The official engagement photo

Mario Testino

Prince William and Kate Middleton are getting hitched Friday at 6 a.m. local in Westminster Abbey. It’s the wedding of the decade/century to end all weddings!

His Royal Highness Prince William of Wales and Catherine (Kate) Middleton will wed in traditional British fashion, in front of more than 1,900 guests including the Beckhams, the guy who directed Snatch and the Queen herself.

Get a good night’s sleep Thursday so you can wake up fresh and early to take in the festivities live on TV or online (there’s a five-hour difference between London time and Ann Arbor time, in case you were wondering).
 

WHAT:The wedding of his Royal Highness Prince William of Wales and commoner Catherine Middleton

WHEN AND WHERE: Friday, April 29 at 6 a.m. ET in Westminster Abbey

THE WEDDING PARTY
Maid of Honour: Miss Phillipa Middleton (Kate’s sister)
Best Man: Prince Harry (William’s brother)
Bridesmaids: The Lady Louise Windsor (age 7), The Honorable Margarita Armstrong-Jones (age 8), Miss Grace van Cutsem (age 3), Miss Eliza Lopes (age 3)
Groomsmen: Master William Lowther-Pinkerton (age 10), Master Tom Pettifer (age 8).

THE GUESTS
Prominent Guests: The Queen of Spain, Sultan of Brunei, a billion Royals, David and Victoria Beckham, Olympian Ian Thorpe, Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean!), Sir Elton John, Guy Ritchie, Joss Stone.
Prominent Snubs: Tony Blair, Sarah “Fergie” Ferguson (the Duchess of York), Barack and Michelle Obama, Wayne Gretzky, me.

LOOK FOR MY EXCLUSIVE CANADIAN TAKE ON THE ROYAL WEDDING SOMETIME FRIDAY AFTERNOON FOLLOWING THE NUPTIALS, HERE ON ANNARBOR.COM.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
There’s plenty of pregame before the big show. From 3:15-4:50 a.m.(all times Eastern) the general congregation along with Governors-General and Prime Ministers of the realm arrive at Westminster Abbey. The bride will travel from the Goring Hotel to Westminster Abbey in a Rolls Royce Phantom VI, accompanied by her father. Prince William will travel in a Bentley, accompanied by his best man Prince Harry. The cars travel at around nine miles per hour (the Brits are very specific in their press releases).

The wedding begins at 6 a.m. and lasts for about one hour. At the end of the wedding service the couple will travel by carriage to Buckingham Palace. Each carriage will be drawn by five horses (a mix of Windsor Greys and Bays), the first with the bride and groom, the second and third with the best man, maid of honour, bridesmaids and groomsmen. In the event of inclement weather they will travel in glass coaches. Select guests will enjoy a brief reception at Buckingham Palace with harp music and canapés.

At 8:25 a.m., the Queen and the bride and groom, together with their families, will appear on the balcony while the Royal Air Force performs a fly by. A larger reception will be held that evening with a private dinner and dancing at Buckingham Palace.

LIVE TELEVISION COVERAGE
BBC: The BBC is the primary host for TV coverage, pooling for U.S. networks. They will broadcast commercial free starting at 4 a.m.

NBC: NBC offers 20 hours of combined coverage with MSNBC on the wedding day, kicking things off an hour earlier than everyone else with Martin Bashir live at 3 a.m. from London. Every NBC brand will cover the event including Today, Access Hollywood, Bravo, E!, Telemundo and The Weather Channel. Plan to see a lot of Matt Lauer and Meredith Viera.

FOX: Shepard Smith and Martha MacCallum anchor live coverage of the wedding beginning at 4 a.m. ET.

CNN: Piers Morgan will head the network’s coverage at 4 a.m. Anderson Cooper and his hair will assist.

ABC: Diane Sawyer and Barbara Walters anchor ABC's live coverage of the wedding of beginning at 4 a.m. ET followed by a live West Coast edition of Good Morning America hosted by Robin Roberts live from Westminster Abbey.

CBS: Katie Couric leads live coverage at 5 a.m. ET, anchoring a one-hour primetime special Friday night at 8 p.m.

Turner Classic Movies: Royal Wedding Movie Marathon (8 p.m.) For a little cool down Friday night, TCM has five royal wedding-themed films, including 'Royal Wedding,' 'Roman Holiday,' 'The Glass Slipper,' 'The Swan' and 'The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg.'

