Royal Wedding Party Ideas / Prince Harry & Meghan Markle
Home » CELEBRATE » Party Planning »Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are getting married on Saturday 19th May, 2018 and as a Brit, that gives me an excuse to throw a party!
The couple say they want their wedding to be “a big shared event” that is “modern, inclusive but still adhering to tradition”, and want “everyone” to be part of their big day. So while we might not be seated in one of the chapel pews, it should be televised from start to finish. The ceremony will be followed by a carriage procession through Windsor Town, starting at 1pm and lasting for about half an hour.
I’m here to give you lots of Royal Wedding Party Ideas, after all this isn’t my first Royal Wedding!
Royal Wedding Party Ideas
Where and When…
The Royal Wedding is taking place on Saturday May 19th, 2018 on the High Altar of St George’s Chapel, a 15th Century church on the grounds of Windsor Castle at 12 pm.
Windsor is a town on the River Thames in the the county of Berkshire, about an hours drive from London. Unlike the weddings of his brother Prince William, and his father Prince Charles, there doesn’t seem to be as much of the pomp and circumstance surrounding Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding.
The wedding is on a Saturday – bucking the tradition of weekday royal weddings – and means no extra Bank Holiday for us Brits. It is also the same day as the FA Cup Final – one might think they didn’t plan that well for the nation – but the wedding is early in the day, and the football doesn’t start till 5:30! So why not have two viewing shin digs in one day?!
For us mere common folk, it’s likely that we’ll be having our Royal Wedding Party in our home – either inside, or in the garden (weather permitting!)
Or, you could get together with your neighbours and plan a street party! Check out the UK Gov website for planning a street party to make sure you do everything the right way.
If you are not be able to arrange a road closure for street party, you can still have an informal ‘street meet’ on a driveway, parking area, front garden or end of a cul-de-sac that does not require permission from the council as it is on private land.
The Street Party and The Big Lunch websites also have tons of ideas and advice.
Whether you take part in a street party, or host your own get together at home, you’ll need tables and chairs. You could go all in with the theme and buy this limited edition Union Jack style folding table from Gopak.
It is certainly a statement piece and I’ve been sent one to use at our celebrations. I’m always running out of counter space when we have parties, so having somewhere extra to place food and drinks is always handy for me.
If you’re having a street party, it’ll certainly turn heads! You might also need extra seating, so folding chairs are a good way to go as they take up minimal space when stored, and are easy to transport too.
Dress Code
You could go fancy schmancy with your best wedding attire and a tiara to feel like a princess for the day. Or you could keep it casual but ask everyone to dress in red, white and blue – the colours of the Union Jack. Or if dress codes aren’t your thing – wear what you like! It was a bit of a mixture for my sisters and me for my Royal Wedding Party for Prince William and Kate Middleton.
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Royal Wedding Decorations
One thing you simply must have at any sort of royal party is flags! Big ones, small ones, fabric ones, plastic ones, paper ones, individual flags, or reams of bunting… as long as it’s got the Union Jack on it, you’re all set! The picture below is our old house all flagged up for William and Kate’s big day in 2011.
Then, anything red, white and blue is a go – why not keep things really simple with paper chains or paper rosettes? They’re fun and easy to make! I’ve got several tutorials on my blog, including this one (the colours are for the Irish flag, but it shows you the technique) and this one to make giant rosettes. You can get even more fancy and make tissue paper flowers
I will also be sharing some free printables for the Royal Wedding, which I will add links to here when they are available. If you can’t wait, I do have some free printable cupcake wrappers and cupcake toppers saying “Keep Calm And Eat A Cupcake”, that I made for the Queen’s 90th birthday.
Download my Free Printables for the Royal Wedding of Prince Harry & Meghan Markle here.!
Flowers
You can’t have a wedding without flowers, therefore, you can’t have a Royal Wedding Party without flowers! it is said that Meghan Markel’s bouquet will feature branches of beech, birch and hornbeam, and white garden roses, peonies and foxgloves from the gardens and parkland of the Crown Estate and Windsor Park.
A few stems of white roses or peonies in some jam jars, and dotted on tables or on the buffet would be a nice touch to the royal bouquet. Picture below is my wedding bouquet!
Food & Drink
I think there are four possible party food options for this Royal Wedding Party:
Full English Brunch:
Combine the tradition of a full English breakfast of bacon, eggs, sausage, tomatoes, beans, mushrooms, and toast; with the popular American meal, brunch! Since Meghan Merkle is an American I think this has to be the top idea! With the Royal Wedding being at 12 pm (BST), it is just the right time for brunch. You can prepare much in advance and enjoy the food as you watch the Prince marry his Princess.
I threw a Bridal Brunch for my sister several years ago which you can check out here.
Great British Picnic:
You can never quite rely on the British weather, but a picnic can work both indoors and out! Keep food portable so that should the weather change suddenly, you can dash inside – either the house, or the car. Or put up a gazebo and you’re covered (literally!)
I’ve rounded up 50+ Picnic Recipes here to give you lots of ideas; or you could keep it simple and buy ready-made from the supermarket.
Afternoon Tea:
This is such a quintessentially British tradition, and works well outdoors and in. I personally love throwing afternoon tea parties, so this may be my food theme of choice! Dainty finger sandwiches filled with cucumber (or one of many other yummy fillings), scones with clotted cream and jam, and pretty pastries.
I’ve rounded up 50+ Afternoon Tea Recipes here, but if that’s not enough for you, you can always take a look through these Royal Wedding Party Recipes on the BBC Good Food website.
Fish & Chips:
I’m thinking, if you’re planning on not only watching the Royal Wedding, but also the FA Cup Final, why not have a tasty plate of fish and chips? You could just buy from the local chippy, or prepare at home – from scratch if you like, or buy some battered fish (or fish fingers) and some chips to bung in the oven!
Tea & Cake:
Of if you want to keep it really simple, why not just some tea and cake? Or some of your favourite fizz – Champagne, Prosecco, Cava…
The Royal Wedding cake is said to be flavoured with lemon and elderflower, so you could have a go at making this drizzle cake or if cupcakes are more your style, try out this recipe.
I threw a party for the Royal Wedding in 2011 and the buffet had a “Best of British” theme. This party was before I had my blog, so it was part of my old Flashback Friday series. I served things like Scotch Eggs, Melton Mowbray Pork Pies, Coronation Chicken Sandwiches, Sausage Rolls, and to sweeten things up, Scones with Clotted Cream and Jam.
For more food ideas for a Royal celebration, check out my Diamond Jubilee Big Lunch Party, where I made red, white and blue Macarons, and Cake Pops, Bakewell Tart, Lemon & Raspberry Cupcakes, and Diamond Jubilee Trifle, to name a few!
To serve food, you could buy plates, cups and platters with a Union Jack design, or if you can’t find those, keep them red, white and blue. If you want to be really fancy, you could have a go at painting some plain white ceramic crockery. Like I did for the 2012 Diamond Jubilee! I’m going to have to dig these out of storage for Prince Harry & Meghan Markels Wedding!
I hope this post has given you lots of ideas to celebrate this Royal Wedding – have fun whatever you do!