Royal Wedding Enthusiasts Celebrate in the Tri-Valley

Royal wedding enthusiasts, tiara'd and bleary-eyed from staying up all night to watch Prince William and Kate Middleton tie the knot, hit the nearby downtown Pleasanton area to celebrate and to debrief Friday.

Aww, they kissed twice. And the hats; no one wanted to miss those. Oh but the dress — that dress!

"I loved it, but I expected more... more...I don't know," said Amber Hill, 38.

She and friends decided to have lunch at Redcoats British Pub on St. Mary Street, which is bedecked in English red and blue for the occasion and will be celebrating all day today and into the night. Definitely Saturday, too.

Hill expected more drama, more frill.

"But I thought Kate was so regal and tasteful," said the stay-at-home mom.

She stayed up until 2 a.m. to catch the wedding, then got up again at 5 a.m. to watch the rest of the celebration.

She and a few friends alternated between tea and beer around noon, while the BBC blared in the background, showing recaps.

Fiona Smith, the pub manager, said she set her alarm for 5:30 a.m. so she could catch a few hours on TV before heading to work at 10 a.m.

She said that on Thursday night, one woman showed up to her dinner reservation wearing her original wedding hat, then she and her friends proceeded to order food with a British accent.

"I think they said they had crumpets and Pimms waiting at home," Smith said.

Pimms is a popular Enlgish drink.

"William and Kate seemed really in love," said Smith, who is British herself. "They've been together for ten years, they lived together. They've tried it all out."

At the pub, they served food all day Friday, along with high tea to toast the newlyweds.

"We don't know what kind of crowds to expect — the last wedding was in 1981," she said, referring to Prince Charles and Princess Diana's ceremony.

Just a couple streets away, The English Rose tea room on West Neal Street was filled with hats at noon today — mostly red and mostly huge.

Around 12:30 p.m., there was barely enough room to stand inside the small shop, with dozens of women drinking a special Buckingham blend of tea, pinkies extended.

Owner Lisa Binzoni said the tea room is completely booked Saturday with celebrants wanting tea and scones and other eats.