FOLLOW THE WEDDING ON THE WEB
Live web broadcast and live blog: www.youtube.com/theroyalchannel
Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheBritishMonarchy (Like the British Monarchy today!)
Twitter: Official account @ClarenceHouse, use #rw2011 to comment on the wedding
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/britishmonarchy/tags/rw2011/

IF YOU HAPPEN TO BE IN LONDON
Screens have been set up in Trafalgar Square and Hyde Park will broadcast the wedding while audio speakers along the route will offer coverage.

WEATHER
The forecast calls for rain on the wedding day.

ALL THE POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE

The Invitations
Barnard and Westwood. Die-stamped in gold then burnished. Text also die-stamped and the edges beveled then gilded.

Kate’s Dress
No one knows for sure, but speculation is it’ll be by Alexander McQueen, Alice Temperley, Bruce Oldfield, Issa, Jenny Packham, Marchesa, Vivienne Westwood and even darkhorse Victoria Beckham.

The Prince’s Tux
Rather than a tuxedo, Prince William is reportedly following in his father’s footsteps and wearing a tailored military uniform rather than a tuxedo. The uniform will be tailored by Savile Row’s best Gieves & Hawkes.

Music
For the wedding, two choirs, one orchestra and two fanfare teams will perform. William and Kate chose the arrangements, a mix of well-known hymns and specially-commissioned pieces. The official harpist to the Prince of Wales will perform at the afternoon reception. Rumors of Jay-Z and Beyonce playing the evening reception are swirling but it’s unlikely.

The Cake
A multi-tiered traditional fruit cake decorated with cream and white icing will be the official wedding cake. It’s decorated with a strong British floral theme using elements of the Joseph Lambeth technique (intricate, dimensional over-piping to create a 3-D effect).

The Wedding Ring
Made from Welsh gold, the ring was taken from the same nugget as the wedding rings of the late Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother, The Queen, the late princess Margaret, the Princess Royal and the late Princess of Wales. That’s one big nugget!

The Wedding Photographer
Hugo Burnand, who has photographed Lucien Freud, Lady Thatcher and Victoria Beckham, will be the official Royal photographer for the event. He regularly works with House & Garden Magazine and Tatler.

Official Souvenir Wedding Program
Featuring Prince William’s coat of arms on the front and Kate Middleton’s new coat of arms in the back, programs will be sold along the procession route for two pounds with proceeds benefiting the Foundation of Prince William and Prince Harry. Download your own copy by clicking here.

Gifts for the Newlyweds
Rather than another crappy coffee maker, the bride and groom have requested that anyone wishing to give them a wedding gift consider donating to a charitable fund.

The Honeymoon
The official honeymoon plans have not been released but the couple’s first official trip will be to Canada in June, visiting Alberta, the Northwest Territories, Prince Edward Island and Quebec.

JUST CAN’T GET ENOUGH OF THIS ROYAL WEDDING?
While you wait, why not take some quizzes and find out your Royal Wedding name?

Quiz: How well do you know Kate Middleton?

Quiz: How well do you know Prince William?

Quiz: What's the scariest and most expensive thing you can buy on Etsy related to the wedding?

Shenanigans: What’s Your Royal Wedding Name: Start with Lord or Lady. Your first name is one of your grandparents' names and your surname is the name of your first pet, double barreled with the name of the street on which you grew up. Mine is Lord John Tiger-Cranbrook.

THREE BIG QUESTIONS

Who’s Sitting Where?
The left side of the Abbey (technically the North Lantern) is reserved for Miss Middleton’s family and friends while the right side will be heavy with Royals. The Spencers (yep, there will be some of them) are relegated to the Middleton side of Westminster Abbey.

Who the Heck is Paying for This Thing?
The Royal Family (with a private contribution from the Middleton family) will pay for the service, the flowers, dresses, carriage reception, dinner, booze while the government will pay for costs that are consequential to the wedding, like security, body doubles and tissues.

Why the Heck are YOU Writing About This Stuff
Because as a proud Canadian I accept the monarchy as my faithful rulers. LONG LIVE THE QUEEN/KING/COMMONER!

(Richard Retyi writes the every-so-often column Lie to Your Cats About Santa and can be found on Twitter at @richretyi or in a number of Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti coffee shops and saloons. Check out his co-blog at InBedByEleven.com or stop him in the street and tell him how that shirt looks. Oh yeah, you can email him at richretyi[at]gmail[dot]com as well, but seldom do.)