Hawke's Bay residents ready for a royal wedding

Royals fan Heather Dawson, of Hastings, will be watching the wedding while drinking bubbles with some friends in Waipukurau. Photo/Warren Buckland

Hawke's Bay residents are gearing up to celebrate today's fairytale wedding thousands of kilometres from the ceremony.

Prince Harry will be marrying Meghan Markle at St George's chapel inside Windsor Castle at midday UK time (11pm NZT).

While many in Hawke's Bay will be glued to the couch watching the events unfold, Hastings resident Heather Dawson has planned something a little more special.

She will be going out for dinner in Waipukurau with three other members of a group she is in, Gaga Girls, which meets every month.

They will then go to one of the party's house to watch the nuptials and toast the couple with bubbles.

"We might even wear tiaras.

"I'm looking forward to the pomp and ceremony as well as seeing what she's going to wear.

"I've been watching Harry and Meghan shows on Prime n the lead-up."

Dawson said she thought the wedding would go well and hoped it wouldn't be long before they had a baby.

Napier resident Anna Cudby is in the United Kingdom at the moment and while she would have left London by the time of the wedding she had experienced some of the hype.

"Everyone is talking about the Royal wedding - either they're excited or they're planning to avoid it.

"There's branded souvenirs with Harry and Meghan's faces on everywhere.

"We went on a tour around London yesterday and there were a lot of delays - apparently due to increased traffic in the lead-up."

Cudby said she had enjoyed being in London ahead of the event and would be watching it on TV.

"It's awesome to be here and be part of the hype. We leave at 6am on the morning of the wedding - good timing or bad timing I'm not sure - I bet it will be mayhem here."

Erika Toh, of Hastings, said she would be glued to the television with her husband in the hopes of seeing a dream fairytale wedding.

"It's the first time a mixed-race person has got into the British monarchy.

"It makes me look forward to a brighter future."

Toh had been interested in the royal family since Princess Diana's wedding in 1981 and had been following the lives of her sons ever since.

"It's nice to see how their stories have gone."

Crownthorpe resident Valerie Shipton said she would be away so wouldn't be able to watch the wedding live but her husband was going to record it for her to eagerly watch when she got home on Sunday.

"I think it's exciting, although I'm quite dubious about it lasting.

"I like the royal family a lot, you always hear things about them.

"I'm just worried it's too quick, it seems to be her family really, but I'm just happy to see Harry happy. He looks extremely happy."

NZ Herald will live stream the event or you can follow our live blog for ongoing updates.

The wedding ceremony will be televised with blanket coverage from New Zealand and international broadcasters.

Guests will arrive from 8.30pm NZT, while the ceremony itself will start at 11pm NZT.