It's been the talk of Europe for months, but now that the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton is little more than a day away the Bay Area is beginning to engage in the details of the event.
The nuptials take place Friday morning in England and that translates to the middle of the night here in California, so you have to be willing to lose some sleep in order to watch it live.
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NBC and MSNBC coverage begins at 1 a.m. Kate is supposed to walk down the aisle exactly two hours later. If you are setting an alarm, it looks like the good stuff will begin around 2:30 a.m.
Here's the official rundown from the Royals:
- 12:15 a.m. - Prince William and his best man Prince Harry arrive at West Minster Abbey.
- 1:45 a.m. - The regular 2,000 of so invited guests must be in place so that distinguished guests and foreign dignitaries can make their entrances.
- 2:42 a.m. - Prince Charles and wife Camilla arrive.
- 2:45 a.m. - Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh arrive.
- 2:51 a.m. - Kate leaves the nearby Goring Hotel with her wedding party.
- 3 a.m. - The ceremony begins.
- 4:15 a.m. - Will and Kate are off in their carriage through the streets of London on the way to Buckingham Palace.
- 5 a.m. or so - A smooch on the palace balcony is expected to happen in front of the crowds at some point. Once you see that, you can catch a couple hours sleep because the kiss means the curtain is closed on the public portion of the day.
If you want to experience all of the above with friends of strangers, you will need make your way to San Jose and find The Britannia Arms on Almaden Expressway. That is the only bar we could find that is opening in the overnight hours to watch the wedding live. Liquor laws won't allow any bars to sell booze between 1:30 a.m. and 6 a.m. That didn't stop The Brit. The bar will open at 2 a.m. and will serve food and coffee. They suggest folks make reservations.
You could also make the trek to Half Moon Bay. Cameron's Restaurant, Pub and Inn, is also opening in the wee hours of Friday morning to that their customers can watch the wedding live. The pub right along Highway 1 is holding a big party Friday night featuring a local British invasion band, a royal wedding cake and King and Queen impersonators.
All of the other pubs we talked to plan on recording the festivities with a promised replay throughout the day Friday.
If you want to go fancy, you could make a reservation for a special Royal breakfast at San Francisco's Palace Hotel. It includes a viewing of the wedding that starts at 9 a.m. United Kingdom Consul General Julian Evans is scheduled to make opening remarks.
The British Consulate is also co-hosting the Royal Ceremonial Ball on Friday night at the Mark Hopkins Hotel. The gala celebrates the Royal Wedding, as well as the 85th Birthday of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
The consulate is also asking people to sign a guest book. The signings are open to the public through the end of the week from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
