Prince William and Princess Catherine
FAYETTEVILLE -- When Laura Bongiovanni realized she couldn't make it to Westminster Abbey to see the royal wedding, she decided to do the next best thing - throw a party at her home in Fayetteville.
For Bongiovanni, the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton brings back fond memories of Princess Diana. "I think it is very special, because we all loved Diana, and to see her son getting married to a beautiful girl makes us all so happy, and that is why its special," she says.
Some of the guests at the viewing party got up at 3:00 in the morning to prepare food. Sue Kessler says she came to watch history.
"This is magical this is something you wouldn't see in the United States. Two billion people were watching. It's something fun, I think everybody can get into it," she says.
Keeping with the wedding theme, Nancy Kelleher wore white and brought her own wedding album to share with her fellow guests.
"All of us in this room have been married for a long time that means something to us to have that comittment," she says.
Friday morning's report from Alex Dunbar:
As Prince William, Kate Middleton, their families and Great Britain prepared for the royal wedding, many Central New York royal watchers were preparing to wake up at 4:00 a.m. local time to catch the live television coverage.
"It is exciting for them - to see them and how they're dressed and who attends. That's what I want to see," said Linda Sudol Thursday night.
But royal weddings and pre-dawn wake up calls aren't for everyone. For every excited royal watcher it seemed there was some one who said the wedding of the year was a royal pain that couldn't end soon enough.
"It's like the paparazzi and everything want to follow around stars - it's the same idea. People want to see a little bit of fame and be part of it. It's just kind of pointless if you ask me," said John Burns.
"It's an inherited figurehead, and I think it's a pretty archaic figurehead. 1.3 billion people live in poverty across the world, and I would like to see their 15 minutes on prime time as well," said Joe Kral.
For many people, the wedding was a chance to see some old fashioned glamour and a fairy tale wedding come true - no matter how early they have to wake up.
"I just want to see them all go in. I'm not going to watch it all day - just enough to get an idea of what the bride looks like and what she's wearing. That's mostly why I'm watching it," said Anne Delvecchio Thursday night.
Some fans also said they planned to DVR the royal wedding and enjoy it at a more reasonable hour.
