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The wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton in London is not only grand and historical for Britons and England, but this royal event seems to draw great interest from abroad as well. Not only for Americans who had a love for the late Princess Diana and watched little William grow up, but we don't have our own royal families to follow, and some of us just plain love weddings and get lost in the fantasy and magic of it all. Even if it's only for a few hours.
Here's a few suggestions on how to follow the fun and pageantry along, before the event, watch it live if you're that daring, or follow up after, even if you didn't get an invite.
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KCET, independent public media for Southern and Central California, will air BBC's live broadcast of Prince William and Kate's Royal Wedding on Friday, April 29 at midnight. In case you're not a night owl and miss the original airtime, the wedding will rebroadcast several times throughout the weekend including Friday, April 29 at 10:24 a.m. and on Saturday, April 30 at 12 a.m., 12:26 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Tonight, April 28, at 10 p.m. and tomorrow, April 29 at 9 and 11 p.m., KCET will also air William and Kate: The Royal Wedding, where viewers can get an intimate look at the couple's eight-year courtship and fairytale romance. Check your local listings for more details.
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Livestream will offer viewers exclusive VIP access to this worldwide celebration with live coverage of the pre-nuptial madness, the procession, ceremony, after-party and more through their 'RoyalWeddingLive' network page at http://www.livestream.com/
AP Live from the Royal Wedding beginning on Friday, April 29th at 5 a.m. ET / 9 a.m. GMT.
ET The Insider.com, Live at the Royal Wedding in London, now through April 29.
UK Press Association Live from the Royal Wedding.
CBS News from the Royal Wedding features live anchored coverage from 5 a.m. ET / 9 a.m. GMT to 12 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. GMT on Friday, April 29.
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Appitalism.com, the mobile app superstore, has put together a list of the top applications to follow all the breaking news and events for tomorrow's historic event. Here's the list:
Royal Wedding Countdown (free for the Android): Live countdown of the days, hours, minutes and seconds until the Royal Wedding of HRH Prince William of Wales and Kate Middleton. The apps even plays a trumpet fanfare when you press the Royal Coat of Arms.
Royal Wedding Insider (free for the Android): - BBC America's Royal Wedding Insider is the best way to keep up with the latest on the upcoming nuptials of Prince William and Kate Middleton. Users can get insider access to exclusive video content, wedding tips from BRIDES magazine, royal facts of the day, a wedding planner that allows you to design and share the perfect day of your own and more.
Blag the Royal Wedding ($1.99 for the Apple iPhone): - Do you have what it takes to plan the wedding of the year on time and in budget? Fancy the title of Royal Wedding Planner? Plan the most talked about wedding of 2011. Blag the Royal Wedding is a fun, tongue-in-cheek quintessentially English wedding game.
Kate's Royal Wedding Story ($0.98 for the Android): - Will and Kate's fairy tale romance has been immortalized in the most modern story book of them all - as an animated motion-comic book app. Kate and William, the motion-comic, is a downloadable diary of the royal love story of the century. It is a fun, funny, fictionalized account of what might have been happening behind the scenes between Kate and William during their much-publicized romance.
ARE YOU WATCHING THE ROYAL WEDDING LIVE? OR SETTING THE DVR TO WATCH LATER?
TELL US YOUR PLANS BELOW.
For me, it started with Groupon. I remember when this social group discount site was just starting out in a small market. Now it has spread all over the country and several others, bringing with it unbelievable prices and finds for lavish spas, decadent culinary delights and more.
These group-buying Web sites work with companies to offer daily deals on anything from house cleaning to yoga classes.
I'll admit that I was an addict for a couple months. There were just so many deals too good to pass up. And none of them broke the bank!
There are plenty of offers and deals in the San Gabriel Valley. Here are a few I have yet to enjoy in Pasadena.
I scored a few hair laser removal group discounts that made me feel better about my strapless gown before my wedding. Definitely needed in a time where I couldn't afford to shell out a couple hundred bucks per session.
Then, I discovered Living Social, Tippr and LA Weekly's VOICE Deal of the Day. More recently Daily Candy, a social cultural website geared specifically towards various metro areas, launched its own Daily Deals for its Los Angeles edition.
