The modern fairytale connecting the UK and the USA reaches a happy ending this weekend, as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle tie the knot in front of an expected 3 billion viewers worldwide.
The wedding of the year is expected to generate £2 billion for British tourism. Brushing aside the endless tea parties, Blooloop takes a look at some of the more unusual tributes that we Brits can offer the additional 4 million tourists expected to visit as a result of the our new transatlantic alliance.
Attractions…
Only a stone’s throw from the actual wedding venue in Windsor, LEGOLAND® Windsor Resort has debuted their very own Royal Wedding in the form of almost 60,000 LEGO® bricks. The scene is now a permanent fixture, and includes miniature LEGO guests, horses, spice girls, and royal friends and family. The resort is also offering free entry to anybody called Louis in celebration of the birth of the new prince last month, up until 19 July 2018.
For the more traditional royal wedding experience, the Royal Museum Greenwich is inviting everybody to watch the Big Day at their UNESCO World Heritage Site, where there will also be ‘delicious’ food and drinks to be purchased. Royal fancy dress is not obligatory, but is encouraged.
Perhaps more suited to thrill seekers is Thorpe Park‘s tribute to the soon-to-be happy couple. According to their website, the park is offering free entry to anybody who shares their Christian name with either Harry or Meghan, although the spelling has to match exactly. As the website states, “no ‘Harri, Harriet, Harrison or Hazza’ or ‘Meg, Megan, Meggy or Megz’, we know what you cheeky lot are like!” Thorpe Park will also be showing the FA Cup Final (Chelsea vs Manchester United), for those who just want to watch the footie.
Over at ZSL London Zoo, one of the zoo’s okapi, fittingly named after Meghan, was fed a bouquet of edible flowers on Monday to celebrate, as okapi keeper Gemma Metcalfe said that the bouquet was the “perfect wedding inspired treat for Meghan”. As with many other attractions this Saturday, anybody who shares a name with the royal couple can enjoy a free day out amongst the zoo’s 19,000 animals.
Paulton’s Park’s Peppa Pig World now has their very own Queen’s Castle, which has been unveiled just in time for the Royal Wedding this Saturday. The new attraction features a flying coach ride monorail, allowing for panoramic views of the park, and has commentary provided by Peppa Pig and the Queen of the castle. The other ride within the castle is Grampy Rabbit’s Sailing Club, where younger children can ride in spinning boats and see characters from the Peppa Pig show around the At route at the base of the castle.
Meanwhile Dreamland Margate is another attraction hedging its bets with a combined Royal Wedding and FA Cup Party.
Merch…
The most ‘out there’ Royal Wedding memorabilia has to be Bags of Love’s Harry and Meghan swimsuits. These royal garments came about when the company decided to use Harry and Meghan’s faces as an example of how you can customise the swimsuit as a gift for friends and family, and prices start at a reasonable £28.
They’ve since reached internet stardom 
for their bizarre look, with The Week online magazine coming to the conclusion that the outfits are ‘uniquely horrifying’. This Morning presenters Philip Schofield and Holly Willoughby struggled to contain fits of laughter over the appalling placement of Harry’s facial hair.
At least the swimwear features the right groom. It is so important to do your research before issuing a print run. Commemorative plates on Etsy feature another popular British ginger gent, Ed Sheeran.
Are you one of those party poopers who is nauseated by the prospect of royal nuptuals? Lydia Leith has created a limited edition 
royal wedding sick bag, with the strap line: Another Duke To Make You Puke.
We have no idea if these have a Royal Warrant, but there are “limited edition heirloom” Harry and Meghan Crown Jewels Heritage Condoms. This novelty “artisan” product’s box plays “an exclusive musical arrangement” of God Save The Queen and The Star-Spangled Banner, and is slapped with a picture of the happy couple.
The slogan is of course: “Your prince will come.”
F&B…
Lara Mason, from the West Midlands, UK, made a lifesize cake of the royal couple to celebrate the Big Day. A fan of Prince Harry and Meghan, she reportedly used 300 eggs, 15kg of butter, 15kg of sugar, and 15kg of flour to bake the pair, alongside 10kg of buttercream to stick the layers together. Altogether, she told The Express, it took her six weeks and 250 hours. Lara has also previously baked a Prince George, a fully edible land rover, and her entire family in eerily realistic cake form.
Also jumping on the Royal Wedding bandwagon is HECK, an independent sausage company from Yorkshire, UK. They’ve released The Majestic special sausage as a tribute to the couple, with American mustard and sweet ginger to flavour lean British pork shoulder mince.
A real fairytale wedding…
Sadly for the bride-to-be she will not be Princess Meghan after marrying her prince. (Just a mere Duchess. Is it worth the hassle?)
Of course it is possible to buy a fairytale wedding and, even better, become your favourite princess for the day at the place where dreams really do come true, with a Disney wedding experience.
With all the speculation about the wedding dress, we wonder whether a grown up Disney princess dress is in the running.
To keep her mind off the obligatory embarrassing relatives, Meghan has no doubt been keeping up with the Disney Ever After Blog packed with royal wedding tips and trends. Will she be breaking with tradition and arriving in Cinderella’s carriage? After all the hype and press intrusion,we bet that Meghan and Harry would prefer to go with a Star Wars theme and avoid the paparazzi …
Images and video:
LEGOLAND Windsor, ZSL, Bags of Love, Etsy, Lydia Leith, Crown Jewels Heritage Condoms, Lara Mason Cakes, Disney’s Fairytale Weddings & Honeymoons.
