William and Kate have shown just how beautiful saying I do can be

Much has been written this week about who may have designed Kate Middleton’s dress, the foliage brought into Westminster Abbey, who made the guest list and who didn’t, and whether the sun will be shining for all the street parties happening across the nation.

Royal wedding fever has been great fun and it’s also been lovely to see so many union jacks flying on shop fronts and elsewhere.

For all the talk about whether the monarchy has any place in a modern democracy, it is hard to think of anything else that quite rallies the British people around their flag in quite the same way. Somehow, we never seem to be more British than when there is a major royal event happening.

And with the newspapers normally occupied with Britain’s social ills and our limping economy, it has been a breath of fresh air to see some genuinely good news dominating the headlines for once.

But there is something more to celebrate here and that is of course the love at the heart of this wedding.

No one can doubt the sincerity of the love that Prince William and Kate Middleton feel for one another, and that also is a breath of fresh air.

With so many marriages breaking down it’s understandable that there are many people today who are cynical about marriage and question why they should ‘tie the knot’ at all.

At a time when many people no longer feel the need to say ‘I do’, it is wonderful to see two people who do not share that cynicism and have kept at the heart of it all a beautiful simplicity, the sense that at the end of the day, their wedding is about vowing to love one another for life.

It has been lovely watching this whole thing come together over the last few months, but what has been even lovelier has been seeing two people display time and time again a simple yet deep and heartfelt affection for another.

The wedding of William and Kate is lavish because it has to be, but we all know they would be just as happy – if not more so - marrying in their local church in front of an intimate gathering of close friends and family.

This sincerity is personified perfectly in the Bible passage they have chosen for the ceremony. It comes from Romans and includes the words: “Let love be genuine.”

Prince William and Kate Middleton have shown just how beautiful saying ‘I do’ can be and as the Churches have encouraged in the last few weeks, many Christians will be praying that their big day tomorrow is just the beginning of a lifetime of happiness for them.

This newspaper wishes them both a glorious wedding day - come rain or shine - and a truly fulfilling and blessed married life together.