So that's why they didn't kiss!

The only wedding I've attended in the UK was that of Mike's sister and her husband. (We've been invited to others but have never been able to attend.) Here's what I remember most from that wedding:

• Arriving in England to discover that the wedding dress had not yet been hemmed (my sister-in-law had bought it here in Portland)
• How fun it was to travel to England with my parents--I remember punting along the river in Cambridge and having tea with them at the Orchard in Grantchester...we also traveled up to Yorkshire with them and spent time in London
• Spending time with Mike's aunt, cousin, and daughter, who traveled from Florida--and watching Mike's mum and aunt enjoy drinking their vodka together!
• All the women at the wedding wearing hats (yes, they really do wear hats!)
• Mike and I singing the Ave Maria, after which his mum's friend pronounced, "well it was nice Michael, but you're no Pavarotti!"
• The fantastic reception at this wonderful old barn--great food, setting, and dancing to an English country band, with a dance caller (although my mom got her foot stomped on during the dancing and took years to recover!)
• The fact that they did not kiss during the wedding--in fact, the first person to kiss my sister-in-law after she got married was the maitre'd at the reception site!

I remember thinking how sad this was--a wedding without a kiss!--and I chalked it up to the fact that it was a Roman Catholic ceremony. However, apparently it's not the British custom to kiss during a wedding. I never knew this (clearly, Mike has not been to a lot of British weddings!) until reading this article about why William will not be kissing Kate during the royal wedding. Apparently it's forbidden in the Church of England!

Well, at least there will be dancing: