Some regal wedding advice, courtesy of Jane Austen

As many pop culture followers know and are eager awaiting, a royal wedding is about to take place this weekend with even those of us on the other side of the pond wishing Prince Harry and future princess Meghan Markle the very best wishes for the day.

In honor of this British/American matrimonial merger, I thought it would be nice to consider the sort of advice that Jane Austen might have bestowed upon the couple. While Jane did not truly travel in such a heightened social circle, she would have a few firm opinions on the matter, nonetheless:

ADVICE GIVEN IS ONLY AS GOOD AS THE ADVISOR: Jane would be the first to point out that no woman should quickly accept any offer of marriage and yet she would also caution any potential bride about the motives of any influential person in her life who is advocating against saying yes at all.

For one example, Anne Eliot of Persuasion didn't wish to reproach Lady Russell about her insistence that Captain Wentworth "had nothing but himself to recommend him" but did regret listening to her and wasting so many years without the man she truly loved.

Granted, Harriet Smith did not have to wait as long to finally have her Mr. Martin yet if she had not been so dependent on the opinions of her dubiously well meaning friend Emma Woodhouse, she might have been spared those months of stress and misplaced affection altogether:

DO NOT ALLOW MISUNDERSTANDINGS TO IMPEDE YOUR PATH TO MARRIAGE: Most Jane Austen created couples have had their fair share of mistaken notions and rash assumptions to deal with as their road to romance proved quite rocky indeed.

However, the best relationships were able to overcome such obstacles, as Elizabeth discovered the better nature of Mr. Darcy and Elinor Dashwood soon realized that her hopes of being with her beloved Edward were not completely dashed.

A very fine example of that comes from Northanger Abbey, as Catherine Morland learns from Henry Tilney the real reason for her unexpected banishment from the title estate by his father. With that matter cleared up, accepting his proposal was better than any romantic dream from her beloved Gothic novels:

DO NOT TROUBLE YOURSELF OVER THE WEDDING PREPARATIONS: One thing I do notice from Jane Austen novels regarding weddings is that the details of the ceremony are not too stressed about.

They are either recounted afterwards,such as Maria's marriage in Mansfield Park, or slightly touched upon with Mrs. Bennet fretting that Lydia does not know the best warehouses in London to buy her wedding dress material from or Mr. Woodhouse anxious about how much cake is consumed at the Westons' wedding.

Perhaps the best way to handle those potentially overwhelming plans is with a song in your heart. Just take a listen to one of the best tunes from the Bollywood inspired P&P film, Bride and Prejudice, and rejoice in the many delightful options available for that special day:

Finally, I feel that the best advice that Jane Austen would give to any couple,royal or not, is to be sure of your true feelings for your intended partner in life.

One of my favorite parts of Pride and Prejudice is when Mr. Bennet takes the time to talk to Elizabeth about her reasons for marrying Darcy and his wish that her marriage would be set on firmer ground than his. Oh, to be sure, he does have some affections for his wife yet it is no secret in the Bennet household how much at cross purposes Mr. and Mrs. Bennet are on a daily basis.

Once reassured, Mr. Bennet is fully onboard for his daughter to become Mrs. Darcy, happy in the knowledge that Elizabeth has found her true soul mate and that's a touching thing to see, in classic as well as modern fiction. Hopefully, the same can be said in real life for many others and as Harry and Meghan take their vows, let us all wish for them what Mr. Bennet did for his favorite girl: