But unlike regular weddings, these ones involve an elaborately choreographed event that will be watched by an audience of millions.

不過不同於一般的婚禮，這些婚禮包含精心設計的節目流程，好讓幾百萬名觀眾一同見證。

One of the first decisions a couple makes is deciding where to actually do the thing.

新人所需要做的第一個決定是：要在哪裡舉辦婚禮？

If they are really into history and tradition, there's really only one choice: "From the solemnity of the abbey."

如果他們鍾情歷史與傳統，那就只會有一個選擇：「從莊嚴的修道院。」

But not this time.

但這次例外。

The big change is this wedding between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

最大的改變是哈利王子跟梅根馬克爾的婚禮。

You don't have all the ambassadors from all the different countries, you don't have heads of state coming to this wedding.

這次婚禮的嘉賓沒有各國的大使，也沒有國家元首。

One reason is because the Chapel Windsor can only take 600 people and therefore there simply isn't space.

一切都只因為溫沙聖喬治禮拜堂僅能容納 600 人，想當然爾沒有足夠的空間。

But it's also clearly the desire of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to have a more informal wedding.

但那很顯然哈利王子跟梅根馬克爾期望一個比較不拘禮節的婚禮。

At around two months before the big day, the Lord Chamberlain's office sends out individually handcrafted invitations.

大約婚禮兩個月前，司法大臣部就已一一寄出手工邀請函。

There's flowers and fittings and the entirety of the city to prepare.

鮮花、布置以及整座城市都為此做足準備。

While the bride and groom head to sleep in different homes — spectators who want a decent view of the public processions will be sleeping outside.

當新娘跟新郎在各自家中休息時，那些想要一睹婚禮遊行的民眾得露宿街頭。

And just a few hours later, Some have traveled hundreds or even thousands of miles and they camped out overnight to get a prime position along that procession route.

幾個小時之後，有些人已經跋涉了好幾百甚至好幾千英里，還紮營過夜，只為了在遊行路線上佔得一個絕佳的位置。

The general rule of royal weddings is the the less important you are, the earlier you arrive, and the farther back you sit.

皇家婚禮的通則是：你的身份地位愈不重要，就要愈早到達現場，也坐得較遠。

If you're there representing a charity, if a member of the armed forces, or a celebrity, you're relegated to the nave of the church, which means you might not even get to see the actual ceremony.

如果你代表某個慈善機構出席，或是某個軍隊的成員，或是身為名人，便會被安排在教堂的中間，而這代表你將沒有辦法看到婚禮實際的進行。

Close friends of the bride and groom and other guests will head in at least an hour and a half before.

新娘跟新郎的摯友以及其他的嘉賓會在婚禮開始前一至一個半小時抵達。

Most of the time it is: groom up at the front.

大部分的時候是這樣子：新郎坐最前面。

The royal procession comes in order In order of precedence, which means the more junior royals come first and last comes the Queen and her husband Prince Philip.

皇室成員進場依照身分級別高低，也就是說級別較低者先入場，最後則是英國女王與她的夫婿菲利普親王。

Lots of fanfare as they come and then the bride turns up.

當他們進場時，號角齊鳴，接著出現的是新娘。

When the bride arrives, the details of the dress are finally revealed after months of top secrecy.

新娘一抵達教堂，禮服上隱藏好幾個月的極高機密細節終於一一呈現在眾人面前。

I am beside myself. This is such a fashion moment, I can't tell you.

我興奮不已。這真是時尚的一刻，我無法告訴你更多。

And regardless of who the designer is, she'll be wearing white and will carry a sprig of myrtle in her bouquet, which symbolizes love and marriage — both of which are trends started by Queen Victoria.

而且不管設計師是誰，新娘都會身穿白紗，拿著上面綴有一小枝桃金孃的捧花，象徵愛與婚姻，白紗與捧花都是維多利亞女王時開始的傳統。

The bride's tiara is almost always the "something borrowed," likely from one of the family's collections of jewels.

新娘的皇冠幾乎一直都是「借來的物品」，很有可能是來自家族收藏的珠寶。

Since 1923, the ring placed on the bride's finger is always made from Welsh gold — Elizabeth and Diana's rings even came from the same nugget.

從 1923 年起，新娘戴的戒指都是由威爾斯黃金打造，伊莉莎白女王與黛安娜王妃的戒指甚至是來自同一金塊。

The ceremony's performed by the Archbishop of Canterbury and only takes about an hour.

