Royal Wedding Party Fever Hits the U.S.

Americans aren’t about to let a few thousand miles get in the way of their own celebrations of the royal wedding.

As April 29 approaches, preparations for wedding parties right here in the U.S. are underway all across the country, and we here at Anglophenia thought we’d take a look at a few of them.

Bay Village, Ohio

On the shores of Lake Erie, Susan Zisko, the manager of an Ohio senior center, is hosting a royal wedding lunch complete with a vintage wedding gown fashion show.

“I heard on the TV that the royal couple would be attending a wedding lunch,” Susan says, “and I thought, wouldn’t it be fun to have a luncheon ourselves in celebration of their wedding?” She’s expecting 75 seniors, who will enjoy a surprise menu followed by a fashion show featuring wedding gowns from the 1930s and 40s. Susan is encouraging regulars at the Dwyer Senior Center in Bay Village, Ohio to dress up as if they’re attending a very special wedding.

“The appeal lies in the excitement and the beauty,” Susan explains. “It’s a love story, and I love the fact that William gave Kate his mother’s ring, it’s very special.”

The Dwyer Center has a curio cabinet, which Susan and the seniors are filling with wedding memorabilia from their own nuptials to celebrate Kate and William’s big day. “We have cake toppers, I have the sixpence I wore in my shoes, we’ve got ribbons, purses and hankies,” she says.

New York, New York

New Yorker Rachael Combe, who is from a younger generation, finds William and Kate’s wedding appealing because it is a public event accessible to all, wherever in the world you may be.

“In America we don’t have royals, we have celebrities, and celebrities like to get married in secret, in a bunker underground, and they want privacy,” observes Rachael, who will be combining her own birthday party with her celebration of the royal wedding. “So I love the fact that this is a public event which you’re encouraged to celebrate, it’s like we’re all meant to enjoy it. I love all the details they’re releasing about their wedding.”

Among the details that Rachael has released about her own party: there will be authentic British pub snacks and guests will be able to keep tidy with Kate and Wills cocktail napkins.

Rachael, who will be wearing a red dress and a fascinator, has also instructed guests attending her birthday-themed royal wedding party to wear British wedding attire – including hats. If not, she will be providing princess tiaras and top hats. A gigantic vase featuring decoupage faces of William and Kate will be the centerpiece of the party.

“I like that Kate’s a commoner, and I like that they’re school chums who grew up together,” Rachael says. “It seems like a true romance, not an arranged marriage.”

Bucks County, Pennsylvania

Just north of Philadelphia, in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Cory Schroeder is hoping to use her mother’s sterling silver tea service for a celebratory high tea at the YMCA.

Cory says the tea will be attended by everyone, from preschoolers to seniors. “This is strictly for fun,” Cory says, “We’re bringing the community together in celebration of an important, happy, world event.”

Cory remembers watching the coronation of Queen Elizabeth on TV as a little girl, after which her mother says she paraded round the house for weeks on end wearing a tiara and a sheer window curtain as a train. William and Kate’s wedding is generating that same feeling of excitement for Cory.

“I think there’s a fascination with royalty, young love, and optimism,” she says. “Everyone’s always looking for something to celebrate. It’s nice to see some good news instead of mayhem and terrorism.”

What are your royal wedding plans? Tell us!