Why you’ll really want an invite to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding

Who will be invited? Where will it be? Will Meghan wear Erdem? And who is the Markle family's answer to Uncle Gary?

So after months of engagement rumours, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are engaged. Which means Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding is just around the corner.

Now that a royal wedding is officially on the cards, what exactly can we expect from their wedding? A cool transatlantic mix of guests? Awkward NFIs? Scene-stealing bridesmaids? A big-name dress designer?

Here's our list of royal wedding day facts and predictions...

T-May, we’ll be needing a bank hols for this one – thanks.

When will the Prince Harry and Meghan Markle wedding actually happen?

Kensington Palace has confirmed that the Royal Wedding will take place in May 2018, close to Prince Will and Kate Middleton's choice of an April wedding back in 2011. As Kate's due date is April 2018 it makes sense to push the wedding day into late spring, giving her an (albeit short) time to recover. It will also mean Kate will have a tiny new royal in tow at the wedding.

Where is the wedding taking place?

Harry and Meghan have chosen St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle for their May 2018 wedding. 

Given his higher position in the line of succession, when Harry’s older brother William got married there was little option other than the big, televised Westminster Abbey affair he and Kate celebrated in April 2011.

But with Harry the pressure for a big, public wedding is lower. The Prince openly expressed his annoyance at press intrusion into the life of his girlfriend when they first started dating - and given the choice he’d have probably eloped to an off-grid Pacific Island with close family and friends - but Windsor Castle is a good option for something more private. 

Harry’s cousin Peter Phillips married his Canadian fiancée Autumn at Windsor Castle in 2008. Harry’s other cousin, Peter’s sister Zara, had an even more low-key wedding in 2011 at Canongate Kirk in Edinburgh, where she wore an off-the-peg dress.

Who will be on the Prince Harry and Meghan Markle wedding guest list?

With any luck it'll be a rich transatlantic cocktail of Meghan’s showbiz friends, buddies of Harry’s with nicknames like ‘Gilbo’ and ‘Spiggers’, British celebrities looking thrilled to be there, have-to-invite-them politicians and tenuous members of the royal family with chips on their shoulders.

David Beckham is close to the Princes after he and Will joined forces for the World Cup bid – he attended Will and Kate’s wedding in 2011 with Victoria (above) – so he and VB are likely to make the cut. Harry’s other celebrity friends include Ellie Goulding (who sang at Will and Kate’s wedding), the Branson family and Cara Delevingne.

More recently Harry has also become friendly with Michelle Obama after the pair worked together on the 2016 Invictus Games – it was apparently Michelle’s idea to do the social media war with the Queen – so fingers crossed we’ll also get a showing from the former First couple.

Then there's Meghan's celebrity friends. Those likely to make the list are tennis star Serena Williams, fellow Suits actress Abigail Spencer, Canadian PM Justin Trudeau and his wife Sophie Gregoire-Trudeau, Priyanka Chopra, Olivia Palermo and fashion designer Misha Nonoo. Then there's the guy who set them up - Soho House consultant Markus Anderson, one of Markle's closest friends (above).

Who will be Meghan Markle's Maid of Honour?

One woman expected to fill the Chief Bridesmaid slot is Meghan’s best mate Jessica Mulroney. Mulroney is considered to be one of the most well-connected women in the Canadian fashion scene, a PR whizz and stylist to Sophie Gregoire-Trudeau, so she’ll be a handy woman to bring on dress-shopping trips.

Who will be Meghan Markle's wedding dress designer?

Meghan could plump for a British label for her wedding. UK-based brands Meghan has worn before include Erdem (a great symbolic transatlantic pair-up given the designer is originally from Montreal), Antonio Berardi and Burberry. Though the former seems to be a favourite; in her Vanity Fair cover interview, Meghan said she has been wearing Erdem 'for years.' 

In an interview with Glamour, Meghan also said, 'I love Victoria Beckham dresses, but don’t have the long torso to support that silhouette.’ But given the close relationship between Harry and the Beckhams, could Victoria potentially change Meghan's mind?

Who will be Prince Harry’s Best Man?

Harry has a close-knit set of friends, including Guy Pelly, Tom Inskip and Arthur Landon, but it’s likely that the Prince will ask his big bro to step up to the plate after Harry served as Best Man on his own wedding day.

Who will be making the royal wedding cake?

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have revealed the details of the talented pastry chef who will create a spring-themed wedding cake for the couple for their nuptials in May.

Announcing the name of the London-based bakery who have been charged with the important task of creating the couple’s wedding cake for the royal wedding at Windsor Castle on May 19th, Kensington Palace tweeted, 'For their wedding cake Prince Harry and Ms. Meghan Markle have chosen pastry chef Claire Ptak, owner of the London-based bakery @violetcakes.' 

What do we know about the mother of the bride?

Meghan appears to be closest to her 60-year-old mother Doria Ragland, a yoga instructor and social worker who recently ran the LA marathon (we love her already).

In an interview with Glamour magazine, Meghan said: ‘My mom’s a yoga instructor, but she does social work as well, and she works specifically with the geriatric community. But at the same time my mom has always been a free spirit. She’s got dreadlocks and a nose ring. She just ran the LA marathon. We can just have so much fun together, and yet I’ll still find so much solace in her support. That duality coexists the same way it would in a best friend.’

Coolest royal mother-in-law ever? Definitely.

Any embarrassing guests? Does Meghan have an Uncle Gary?

Kate Middleton’s Uncle Gary and his ‘Maison de bang bang’ has been a consistent source of embarrassment for the Middleton family over the years. Currently vying for the Markle family ‘please-stop-talking-to-the-press’ top spot is Meghan’s 52-year-old ‘estranged’ half-sister Samantha Grant, who went on Good Morning Britain recently to talk about Meghan and confirm she’s working on a book about the Markle family.

Who are the rest of Meghan’s family?

Meghan’s father Thomas Markle married Doria in 1979 but the pair divorced in 1988. Markle is a television lighting director on shows including General Hospital and Married With Children. Thomas first met Harry a few months after the pair began dating in summer 2016 and was reportedly very taken with the Prince.

Meghan has another half-brother, Thomas Markle Jr. Earlier this year Thomas was arrested after reportedly putting a gun to his girlfriend’s head during a row, and according to his ex-wife he has alcohol problems. He and Meghan are not said to be close.

Meghan has been married once before, to film producer Trevor Engelson. The pair started dating in 2004, married in 2011 (a four-day party in Jamaica) but divorced in 2013, citing ‘irreconcilable differences.’ It’s unlikely that Trevor will make the guest list.

Will we get a day off for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding?

Arguably the most important question on our minds, will the wedding warrant a day off for the rest of us? As Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding fell on a bank holiday, we all got the chance to get royally sloshed and enjoy the celebrations to the max.

So will we get a day off to celebrate the nuptials of Harry and Meghan? Find out here.

Of course between now and April we'll keep you up to date on all things wedding between Harry and Meghan.

We best get hat shopping!