Prior the wedding I wrote a post reviewing the various royal wedding commemorative book-a-zines being sold to commemorative the royal wedding. Now several of the issues have updated their versions with photos from the big day, much to my chagrin. Thus making me feel bad for having wasted the money on them in the first place. I really should have known better. These updated versions were inevitable. Now that the event is over, there are a dozen or more magazines commemorating the royal wedding. Because of this, one thing is very clear. You can waste a lot of money collecting these issues if you don't choose carefully. For me, I have had to physically restrain myself from buying most of them. The ones I have purchased may be somewhat repetitive in terms of their coverage, but if nothing else they've given me material for another article.
Let's review the ones I have bought:
LIFE magazine released a version called Royal Wedding before the wedding itself. Now they have updated it, calling this issue the 'expanded commemorative edition.' And so it is. It is the exact same magazine except that the introduction has been rewritten and photos of the royal wedding have been added. Out of all of the issues I would recommend this one. Especially if you did not purchase the version before it. The issue is of very good, durable quality. It may not have as many wedding photos as other issues but then again, how many pictures do you really need of the newlyweds gazing adoringly at each other or riding in the carriage?
Like LIFE, TIME has also put together a quality issue. Unlike LIFE it is not completely devoted to the royal wedding itself. But what it lacks in wall to wall photos, it makes up in the content of the articles about William, Catherine and the future of the monarchy.
Maclean's magazine, the Canadian equivalent of TIME, has prepared an issue dedicated entirely to the wedding. It is of much better quality than its American counterpart. Information on the preparations and the key people involved in the ceremony. It's all there. If for nothing else, it's worth the price if only to read an entire article about the difficulty Prince William had putting the wedding ring on Catherine's finger. It would be nice to say that this is the only royal wedding magazine Maclean's has released, but it isn't. At present I have no plans to buy the newer edition.
People Magazine Special Collector's Issue and People Magazine Commemorative Edition
How many issues of the same publication do you need to celebrate the royal wedding? The editors of People seem to think the world needs two. Of the two, the Special Collector's Issue is the larger one, with a 72-page royal wedding album. Not content with that issue, People went ahead and put together a Commemorative Edition. Unlike the Special Collector's issue it is completely devoted to the royal wedding. Unless you did not buy the Special Collector's Issue, I would not recommend the Commemorative Edition. The 72 pages in the Special Collector's issue is more than enough and includes more interesting information than the version after it. Or maybe the inevitable third commemorative keepsake issue will be better?
You have to hand it to Hello! They're in a league of their own when it comes to going overboard with the royal wedding. There's the Original Commemorative issue, the Second Souvenir Issue, and the Royal Wedding Keepsake Album of magical memories. I have the Canadian versions so I confess to not knowing the full extent they have gone overboard. But judging by the fact I have three issues covering the exact same event is enough for me. (Why do I have three issues? In my defense, two of them are part of my subscription). As is Hello's! custom, the text is mostly limited to informative caption boxes covering interesting historical details. The photos dominate the issue and overall Hello! has covered the event well. It would be nice if they had limited the amount of issues. Sometimes there can be too much of a good thing.
Overall, each of them is good. For an overview of their relationship and wedding - buy LIFE. If you're interested in lots of pictures of the Royal Wedding, I recommend buying the Hello! keepsake issue.
© Marilyn Braun 2011
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