婚禮儀式由坎特伯里大主教主持，僅歷時一個小時。

Towards the end, the bride, groom, and their two witnesses go into a private room to sign the registrar.

儀式尾聲，新娘新郎以及兩位見證人進去一間獨立的房間簽字登記。

At that point the wedding is sanctified in law, as it was sanctified by religious service a few minutes previously.

此刻，婚禮得到法律認可，而幾分鐘之前也已透過儀式得到宗教許可。

Officially married, the bride and groom exit, closely followed by the Procession of the Queen.

正式結為夫妻後，新娘與新郎離開教堂，女王跟隨在後。

If there's any heart that hasn't been run over by her today, it can kindly surrender now.

如果今天有任何人的心還沒被她擄獲，現在請臣服於她吧。

There's a good chance you'll hear "Pomp and Circumstance" around this time — although Americans associate it with high school graduations, it was originally written for the coronation of King Edward VII.

這個時候很有可能會聽到「威風凜凜進行曲」，雖然美國人總將它與高中畢業典禮聯想在一起，但它最初是為了國王愛德華七世加冕典禮所寫。

The bride and groom will likely make their way into the open 1902 State Landau for the official carriage procession around the city — that's when the crowds who have been waiting for hours, or possibly days, will get their first look at the royal couple.

新娘跟新郎隨後便將會前往乘坐 1902 年出廠的 State Landau 黃金敞篷馬，車隨著正式的遊行馬車隊伍繞行城市──這個時候引頸期盼好幾個小時，甚至好幾天的民眾，終於能一睹皇室新人的風采。

This usually concludes with the iconic appearance on the Buckingham Palace balcony — on which Diana and Charles were the first to kiss.

遊行通常以新人在白金漢宮陽台上代表性的現身作結──黛安娜跟查爾斯是第一對在那裡親吻的新人。

The kiss is a critical moment in the entire royal wedding ceremony.

這個吻是整個皇室婚禮最關鍵的時刻。

You don't just throw it away in the middle of church.

不能隨便在教堂裡匆匆一吻。

It has to be seen live by hundreds of thousands of peoples.

這個吻必須在數以千計的民眾眼前發生。

And just in case anyone had missed it, Prince William suggests one more kiss.

而且為了避免有人錯過，威廉王子還建議他們再親一次。

Because Meghan and Harry's wedding is 20 miles outside of London, their first public kiss as a married couple will have to happen someplace else.

因為梅根跟哈利的婚禮在倫敦 20 英里外的郊區舉行，他們正式成為夫妻後第一個公開的吻將安排在別的地方。

Afterwards, the wedding party takes official photos, and ceremony guests gather for the "wedding breakfast," complete with a traditional fruit cake.

之後，將會拍攝官方的婚宴照片，出席的嘉賓聚在一起享用「婚禮早餐」，用傳統水果蛋糕畫下句點。

Though in the past the bride and groom would change clothes and depart for their honeymoon directly afterwards, current royals have gone for a more modern approach with a real party.

雖然以往婚宴一結束，新娘與新郎能立刻換下衣服，出發去度蜜月，現代的皇室成員會採取較現代的作法辦一場派對。

And they won't be the only ones celebrating.

這樣他們就不會是唯一慶祝的人了。

It is generally seen as an excuse to have a good time and somewhat buttoned-up Brits who don't really have a good time in public that much, let their hair down and enjoy themselves in the middle of their street.

這通常會是一個享受的好藉口，讓那些很少真的在公共場合表露自己情緒的英國人不再拘謹，就在大街上好好放鬆。

At that point it's a pretty normal wedding reception —although normal ones don't generally include (rumoured) performances by Elton John and the Spice Girls.

在這當下，皇家婚宴就像是一般的婚宴了，即使一般的婚宴通常不會包括一些(謠言中的)表演，像是艾爾頓．強跟辣妹合唱團。

The royal couple will head off for the honeymoon — which is almost certainly within the British Commonwealth, while the rest of the country nurses a hangover.

這對皇室新人將啟程度蜜月，旅行的範圍當然在大英國協之內，城市裡的其他人照料宿醉的自己。

As they leave far behind them, an exhilarated, exhausted London, for them, as for any newlyweds, the adventure is just about to begin.

當新人將那個狂喜又疲憊的倫敦拋在腦後，對哈利跟梅根來說，如同每一對新人，冒險才正要展開。