark, Bishop Antje Jackelén and Dean of the Cathedral Åke Bonnier. Two hymns were sung before a bible reading. Then, the Archbishop blessed the couple’s wedding rings – Victoria and Daniel assisted in this, before they said their vows.

Victoria Ingrid Alice Désirée and Olof Daniel Westling said the Swedish version of “I do” and placed the rings on each other’s fingers. Both bride and groom had a little trouble getting them on, probably due to a small case of nerves, but they both succeeded in the end. The Archbishop then announced, “I therefore proclaim that you are husband and wife.” This was followed by the first-time performance of Resting Beautifully in your Arms, a song written by ABBA’s Benny Andersson specifically for the wedding. The Lord’s Prayer, the official blessing and another hymn then took place before the Archbishop gave his address to the congregation. Among her speech, “You are now married. You have come so close to each other that you know that your love is mutual and that you have the capacity to forgive each other. This means that your love for each other can also accommodate failure and weakness!”

The final portion of the ceremony was a performance of a new song, When You Tell the World You’re Mine, by Jörgen Elofsson and John Lundvik. The bride and groom, Crown Princess Victoria and the new Prince Daniel, exited the Cathedral to the tune of Praise the Lord with Drums and Symbols. The couple shared their first kiss as husband and wife at the Cathedral doors, just before they were opened to the street. This time was also the time when Prince Daniel was adorned with a wedding gift from his new father-in-law – the sash and badge of the Order of the Seraphim.

They shared another kiss on the top of the Cathedral steps, before descending down to the awaiting horse-drawn carriage. Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel were farewelled by their two families, departing for their cortège to the Royal Palace of Stockholm. The newlywed couple travelled by the carriage (also used for the wedding of the King and Queen in 1976) to the Vasa Museum on Djurgården, where they transferred to the Vasaorden, the Royal Barge. Their water trip took them to the foot of the Royal Palace, where all their guests were waiting for them on the upper courtyard.

Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel carefully exited the barge, before heading across a specially decorated area to the balcony where their parents and siblings were waiting. The King and Queen lovingly greeted and congratulated the couple, as did Prince Carl Philip and Princess Madeleine. Olle and Ewa Westling did the same, and then the couple made their way through their cheering guests (tears and digital cameras were popular – especially amongst the royals) into the Palace.

A short while later, Victoria and Daniel returned to the Palace balcony to greet the large crowd which had gathered outside. Both King Carl Gustaf and Crown Princess Victoria made short speeches. In hers, Victoria thanked the Swedish people for “giving me Daniel”. The guests further back on the larger Palace balcony were once again tearing up (Princess Máxima was seen drying her eyes multiple times throughout the course of the day).

The happiness on the faces of Victoria and Daniel was obvious to everyone around them as they went into their wedding reception.

Filed under Sweden
Tagged Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, Prince Daniel of Sweden, Swedish Royal Wedding 2010.

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