The American's guide to the royal wedding

Tune in to CNN for live coverage of the royal wedding with hosts Piers Morgan, Anderson Cooper, Kiran Chetry and Cat Deeley. It starts at 4 a.m. ET Friday on CNN, CNN.com and CNN Mobile.

(CNN) -- Called the most sought-after invitation of the year (or 21st century), the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton on Friday boasts a guest list of 1,900 for the ceremony.

And you're not one of them.

But you can still play along. If you're an American, check out this cheat sheet to the British royal wedding's festivities and customs. Grab a "fascinator," grab a pint and cheerio!

Around 3:15 a.m. ET (8:15 a.m. in London), guests will start to arrive via Westminster Abbey's side entrance known as the Great North Door.

What you are thinking is correct: These guests are the monarchy's inner-circle equivalent of D-Listers.

But around 4:50 a.m. ET, the VIPs begin to roll in -- prime ministers, diplomats and one or two of the 40 members of royalty from around the world.

Notice the snazzy suits and the fabulous fascinators. Becoming quite the fashion statement in the States, the latter are the delicate, ornate headwear more akin to accessories than hats -- and sales have soared.

By about 5:10 ET -- you're not knackered yet, right? -- Princes William and Harry and other family members, including Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles, begin to arrive at Westminster.

Prince Philip, Prince Andrew, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, Prince Edward -- wait, can't keep your royal relations straight? Check out a who's who with this royal family tree. Besides, Americans have their own royalty, right? Move over, Lady Camilla, here's Lady Gaga.

Shortly before 6 a.m. ET, bridesmaids and pages will arrive at Westminster. Pageboys and bridesmaids are an English tradition. Bridesmaids in the UK are little girls, similar to the role of flower girls in the U.S. The four girls and two boys in the royal wedding party range in age from 3 to 10 and include the son of William's former nanny.

Then, a big moment: The bride and father of the bride will arrive at Westminster.

The moment Kate steps out of the car, details about her dress, shoes and accessories will be released and distributed. Check out a roundup of dress predictions.

The ceremony that follows will include the familiar wedding sights -- a ring, some vows, a preacher (albeit the dean of Westminster and the archbishop of Canterbury). It'll also include those not-so-common wedding traditions: The service will be blasted out on audio speakers in certain locations; a prince played a huge role in selecting the music (that's Prince Charles, not the "Purple Rain" Prince).

By 7:15 a.m. ET, the couple will be legit, and Westminster Abbey bells will ring.

The newlyweds then will travel via carriage a ways for a day filled with an official lunch, dinner and Buckingham Palace balcony waves.

But what about the cake?

Aside from Prince William's groom's cake, details on the wedding cake have been closely guarded, but we know it will be a white and cream-colored fruitcake that will be adorned with 17 types of flowers.

Yes, fruitcake.

Fruitcake is considered somewhat of a joke in the U.S. and conjures up images of people using them as doorstops or re-gifting them at Christmas time. But the traditional UK wedding cake is, in fact, fruitcake -- a heavy mixture of fruit and nuts that have been soaked in brandy.

As you watch from an ocean away, just think of this: More than 600,000 spectators on top of the 500,000 average daily visitors to London are expected to line the streets Friday, and it will take an estimated 28 days to clean those streets.

Makes not being invited seem not so bad, doesn't it?