A: Ascot Landau Carriage
For their tour through Windsor post ceremony, Harry and Meghan have chosen to ride in an Ascot Landau Carriage, which the Queen always takes to the Royal Ascot (hence the name). The carriage is completely open, allowing for great visibility for the thousands of people who will be lining up to catch a glimpse of the newlyweds. If it rains, they'll switch to the Scottish State Coach, which has large windows and a glass ceiling. The horses hired for the trip are incredibly named Storm, Milford Haven, Plymouth, and Tyrone.
B: Botswana
Harry and Meghan are straight up obsessed with the African country of Botswana. They started their relationship with a trip to Botswana. They celebrated Meghan's 36th birthday in Botswana. Harry sourced the large central diamond in the engagement ring from Botswana. We clearly all need to book a trip to Botswana!
C: Ceremony
The Dean of Windsor, the Rt. Rev. David Conner, and Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury and leader of the Church of England, will perform the hour-long Anglican ceremony (a religion to which Meghan has reportedly converted), which begins at noon England time on Saturday, May 19. Welby has apparently been prepping for the wedding by listening to English hip hop artist Stormzy.
Meghan will most likely have the word "obey" left out of the ceremony, since neither Kate nor Diana promised to obey their husbands during their ceremonies. Queen Elizabeth did, however, promise to obey Philip in her 1947 wedding.
D: Diana
There has been a lot of speculation over how Harry's mother, the late Diana Princess of Wales will be honored. All of her siblings will attend, as will a 15 year-old recipient of the Diana Award, which honors charity work. Diana's sister Lady Jane Fellowes will give a reading. Plus, two of the diamonds in Meghan's engagement ring are from Diana's collection.
Diana died in 1997, when Harry was just about to be 13. He has said that Diana and Meghan would have been "thick as thieves."
"I think she would be over the moon, jumping up and down, so excited for me, but then like I said, best friends with Meghan," he shared during the couple's engagement interview.
E: Elton John
There are a few artists who have been rumored to be performing at the wedding including Sam Smith and Ed Sheeran, but none make quite as much sense as Elton John.
Elton was a close friend of Princess Diana's, and even performed "Candle in the Wind" at her funeral in 1997 and will now reportedly perform for Harry and Meghan in a much happier setting. His role in the wedding festivities has not been confirmed by him or the palace, but he did have to cancel some shows in Vegas this weekend due to a "scheduling conflict."
What we do know for sure is that the service itself will include music from Christian gospel group The Kingdom Choir (a big deal for this Anglican affair) and 19 year-old cellist and Britain's Got Talent contestant Sheku Kanneh-Mason.
F: Family
Since Meghan's father, Thomas Markle, will not be attending the wedding after a paparazzi scandal and a heart attack, Harry's father Prince Charles will do the honor of walking Meghan down the aisle. Meghan's mother, Doria Ragland is already living it up in London and will accompany Meghan in the car on the way from Cliveden House Hotel to the church.
While Meghan's estranged and troublesome half-siblings are not invited to the wedding, Harry's older brother William will play a major part in festivities as Harry's best man. Kate will not serve as Meghan's maid of honor, since it's against custom for a member of the royal family to walk behind a commoner, so Meghan's bridal party will mostly be made up of children, including Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and the children of Meghan's friend Jessica Mulroney.
G: George
The wedding will take place on the High Altar of St. George's Chapel, a 15th century church on the grounds of Windsor Castle. Young Prince George will also be in the wedding party as a page boy.
H: Honeymoon
Harry and Meghan will not be whisked away on their honeymoon right after their wedding. In fact, they have their first public engagement as a married couple scheduled for just a few days post-nuptials, but they will eventually find time to honeymoon somewhere remote (so security won't be a huge issue) and no doubt very romantic.
I: Invitations
Harry and Meghan invited about 600 guests to attend the ceremony itself, and invited around 2,600 commoners to join them on the grounds of Windsor. They won't get to take part in any festivities, but they do get to be there...which is more than we can say for us. It's also more than we can say for Donald Trump or Barack Obama, neither of whom are invited.
J: Jewels
Most royal brides wear jewel-encrusted tiaras on their wedding day, so assuming she follows that tradition, the question is which one? She could have an entirely new tiara made, but there are many pieces passed down among the women of the royal family. Kate wore the Queen's Cartier halo tiara when she married William, and while Diana was offered one of the Queen's tiaras for her wedding, she decided to wear an 18th century heirloom from her own family, the Spencers, instead.
Many have speculated that Meghan will wear Diana's Spencer tiara, but we won't really know until she walks down the aisle.
As for other jewelry, royal wedding gowns are typically long-sleeved and high-necked and don't leave a lot of room for necklaces or bracelets, but given the fact that Meghan reportedly wore earrings costing around $10k just to the wedding rehearsal, it's safe to assume her ears will be adorned with something incredible on the actual day.
K: Kensington Palace
While the Queen lives in Buckingham Palace, Kate, William, and Harry are all officially residents of Kensington Palace, the hub of all things related to their families and the royal wedding. All statements and official news about the wedding has come from Kensington Palace, even if the wedding will take place a few hours away.
