the night at the palace

Here is my post about our dinner at Buckingham*Palace. I still cannot believe we were there. It was insane! Ok, the deets ...

ruby is in her hanbok - it was lunar new year after all!

Background - I borrowed a dress from a friend who was recently in a wedding. What are the chances of re-wearing a Bridesmaid dress -- and to Buckingham*Palace nonetheless? I got my hair done and though I didn't love the 70s look I ended up with it did seem to work with the dress. After my hair I had an appointment up the street to have makeup done though b/c I was late the makeup artist left. The store offered for me to do my own makeup there with their products. I was girl in a candy store! So fun. Thankfully the staff took pity on me and helped me out. I'm not so great with doing eyes.

in the foyer

We arrived by taxi and walked through the gates in front. There were no metal detectors or really any security measures taken, which surprised us. We did have to show ID and our invitation to the guard. We walked across the inner courtyard where the guests who were arriving by chauffeur were entering. We were welcomed into a very grand foyer. After leaving our coats at the coat check we were guided up a very long staircase where I was praying that I would not fall - can you imagine? At the top of the staircase were waiters holding silver trays full of champagne flutes. Yes thank you very much! We were then guided into the blue drawing room, which was incredibly beautiful and unlike anything I've ever seen. After trying to remain calm, cool and collected we just could not stop staring at the paintings, the ceiling, the intricate and beautiful details of the room. We did not know anyone there so we were just chatting with ourselves for a while and then our guests introduced themselves and we made small talk for what seemed like donkeys years. That is when we learned that we would meet Their Royal Highnesses (TRH). I'm not gonna lie - I started getting a little bit nervous! About 20 min later they arrived and the room fell quiet. Then the introductions began. We were all lined up against the wall so that they could easily walk through the room, meet and greet, and then exit. We greeted them with "good evening your royal highness". We are not expected to curtsy b/c we are not English. Thank God for G**gle!! It happened fast and we did chat more with Prince C. He asked if we had attended last year and if we were having a nice time, who Brian worked for, etc. We also met a famous Ballet dancer here in London - Rupert*Pennefeather - who was very charming and graciously offered to give me a tour of the Royal Opera House. I seriously felt like I was in a movie!! It was so surreal. We had a super fun night but making small talk chit chat is exhausting. Prince C was very charming (heehee) and shorter than I expected.The next to last photo with Prince C laughing was because of something said. I wish I could remember exactly what it was that I had said but apparently it was funny. Unfortunately the lady standing next to me is blocking me. We also met Camilla but there weren't any photos taken when we shook hands. When we were ushered into the dining hall everybody stood behind their chairs until TRH arrived, which was about 15 minutes after we entered the room. When they walked in the entire room went quiet until they sat. It went like that as they left as well. Can you imagine?! We were seated at the table next to Camilla during dinner and I had direct sight to her the entire evening. Prince C was seated across the room. I think there were about 300 ppl there. Michael Flatley (Riverdance) was the entertainer. Incredible night!! Lastnight we attended the Brit Music Awards, which I'll post on tomorrow. This London gig is not too shabby!

Official Photos