Staggering Figures For Royal Wedding
With the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s nuptials just one month away today (May 19), there is lots of goss going around that it certainly won’t be a cheap affair.
In fact, it’s expected to land a place in the top ten most expensive weddings of all time. The highly anticipated royal event is slated to surpass that of Prince William and Kate’s 2011 nuptials.
According to British wedding site Bridebook, Markle’s upcoming wedding is reportedly estimated to cost around $58.3 million, or £32 million, about $22 million more than Prince William and Kate’s reported $36.6 million nuptials.
The wedding site broke down the royal wedding expenses and highlighted that the most expensive part of the ceremony will be the extensive security measures that Bridebook claims will include snipers, undercover police and military tech, and possible drones, adding up to an estimated total of $54.7 million.
Other key wedding expenses include:
Twenty silver-plated trumpets that will announce the event for $162,400;
a pricey $90,900 lemon elderflower wedding cake from Violet Bakery in East London;
an abundance of decorative flowers outside of St. George’s Chapel at Windsor for $195,000;
a reported $545,700 to hire the glass marquee for the evening reception at the Frogmore House;
$46,700 on sausage rolls and hot tea for all of the 2,640 invited members of the public and;
a reported $545,000 to $727,000 on Meghan’s soon-to-be-iconic gown.
But despite the reported estimated price for Markle’s wedding gown, royal expert Katie Nicholl, author of Harry: Life, Loss and Love, thinks that the soon-to-be royal will be a little more low-key. “Meghan is very mindful of wanting to send the right message with her gown,” Nicholl told the Telegraph. “It’s going to be iconic and fit the backdrop of Windsor Castle, but it would send off the wrong message to wear a dress that in cost alone would upstage Kate’s.” Kate’s Alexander McQueen wedding gown, designed by Sarah Burton, cost a reported $454,000.
The countdown to the royal wedding continues on as invitations have been sent out and guestlist rumours are underway.
Update: October 2018
According to the Express, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's royal wedding racked up a £32 million bill, with the majority of the hefty sum (paid for by the taxpayer) going towards security - a whopping £30 million, to be exact. Figures also show that £1.5 million was spent by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. That said, the Royal Family paid for the more personal aspects of the couple's wedding, such as flowers and reception costs.
'As was the case with the wedding of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, The Royal Family will pay for the core aspects of the wedding, such as the church service, the associated music, flowers, decorations, and the reception afterwards,' Kensington Palace said in a statement about the wedding.
Among the new budget details revealed by Express are:
£232,810 for the PA system used to communicate what was happening in St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle to the public.
£1,084,512 for the Windsor and Maidenhead council for 'stewarding, crowd control barriers, big screens, waste disposal, barriers and associated costs'.
£128,714 for private contractors.
£3,875 for staff travel and expenses.
£2,907 for accreditation passes.
£14,081 for flags and banners.
And after almost five months of rumours, the cost of Meghan's Givenchy wedding dress was revealed. On the day, the former Suits actress wore a bespoke gown designed by the French house's creative director, Clare Waight Keller, and totalled an estimated £390,000. Meanwhile,Kate Middleton's wedding dress was said to have only cost about £250,000.
The Express adds that Harry and Meghan's wedding reportedly cost £8 million more than William and Kate’s Westminster Abbey wedding in 2011, with the increase widely believed due to an increased terrorist threat resulting in more money needing to be spent on the security of the royals, guest and the public. While the cost of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding may seem ludicrous to some, it's worth noting their big day was predicted to inject approximately £80m into the country’s economy.
Steve Mummery is a celebrant based in Perth
You can find him online at smcelebrant.com.au or facebook at smcelebrant, Instagram @smcelebrant or you can find lots of wedding inspiration on his Pinterest page @smcelebrant including wedding & engagement rings, dresses, shoes, groom's attire, flowers, arbours, the lot.
Call Steve to chat about your wedding ceremony today on 0418 897 215 or email steve@smcelebrant.com.au