For all its social and historical significance, the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana was something else as well: an event of unparalleled visual splendor. To capture the pageantry and pomp of the occasion, TIME deployed a team of photographers in London. They came back with some of the stunning photographs in this week's report on "The Wedding of the Century." Julian Calder shot the wedding ceremony from the 100-ft.-high whispering gallery inside St. Paul's Cathedral. Across the plaza Terry Spencer crouched in a fourth-floor window and photographed the royal procession. Nearby, Dirck Halstead snapped the passing parade, then joined other photographers in a champagne toast for the bride and bridegroom. After taking pictures of the fireworks display in Hyde Park on the eve of the wedding, Neil Leifer grabbed three hours of sleep before moving into place outside Buckingham Palace at 5:30 a.m. Says he: "The combination of the handsome royal couple, glinting horse-drawn carriages and waving British flags was a photographer's dream."

For the TIME bureau in London, the wedding celebration was the climax of a story that had been building since Lady Diana first tripped into the limelight eleven months ago. Correspondent Mary Cronin observed the wedding party from the Victoria Memorial across from Buckingham Palace. Inside St. Paul's Cathedral, London Bureau Chief Bonnie Angelo sat directly behind the royal family, hidden from public view by columns. Says she: "It was an exhausting story, but now that it's over, we'll miss the continuing saga of the handsome Prince who found his beautiful Princess."

The story was checked by Heyden White and edited by Christopher Porterfield, a self-described Anglophile who ate kippered herring for breakfast at 5 a.m. before watching the nuptials on television. Associate Editor Paul Gray wrote the text for the color photographs accompanying the story. The main account was written by Jay Cocks, author of last week's cover story on the royal couple, as well as a cover profile of Lady Diana last April. Says Cocks:

"The fact that such national jubilation could take place during a time of social turmoil is a moving tribute to the British national character--and a sign of how the monarchy still holds the country together." Indeed. To echo the most common of all summaries of the royal wedding, one must truly say: Jolly good show!

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