Product Giveaways - William & Kate Royal Wedding Edition

All the press has been aflutter with the preparations for the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton, especially as we are now 11 days away from their nuptials.  Knowing how crazy the UK souvenir hawkers and general public can get about these big events, I sort of wish I was there to see how all this will unfold.  When I was in London a couple of months back, there were only a few items that I could see picking up to commemorate this occasion.

When I first mentioned that I was thinking of doing a giveaway of English-inspired items around the theme of The Royal Wedding, I was surprised at just how excitedly everyone reacted to the idea.  Many folks brought up how they (including me) had gotten up really early to watch Lady Diana Spencer marry Prince Charles.  I think it is something of the hope and fairy tale element to it all, as almost everyone grew up with stories about being wedded to a handsome prince and living a magical life in a big castle.

In honor of this event, and to assist you in creating your own Royal Wedding Watching Tea Party, I decided to explore hosting a group giveaway, featuring some really amazing local food items available here in New York as pictured above.  Some of the vendors have had a Product Spotlight on this website in the past, so you might be familiar with my having talked about them.  Now, it will be your chance to get to try their wonderful wares.  Thank you so much to everyone who agreed to contribute to this giveaway!

The Prize Package

One 3-pack of delectable Lush Candy English Toffee (Dark Chocolate with Sea Salt; Lemon-White Chocolate with Pistachio; Dark Chocolate with Almonds) from Laurie Freeman Pauker

One jar delicious Raspberry Rhubarb Thyme Spreadable Fruit and one jar incredible Bardshar Chutney from Schoolhouse Kitchen courtesy Wendy W. Smith

One package amazing Royal-Tea Mitchmallows (flavored with Earl Grey tea) specially created for this giveaway by Mitchell Greenberg

One gorgeous English Rose (of sugar) by Amy DeGiulio of Sugar Flower Cake Shop made just for this giveaway

One package Dark Chocolate HobNobs.  (O.K. so this is stretching it a bit, I know, but I bought them from the newly-opened London Candy Co. shop which is right up the street from me. They carry your favorite UK candies and sweeties, plus they serve Stumptown Coffee, which has a roasting location in Brooklyn.)

And, last but not least at all, I carried back from my trip to London a couple of months ago, souvenirs of the day for you to use as you raise a cuppa to wish the happy couple well (the transmission being shown really early in the U.S., I wanted to give away something more tea/coffee appropriate).  Yes, it is, bought in Covent Garden itself, a Royal Wedding commemorative plate along with two mugs.  With all of this gear in hand, fans of this big day will also have some great goodies with which to celebrate.

Buon appetito!

The Rules (There have to be some of these, you know.)

Eligibility: U.S. mainland residents only 

To Enter:  Write a comment on this post with the answer to the following question: What was the name of the university where the couple first met and where is it located?

You must also have a valid screen name (NOT "Anonymous") with a corresponding email address to enter this giveaway.  I'll need to be able to click on it in order to contact the winner.  If you list "Anonymous" or do not have a valid email address with your comment, you will be disqualified.  I do not share these addresses with anyone, and they are only for the purpose of entering this giveaway.

Deadline:  Is Thursday, April 21st at 12:00 p.m. EDT, based upon the date/time stamp on the comments.  (I'm going to be very strict about this and make no exceptions.)  

The Outcome:  Only one winner will be chosen for this entire package of goodies.  I'm going to put all the entries into an online Randomizer (like this one) to come up with the winner.