Fairytale wedding captures the nation

Everyone can look like William and Kate for the big day with these face masks. Photo / Supplied

Sensible people with respectable jobs have been swept up in the commoner-becomes-princess fairytale.

Whether you're a monarchist or republican, it's a fever, and nobody is immune.

It feels as though the country has come to a halt, unable to focus on anything else.

Marketing has gone into overdrive. The souvenir shops and the tacky memorabilia stands in London only have to slap William and Kate's face on something for it to fly off the shelf.

The bunting has gone up in offices, schools and on residential streets around the country.

Thankfully it's a bank holiday - any production would diminish with the wedding on telly, smack bang in the middle of the day.

Most people will watch the BBC's live stream from the comfort of their couches, before having their own "receptions" at home or with their neighbours at a street party.

But some will brave the horrific journey into London and line the procession route, hoping to catch a glimpse of the newlyweds as they travel to Buckingham Palace in their horse-drawn carriage.

Some diehard fans are already camping outside the abbey, determined to secure a prime viewing spot when the couple enter the church separately and leave a married couple.

My bus driver uncle said not to bother taking public transport to the abbey on the day. The tube and trains will be running, but they will be jam-packed and the buses will move at a snail's pace, unable to access dozens of streets blocked off on the day.

For many, the wedding is a happy occasion because it brings back memories of past royal weddings.

But there were no hourly updates via Twitter, Facebook or YouTube from the palace when Prince Charles married Diana 30 years ago.

The hype has been escalated 10-fold by the digital age.

The British media are going to great lengths to outdo each other with coverage. No story is too silly, no angle too eccentric, no detail too minor, and no amount of coverage too excessive.

From the story about the jelly bean resembling Kate's face, to the tidbit about the future princess caught buying discount underwear for £3.90 ($8.00).

But it'll be hard work for the thousands of UK hacks working on the day, bringing the story to the masses.

News editors will be hounding their reporters dotted around the procession route - to get a fresh angle or something different so they can stand out from the rest of the papers covering the same global event.

There is bound to be chaos with radical groups promising to protest against the royal family's involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The Metropolitan Police have asked the public to report anyone they see threatening to spoil the fun.

But there's one element that may not see the event run as smoothly as the 5000 officers on duty hope - the weather.

Mother Nature is expected to bring cool winds and possibly even heavy rain. And no amount of royal lunacy can change that.