William & Kate: How Americans plan to celebrate, for fun and profit
| Los Angeles
The Royal Wedding in Britain is drawing closer, and the pulse of the global swoon over the newest generation of royals is quickening.
But while plenty of Americans are indulging a latent strain of Anglophilia, far more denizens of the former British colony are riding the wave of nuptial bliss for their own fun, financial, or often quite personal reasons.
The fairytale union of Prince William and his commoner bride Kate Middleton is almost too perfect a Cinderella story for modern times, says Joan Allen, a personal advice author based in Baltimore.
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鈥淚t gives everyone everywhere a reason to be optimistic that their own dreams might come true,鈥� she says with a laugh. But Ms. Allen says the moment is also a good opportunity for single women to reaffirm their worth, even without that perfect Prince Charming ending.
Never married (though she says she has turned down five marriage proposals) Allen says it鈥檚 important not to get swept up in the image of someone else鈥檚 idea of perfection. 鈥淚 am single and satisfied,鈥� says the author of 鈥淐elebrating Single and Getting Love Right: From Stalemate to Soulmate.鈥�
At the same time, the writer, who is also a professional caterer, intends to throw a formal, 10-person high tea on the eve of next week鈥檚 wedding, complete with 鈥渆xquisite finger sandwiches and my own scones,鈥� she says.
鈥淚 think I will invite my 10 best girlfriends over and have some fun.鈥�
Wedding workout
Taking a decidedly different approach to the impending event is ballet dancer Stas Kmiec, who decided to use the wedding fervor as a way to lure the exercise-phobic back into the gym with the 鈥淩oyal Wedding Dance Workout鈥� at New York Sports Club in Manhattan.
Based on what he said are inside tips from Arlene Phillips, the British dancer who is choreographing William and Kate鈥檚 first dance, Mr. Kmiec has created a m茅lange of old and new dance moves, including everything from the foxtrot, ChaCha, and the waltz to the Hustle, the Macarena, and its British knockoff, the Agadoo.
鈥淚鈥檝e been told that Kate wants an 80鈥檚 theme for the fun reception,鈥� he says, noting that there are two 鈥� the other thrown by Prince Charles. 鈥淎nd she is a huge fan of Abba,鈥� he says, so that gave him all kinds of great music to play with and get people 鈥渦p off their seats and moving.鈥�
Kmiec says he was inspired by Michelle Obama鈥檚 push to get ordinary people to get some exercise from everyday sorts of activity.
鈥淢any people just don鈥檛 want to go to the gym and lift weight,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just not fun. So, I thought I would find a more simple way to sneak some high-level cardio into people鈥檚 lives.鈥�
He adds with a laugh, 鈥淵ou know, dancing at a wedding can really work up a sweat.鈥�
Dinner theater
Restaurants from coast to coast are offering special British-themed menus and parties 鈥� but with an American independence.
鈥淲e鈥檝e been getting all sorts of calls from our American clients asking what we are doing,鈥� says Liverpudlian Tony Moogan, owner of the Cock and Bull British pub in Santa Monica, Calif. 鈥淏ut most of them want to come in during the day and watch it on their own schedule.鈥�
So, while a number of British eateries are offering the wee-hours-o鈥�-the morning viewing, Mr. Moogan will open at a reasonable 10:00 a.m. on April 29 and allow patrons to dine on a classic British wedding breakfast while they watch a rerun of the actual wedding on a 135-inch flat screen.
鈥淢ost people have to work that day, sometime at least,鈥� he says, 鈥渁nd frankly, it wouldn鈥檛 do much for us to stay open all night because we can鈥檛 sell drinks and most people don鈥檛 really want to eat at that time.鈥�
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