Royal wedding Danish style

Danish Prince Frederik is getting married to Mary Donaldson. The wedding took place at the Our Lady's Cathedral while tens of thousands of onlookers, stacked as many as 10 deep, listened to a live broadcast of the ceremony on radio and watched it live on outdoor video screens.

Inside the 175-year-old sand-colored church -- rows of roses, red and pink carnations, yellow peonies and buttercups along the walls and balconies -- Mary walked slowly down the length of the 60-meter (120 feet) aisle upon a red carpet, her father John on one arm.

The 32-year-old wore a shiny white and elegant, but simple wedding gown with a folded train and a veil made from 100-year-old Irish lace. She carried a bouquet of white roses with stephanotis highlights and Australian eucalyptus with berries, reports newsday.com According to smh.com.au with a soundly delivered "ja", the remarkeable journey of Mary Elizabeth Donaldson from Australian commoner to European crown princess ended when she and her prince exhanged marriage vowes in Copenhagen Cathedral last night. Before 800 guests, including a who's who of Princess Mary's new regal relatives, an elegant Ms Donaldson, 32, pledged to love and honour Crown Prince Frederik, the 35-year-old heir to the Danish throne. The love affair has captivated millions of Danes who talk of their "Kaengu", kangaroo, in a tone bordering on reverence. Several hundred thousand well-wishers turned out to watch the royal couple's horse-drawn open carriage journey from the Cathedral to Amalienborg Palace, where in front of a sea of Australian and Danish flags they were expected to give their union a very public kiss. In his sermon, the Bishop of Copenhagen, Erik Normann Svendsen, told Mary and Frederik to enjoy the day and "be pleased you have found each other". But he added: "A royal couple does not belong solely to each other, but to all of us. We feel it and you know it. Great assignments and many obligations await you, who will continue the Danish monarchy and thereby the Danish social structure. It is of crucial importance that this is maintained and renewed at a time marked by internationalistion and globalisation." The 35-year-old prince, who is liked by Danes for his down-to-earth style, met his bride in a bar in Sydney during the 2000 Olympics. The bar -- the Slip Inn -- was serving cocktails called the Great Dane and Tasmanian Temptress on Friday.

Donaldson, the daughter of a maths professor, has described their romance as a "fairy tale" and has enchanted her future subjects by learning the language, adopting Danish citizenship and converting to the Lutheran church.

In her homeland, where republican sentiment is strong, the media were nevertheless besotted with what the Sydney Morning Herald called "a fairytale wedding." Children in her native Hobart went to school on Friday as Vikings and princesses.

"We love parties," said Fiona Smith, a Tasmanian celebrating in Copenhagen wrapped in an Australian flag. "The Danes are very friendly and loyal to their royal family."

But not everyone in Denmark thought Donaldson was "Mrs Right" for their prince. "It's still not too late, Fred," read the headline of the tabloid Ekstra Bladet, above a photo of a naked woman painted with the red and white Danish flag, informs reuters.com