Published Thursday, 28 April 2011
Portadown man Paul McCully and his fiancée, Hollie Sorelle, who's from England, met in Belfast on Christmas Eve in 2006 and set their wedding date a full year before the Royal wedding was announced.
When news got out they were getting married on the same day as William and Kate, there was a mixed reaction.
A lot of people were saying 'Oh, what a shame' and a lot of people were like 'Oh yeah, it's great'," Hollie told UTV.
"I think my mum's reaction was the best. She was saying it's a great day for a princess to get married, but that's my mum.
"But as time went on, we soon realised we had got an extra day off and that's good because I've got guests coming from England and they don't have to book time off work."
Like William, Paul has a military background, having served nearly seven years with the Royal Marines. But the couple has no concerns about comparisons with the Royals' or their big day being overshadowed.
"I think it's quite exciting that we are going to be sharing our day with the Royal couple," Paul said. "I'm quite relaxed at the minute. I think most of the organisation has been done by now - mostly by Hollie."
It's estimated William and Kate's wedding will be covered by around 7,500 members of the international media and seen by almost a quarter of the world's population.
And even Paul and Hollie are under that little bit of extra pressure.
"There's quite a few people who we don't really know coming out to the church especially just to see us get married," Hollie said. "I didn't realised that was sort of the in thing and Paul told me that it's not normally - I think it's just there's quite a few people in town that are coming out just to see us."
With the Royal wedding dominating the press, every detail of William and Kate's big day will unfold on Friday.
Dail Mail columnist Quentin Letts told UTV: "There is going to be an element of absurdity on Friday, also some of the flummery will be a little bit too much for some.
"For others, those of us who love that sort of thing, it'll be something really to relish."
But while the day will have all the glitz and glamour of a celebrity occasion, unlike with celebrities, an air of mystery still remains.
Talking to UTV about Kate's wedding dress, the Daily Mirror's Paul Martin said: "For once, unlike these big celebrity weddings we see with the like of Jordan and Cheryl Cole when we used to get leaks about who the designer is and what kind of style it is going to be ... On this occasion, they have kept it very, very secret.
"All eyes will be on that all important gown."