L: Lemon Elderflower Cake
Harry and Meghan have chosen a lemon sponge cake covered in Elderflower buttercream and fresh flowers that will "incorporate the bright flavors of spring" from the organic Violet Bakery in London, made by Californian baker Claire Ptak. It has taken six people about five days to create three masterpiece cakes. Meghan once interviewed Ptak for her now defunct lifestyle website, The Tig.
M: Makeup
Meghan has chosen not to hire a professional makeup artist, but she will have a couple of American friends with her as she gets ready who can help with her makeup. Kate did the same thing when she married William.
As for nail polish, anything other than neutral, natural-looking nail polish on short, groomed nails is not allowed to be worn by royal women at royal events, so Meghan will have to stick to a flesh-tone or light pink color. The Queen has been rocking the same shade of Essie's Ballet Slippers since 1989!
N: Nottingham Cottage
Harry and Meghan currently reside in Nottingham Cottage, a cozy two bedroom house on the property of Kensington Palace. It's where Harry proposed while the couple was roasting a chicken.
O: Outfits
Meghan's wedding dress is still mostly a mystery, though some reports say she'll be wearing a 100,000 pound dress from Ralph & Russo, the same designer she wore for her engagement pictures. Stella McCartney is also the dress' potential designer. Meghan will actually have two dresses—one for the ceremony and lunch reception, and then one for the intimate evening reception.
Prince Harry is expected to wear the traditional full military uniform.
While Meghan's dress will no doubt be the showstopper of the day, there's a lot more royal wedding fashion to pay attention to. There will also be more hats and fascinators than even imaginable and We. Cannot. Wait.
There are also a lot of rules for guests and royals to follow, including that women must wear tights and must not wear any wedge-style shoes, since the Queen simply does not like them.
P: Peonies
Meghan was very hands-on in the selection of the flowers for the wedding, so there will definitely be a lot of peonies—her favorite. She and Harry chose luxury floral designer Philippa Craddock to handle the wedding flowers, and everything is in season and has been locally grown. The arrangements will also feature white roses and foxgloves, and the bouquet will stick to royal wedding tradition and contain a sprig of myrtle, which represents hope and love.
Myrtle has been carried in royal wedding bouquets since Queen Victoria and Prince Albert's oldest daughter in the 1800s.
Q: Queen Elizabeth II
QEII officially gave her consent for the wedding earlier this week, as part of a law that requires her approval for royal marriages. This law has played a part in some big royal scandals over the years, including that time the Queen's sister, Princess Margaret, was denied a marriage to the divorced Peter Townsend in the 1950s. Clearly things have changed since then, since Meghan is also divorced.
The Queen has no doubt also had to approve countless other parts of this whole event, including the wedding dress.
R: Receptions
Two major events will follow the wedding on Saturday. First, Queen Elizabeth will host a lunchtime reception at St. George's Hall in Windsor Castle, and later in the evening, Prince Charles will host a more exclusive reception at Frogmore House, which is near the castle. Not even all of the 600 guests invited to the ceremony are invited to the evening event, which will only include about 200 closest friends and family.
S: Suits Stars
The USA Network show that was Meghan's home for seven seasons will not be forgotten on her wedding day. Several of her costars are reported to be attending, including Gabriel Macht, Sarah Rafferty, and Meghan's onscreen husband Patrick J. Adams. No official word on whether Adams' wife, PLL star Troian Bellisario, is also invited.
Non-Suits friends of Meghan's will also be there, like Priyanka Chopra and most likely Serena Williams.
U: United States
While the whole thing will be an undeniably British affair, the U.S.A. will be there in spirit. Meghan Markle is, of course, American, and many of her American friends and family members will be in attendance. The baker making her wedding cake is American, and we can probably expect some American traditions to show up. For instance, Meghan is reportedly planning on making a wedding toast, which is usually a task reserved for only the men.
V: Veil
Will Meghan Markle wear a veil? The traditional wedding accessory is just that...very traditional, and traditionally meant to represent virginity, with the veil to be lifted by the bride's father as part of the ceremony. That's not exactly Meghan's style (especially since her father will not be there), but Kate and Diana both wore veils for their weddings, as did the Queen.
There's always the option to wear a veil that doesn't cover her face, which feels like it's probably the best option.
T: Titles
While Harry is currently titled His Royal Highness Prince Henry of Wales, it is likely that he will be promoted to Duke once he's married, and that he'll be named Duke of Sussex, making Meghan Duchess of Sussex. He could also be named Duke of Clarence or Duke of Buckingham.
If he doesn't get promoted, Meghan's title will be Her Royal Highness Princess Henry of Wales.
W: Windsor Castle
Unlike Will and Kate, who got married in London at Westminster Abbey, Harry and Meghan will say "I do" at Windsor Castle, the sprawling royal residence in the English countryside. The castle has hosted many, many weddings, all the way back to the 1100s.
X: X-pensive
Sure, this spelling is a bit of a cheat, but we can't ignore the cost of such an extravagant event. William and Kate's nuptials cost approximately $2 million, with another $32 million spent on security (paid for by the British public). The estimated full cost of Harry and Meghan's event is around $45 million, but let's just not think about that too hard.