The 5 Most Expensive Weddings Ever (So Far!)
There's no getting around the fact that a wedding is going to cost you. Back in the day, tradition held that the bride's father would foot the bill. That is no longer the case as many couples pool their resources to pay for the long list of wedding items like florists, caterers, musicians, rental halls, photographers, rings and the license. In fact, the cheapest part of the wedding in the license. Just know that in most states you have 90 days to use that license and make it official otherwise you'll have to reapply all over again.
If your goal is to win the record for most expensive wedding ever you've got some serious spending to do. Here are your "benchmarks" of the five most expensive weddings ever (adjusted for inflation):
Number 5: Prince William and Kate Middleton
It's nice to see this young royal couple got off to a good start with a pricey wedding. The official guest list included plenty of celebs, fellow royals and various heads of state. The unofficial guest list included viewers in 180 countries where the ceremony was broadcast. A few items of note: The dress cost $70,000. The flowers were $800,000 and the 8-layer wedding fruitcake was a pricey $80,000. Yes, what they spent on a cake you could buy half a house with in most of the country.
Total price tag: $34 million
Number 4: Vanisha Mittal and Amit Bhattia
You never heard of these two crazy lovebirds? They through quite the wedding bash. He's an investment banker and she's the daughter of a steel tycoon and for their nuptials guests gathered for a five day event at a chateau in Versailles. Kylie Minogue was the official wedding singer and there were over 100 different foodie items for the guest to nosh on.
Total price tag: $60 million
Number 3: Prince Charles and Lady Diana
Now you know why Kate and Willy spent so much. They learned from their parents. For those keeping score, this was the fairytale-Cinderella type wedding that set the bar. Over 600,000 locals lined the streets to catch a glimpse of Diana in her wedding dress with 10,000 pearls hot glued on. The wedding cake was over five feet tall. Sadly, even all this money couldn't guarantee happiness as this royal couple was divorced after 15 years.
Total price tag: $105 million
Number 2: Seemanto Roy and Chandni Toor PLUS Sushanot Roy and Richa Roy
Yes, this was a double wedding that included over 11,000 guests. Imagine having to make those little bags of candy-coated almonds for that many people. For entertainment the British Symphony Orchestra was flown in to cover the tunes.
Total price tag: $123 million
Number 1: Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum and Sheika Hind bint Makhtoum
Clearly, a big expense was printing out the invitations with all that extra ink. For this Dubai wedding, they built a new hall to house the 20,000 invited guests. Dubai also declared a five-day holiday which is always nice. The Sheikh himself was said to have traveled among the villages to give everyone a meal. Considering he is worth 14 billion he can spare a few chickens.
Total price tag $137 million
Puts things in perspective, huh? Well, "if you've got it, flaunt it." Most folks are perfectly happy with a few valuable friends and loved ones at a nice catering hall.