The market is definitely expanding for these sites and who wins - us, the consumers!
Go ahead and plan that birthday outing, girl's night, date night, or get a great gift at a great price with the help of these sites. Let your imagination soar without the bill following suit.
Tippr's latest deal is perfect for a great birthday gathering, bridal shower or bachelorette/bachelor party or get it with the excuse to get friends and family together: $49 buys you an in-home or in-office wine tasting party for up to ten people from PRP Wine International for up to ten people. Check out the details HERE. This offer expires in two days and about 5 hours since this has been posted. ENJOY!
Got any other places you get discounts, coupons or deals for celebrations? Share!
In honor of Earth Day today, I will focus on how to incorporate "green" into your party planning beyond just "reduce, recycle, reuse."
From the beginning of the planning process, you can start to help reduce waste and your carbon footprint by focusing on the invitations. One of the most eco-friendly ways is by electronic invitations.
Although, a great idea, keep in mind this may not work for all celebrations, or for all your guests who may not be tech-savvy or let alone have access to a computer at all. There are various sites that offer electronic invitation programs such as Evite and social networking sites MySpace and Facebook. These programs are easy to set up for the planner and offer ease for the guests to reply and communicate, as well as have access to all the party details one can squeeze in there for guests.
Birthday parties, backyard bbq's, pool parties and other non-formal celebrations are perfectly suited for evites, but many consider it a faux-pas to send wedding invitations electronically.
If you are truly committed to going green for your wedding, consider doing both. More acceptable forms of electronic invites are being set-up through sites that offer couple's their own wedding website (www.OurWeddingDay.com, www.mywedding.com, www.weddingwindow.com), where they can send out save-the-date emails, keep guests up-to-date on the planning and also offer an RSVP tracker, where guests can reply. And for guests that may not have access to a computer, look for invitations made from recycled paper and use soy-based ink, or create your own with pressed flowers or other raw, natural materials.
For food, look into caterers or food vendors that use local, organic or sustainable ingredients in their meals. The price may be slightly higher for some items, but just think of the difference you are making on the local farming community and feel good about what you are, and are not, putting into your body.
As far as drinks and libations, there are more and more brands of juices and wineries going organic as well, be sure to look for the seal of approval by the USDA's NOP (National Organic Program). How about squeezing your own juice, using local produce of course, ahead of time and freeze until ready to serve.
For weddings, one of the first things a couple can do to "green" their big celebration is to start with the rings.
Aside from going with a family heirloom or vintage jewelry for the engagement and wedding bands, there are also many jewelers that use recycled gold or silver and lab-created diamonds and stones that not only help the earth but help communities ravaged by the jewelry and diamond industry.
One of those companies is Brilliant Earth, a jewelry company dedicated to providing quality jewelry that originates from "pure sources and harvested using socially responsible practices." They also work to change the image of jewelers and educate consumers "about the social and environmental issues affecting the jewelry industry." The company also donates a share of their profit to help the underdeveloped communities affected by the jewelry industry. Brilliant Earth guarantees their diamonds originate from "conflict free sources of the highest ethical standards."
In honor of Earth Day, Brilliant Earth will include a limited edition Green on the Inside charm necklace with any ring order as a special gift now through April 24. The recycled sterling silver charm necklace features their signature Flower Charm Pendant and a bezel-set ethical origin green sapphire on a delicate cable chain. One complimentary necklace per customer.
Many couples are also opting to give back to the world and their communities with their registries. At www.IDoFoundation.org, a couple can find many ways to personalize their special day and give back to charity at the same time. Couples can select the charity of their choice from thousands of nonprofits and either start a gift registry to donate to a special cause as a gift to you, start a registry where stores like Macy's, Mikasa, and Cooking.com give back up to 10 percent to your charity of choice when you register for gifts through I Do Foundation, or support a charity with a donation in your guest's names as a wedding favor.
For more ideas, check out Brides.com for their essential guide to an eco-chic wedding.
GOT ANY GREEN IDEAS TO SHARE? POST A COMMENT BELOW!
