You are hereby cordially invited to witness the nuptials of His Royal Highness Prince Harry of Wales and Ms. Meghan Markle at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle on Saturday, 19 of May, 2018 at 12 noon. Oh, we’re sorry, this wasn’t meant for us. Guess we received Serena Williams’s mail instead of our own. Well, while it looks like we won’t be some of the 600 lucky guests in attendance of this weekend’s royal wedding, we can still cheer on Angeleno—and future duchess—Meghan Markle on her home turf.
And, as L.A. is also home to a number of Brits, Aussies and Canadians, a few pubs and pie shops are throwing open their doors with royal-wedding specials galore—which means that you’ll have all the themed goods you’ll need for a private viewing party in your own home, should you decide you don’t want to stay up and watch the fun in the middle of the night. Whichever path you choose, treat yourself to a royal weekend with these viewing parties, treats and drink specials around L.A.
Live Viewing Party at the White Harte Public House
Head to Woodland Hills to celebrate with “The Royal Wedding Ambassadors of the U.S.,” who’ll be throwing a live viewing party that includes tiaras, wedding cake, champagne and even digital photos and videos to make it look like the royals were there with you. Each $25 ticket includes bubbly, raffle tickets, slices of cake and hours of entertainment, including the main event on multiple TVs. If you get peckish, there’s a limited royal-wedding-inspired food menu; just be sure not to drop it on your fabulous clothing—dressing up is encouraged here, as you’re attending a wedding, after all. Not up for an all-nighter? The pub’s also running a Meghan Markle cocktail special for the foreseeable future, made with vodka, St-Germain, fresh lemon and champagne—a nod to the future duchess’s wedding cake.
3am-6am Saturday morning, $25
Royal Slumber Party at The Cat and Fiddle
Don your finest silk pajamas or full-on wedding attire because this Hollywood pub is throwing a live viewing party that welcomes PJs and fascinators alike. The early festivities are open to all thanks to a late-night happy hour that then, at 2am, launches into royal-wedding bliss. Tickets to the overnight viewing party are $25 in advance and $30 at the door, if space allows, and include raffles to win a trip to London; a best-dressed contest; pub quiz trivia; coffee, tea, toast and jam served all night long; complimentary sausage rolls or walnut-ginger scones; additional treats available for purchase; and of course the live stream. You could very well stay at the Cat & Fiddle the rest of the day, because directly following the festivities there’ll be 9am viewings of the FA Cup final, and then at 2pm, a post-wedding afternoon tea will be offered.
Late-night happy hour runs Friday night 11pm–1am; ticketed slumber party runs Saturday morning 2am–6am; post-wedding afternoon tea runs Saturday afternoon 2pm-5pm
Photograph: Courtesy Van Leeuwen
Royal Wedding Cake Ice Cream from Van Leeuwen
Probably no one reading this will taste Meghan and Harry’s lemon-and-elderflower wedding cake—made by East London’s Violet Bake Shop—but at least we’ve got the next best thing: copycat ice cream. The flavor wizards at Van Leeuwen just launched their newest, the Royal Wedding Cake, and it’s a sweet cream ice cream with swirls of elderflower buttercream frosting, and house-made lemon pound cake pieces. It’s available here in L.A. through the end of summer both on the truck and at the Franklin Village, Arts District and Culver City brick-and-mortar locations. Pip pip.
Royal Wedding Cupcakes at Sprinkles
What’s that? You want more takes on that already-famous cake? Meghan and Harry wanted their slices to be as springy as possible, so Sprinkles is topping its limited-edition cupcakes with edible spring flowers. Underneath, find lemon blueberry cake with St-Germain vanilla buttercream frosting. Simply stop by any L.A. location snag a few and feel oh so royal, or pre-order them online to be sure you’ve got them for your viewing party.
Available May 18–20
Photograph: Courtesy The Langham Huntington, Pasadena
Harry and Meghan Cookies at The Langham’s Afternoon Tea
The so-posh Langham will be serving its traditional, usual prim-and-proper afternoon tea, but on Saturday, the Pasadena hotel offers a twist: Cookies in the shape of cakes and crowns will adorn your table already full of tiered finger sandwiches and scones, as will cookies featuring who else but Meghan and Harry. If you missed the overnight screenings or just want to relive the magic, catch replays of the wedding on TVs throughout the lobby lounge. Call 626-585-6218 for reservations.
10am–4pm Saturday, $62 per adult, $21 per child 4-12
Boozy British Brunch at the Stalking Horse
Sleep through the overnight screenings? Start your Saturday with a boozy pub brunch. This traditional-looking but modern-leaning pub is packed with iconic British fare—some done up in vegan style—as well as bitter beer, a breezy trellised patio and, of course, a number of TVs tuned to post-wedding coverage. You can normally find a Brit brunch here on weekends, but on Saturday, they’ll also be pouring $15 bottomless mimosas and beermosas (that’s cream ale with apricot liqueur and orange juice, by the by), in honor of the nuptials.
10am–3pm Saturday, two-hour limit per person for the bottomless deal