The media is, of course, breathlessly reporting every minor detail of the wedding as major news stories. How much does the dress cost? What kind of cake will be served? Who’s invited and who isn’t? (The answers: $135,000, lemon elderflower; George Clooney is in, Lady Amelia Windsor—hailed as “Britain’s Most Beautiful Royal”—is out.) Flip on CNN and you’ll find a royal wedding promo graphic all but permanently displayed during programming, which is pretty jarring next to footage of violence in the Middle East. People magazine—of course—is going crazy for the event, featuring a special royal-wedding section on its website that includes important stories such as “Megyn Kelly Says ‘Budding Feminist’ Daughter Doesn’t Want to Marry a Prince.” Burger King even launched its own royal wedding-themed chicken burger that comes with two onion rings—because, well, get it?
The Chicago area has particularly abuzz about the ceremony because we’ve always been suckers for any remotely famous person that once took a shit in the city. And hey, did you know that the duchess-to-be is a White Sox fan? That she went to Northwestern 15 years ago? And that she once was a “party animal” at her sorority in Evanston? Bonus: Bishop Michael Bruce Curry of Chicago will deliver an address at the wedding.
That means there will be plenty of Chicagoans waking up extremely early for a Saturday morning to watch it on TV (live coverage on nearly every major American network and cable news channel will begin as early as 3:30 AM). Some local hotels and theaters are taking advantage by holding special viewing parties and themed events. For $100, you can attend the Drake Hotel’s Royal Wedding Reception Gala; alternatively, you can pay 11 bucks to see it on the silver screen at AMC River East 21.