Specials For The Royal Wedding: A Dunkin' Donut, A Box Of Shortbread, A New Strain Of Weed

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By  Gwen Ihnat

Only a mere nine days separates the world from the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, so what's the best way to celebrate? Given that Ms. Markle is an American TV star commoner (the first American-born royal bride since Princess Grace Kelly of Monaco!), there are plenty ways to commemorate this occasion, even all the way across the pond from Buckingham Palace. The U.S. is seemingly just as excited for this nuptial ceremony as the U.K. is, judging by the wide variety of marketing tie-ins available:

A royal doughnut

Dunkin' Donuts starts us off, with the Royal Love Donut, a lovely heart-shaped doughnut with chocolate frosting and pink strawberry stripes, with a jelly filling. This doughnut has everything: just like Harry and Meghan will have!

DD kicks off this promotion on May 14 in New York, with a carriage ride in Central Park in a carriage featuring the doughnut chain's orange and pink colors. Royal doughnut sales stop on May 20, the day after the wedding.

Chili’s royal-inspired cufflinks

In quite a leap of cross-promotion, restaurant chain Chili's will offer custom royal-themed cufflinks in connection with the royal event. According to a press release, "The fascinators and cufflinks feature recreations of menu items, like Big Mouth Burgers, Texas Sized Ribs, and Sizzling Fajitas," because nothing says royal classiness like a fajita. Weirdly, "the items are not available for purchase, but fans can follow the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using hashtag #ChilisRoyalWedding."

Wedding-themed Walkers shortbread box

Walkers is the greatest shortbread in the world; we're stumped to even think of a homemade version that comes close. So why not commemorate your new favorite royal couple with this commemorative box of shortbread, featuring Meghan and Harry's picture on the box, and the Union Jack etched into the shortbread itself?

Markle’s Sparkle marijuana

The royal bride-to-be's nephew—who she used to babysit!—happens to be a pot grower in Oregon. According to The Daily Mail, 25-year-old Tyler Dooley "is planning to develop a potent new hybrid strain of cannabis to mark the wedding, called Markle's Sparkle. And should Prince Harry and his bride ever visit Tyler at his home in Grant's Pass, Oregon, he will be 'more than happy' to offer them a sample," since pot is legal in that part of the States, not so in Britain. Markle's Sparkle won't be available until June, after the wedding, and will debut in California.

Spiked Seltzer wedding dress promotion

Are you a bride-to-be yourself who happens to have an appointment at famed New York boutique Kleinfeld Bridal on May 19, the royal wedding day? And do you like Spiked Seltzer, an alcoholic take on soda water? Its new flavor, Ventura Lemon, even mimics one of the flavor in the royal couple's wedding cake. Then check out Spiked Seltzer's Say Yes To The Mermaid Dress promotion, which revolves around that brand's signature shape: the mermaid. AOL reports that brides-to-be at Kleinfeld's on May 19 can get $1,900 toward the purchase of a wedding gown—as long as they select a mermaid dress, like the boutique expects that Meghan Markle will. If you don't happen to have an appointment for that day, you can enter to win one via Instagram by sending your entry to @SpikedSeltzer, and "one lucky bride-to-be will have the chance to win a last-minute and highly coveted VIP spot at Kleinfeld to shop for their dress for May 19."

This is probably a bad time to mention that my wedding dress was $50 off-the-rack at Nordstrom's, so $1,900 not even being the full amount of a wedding dress kind of blows my mind. But maybe I'll pull that old dress out again to drink spiked seltzer and enjoy shortbread and doughnuts as I watch the royal wedding a week from Saturday.

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