How to Host a Royal Wedding Viewing Party

I’ve got royal event fever. Between the upcoming baby and wedding, I’ve been daydreaming of tea parties and Pimms cups. As a lover of all things British this is going to be an exciting next few months! If you’re planning the same, I’ve got some inspiration and ideas for you.

The Details:

The royal wedding is set to start on Saturday, May 19th at 12pm local time which is 7am EST/6am CST/4am PST. I’ll be watching live but the DVR could be your friend if you want to invite guests over to view it later in the day. So far I haven’t been able to locate details from US networks on their coverage, but I’m keeping an eye out here and also have a hunch that BBC America will air it, as they did for William & Kate.

The Invite:

I’m a huge fan of online invitations. Paper is special and warranted in certain cases but people are so much more likely to RSVP (and quickly!) if the invite is received via email. I also love how you can include details such as directions to your location that guests can easily save and access the day of the party on their devices. Paperless Post is far and away my favorite online invite service. Their designs are so well crafted, the site is easy to use, and they have great features like RSVP tracking and email follow ups for those stragglers. Could this design be more perfect?

The Food & Drinks:

If you’re planning on watching the wedding live, all you need are some beverages and breakfast items. Place tiered servers filled with small scones and other pastries alongside a fruit platter. Add small bowls of jam and clotted cream to top the scones with.

If you plan to watch the wedding later in the day, I suggest adding some tea sandwiches and dessert items. The sandwiches can be filled with anything. Keep it traditional with herbed cream cheese and cucumber or fill with anything you like such as egg or chicken salad. Trim off the crusts, slice into triangles, and fan out on a tiered server.

Keep it simple with the desserts. Grocery stores and Trader Joe’s have everything from macarons to mini eclairs in the freezer section (just follow package instructions to thaw) and I love that I’ve seen British cookies and biscuits in the snack aisle these days.

For beverages, set out an assortment of tea bags, teapots with hot water, honey, lemons, cream, and sugar so guests can serve themselves.

A party later in the day warrants a toast and I have two suggestions for you; both with the British liqueur Pimms. Pimms is readily available in most liquor stores these days and can be served with champagne to make a Pimms Royale or mixed with lemonade and fruit to make a classic Pimms cup.

The Decorations & Favors:

If you have a beautiful china set, now is the time to pull it out. If not, scour local thrift stores for teacups, teapots, and small plates. Lots of these items can be used as favors too! Also keep an eye out for small metal platters. Paint the inside with chalkboard paint and these can be used to label food and drinks.

If you have any tea tins, decant any remaining tea temporarily into plastic bags and fill with small clusters of flowers. The tins themselves also make a simple and pretty decoration.

For favors, assemble teacup and saucer sets with a tea bag, small jar of honey & dipper, silver spoon, and a package of biscuits or shortbread in a cellophane bag. Cost Plus World Market and Amazon are a great source for individual honey jars, cookies, and dippers.

If you happen upon a gold mine of cheap china at the thrift store and want to send you’re guests home with something special, assemble tiered servers using this tutorial and with these hardware kits. Such a special gift that can be used again and again; maybe for future royal wedding parties!