The British Newspaper Daily Mail had this story online.
I think the reader comments which I added at the bottom of the post were interesting
When your father is a former U.S. President and your mother is the Secretary of State, having your wedding reception in the local pub isn’t an option.
Chelsea Clinton’s big day in a country mansion on Saturday could cost up to £3.2million.
No expense will be spared at what will be the American society event of the year, with the equivalent of £6,400 being spent on each of the 500 guests.
Last-minute shopping trip: Chelsea Clinton stocks up on books ahead of her wedding this weekend
Snack time: She was later spotted tucking into some frozen yoghurt
Tents costing £400,000 have been set up, £70,000 is going on tables and crockery and a staggering £320,000 is being spent on flowers, thought to be Casablanca lillies and orchids.
Miss Clinton’s dress, designed by Oscar de la Renta or Vera Wang, is rumoured to be a cool £16,000, and the jewellery she wears on the day is worth £160,000. The cake alone will cost £7,000 and security a further £130,000.
Guests are even being treated to porcelain portable toilets that flush, play music and have hot running water.
Miss Clinton is expected to hire between four and six Portaloo trailers – at a total cost of about £10,000.
The union of Miss Clinton, 30, and Marc Mezvinsky, 32, will take place at Astor Courts, the former estate of millionaire John Jacob Astor IV in Rhinebeck, New York.
Height of luxury: Miss Clinton is expected to hire porcelain Portaloos at a total cost of about £10,000Estimates put the cost at between £1.9million and £3.2million, far more than most celebrity weddings.
When Liza Minnelli and David Gest tied the knot, it cost £1.6million, while Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes spent £1.2million.
‘This will definitely be the biggest wedding of the year,’ said Donnie Brown, a celebrity wedding planner.
Businesses in Rhinebeck have been getting into the swing of things, with banners bearing messages of congratulations hung inside cafe windows and outside shops.
And as the big day draws near, it seems Miss Clinton has been hitting the gym to look and feel her best.
The wedding will take palce at Astor Courts in Rhinebeck, New York: 500 guests are expected to attend
Spacious: The estate is the former home of millionaire John Jacob Astor IV
Wedding tents? Canopies in the grounds of Astor Courts suggest preparations are well under wayThe bride-to-be was spotted in New York yesterday leaving the gym after a work out.
After a quick change of clothes, Miss Clinton was snapped tucking into a tub of frozen yoghurt, but not before a spot of book shopping.
The rings will cost £3,500 each, alcohol and food for the main event and after party will come to £100,000, the equivalent of £200 per person, although the cake will cost £7,000 on its own with sugar flowers and fondants increasing the price.
Even mundane items like the stationery – invites, programmes and menus – will push the budget up, and are expected to come to a total of £32,000.
No expense has been spared with organisational matters either, and the rehearsal dinner alone cost £16,000 and a huge £320,000 has been earmarked for transporting guests to the event.
Hilary Clinton looked relaxed as she arrived outside Chelsea’s apartment (left): She was accompanied by an assistant carrying a large dress bag
As for the toilets, they will be equipped with sinks with hot water, vanities for the ladies, marble interior and skylights with a male and female attendant in each trailer.
Wedding planner Claudia Hanlin said the final bill would be pushed up by the high quality demanded across the board.
‘Food and booze are already expensive, but the Clintons are reportedly hiring multiple vendors, which is one reason the food estimate gets so high,’ she said.
On the plus side, it looks like both sets of parents can afford it.
Mezvinsky is an investment banker at Goldman Sachs and the child of two politician parents, Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky and Edward M. Mezvinsky, both former members of Congress.
Marc and Chelsea were teenage friends in Washington DC and they became closer as undergraduates at Stanford University, California.
Big day: Chelsea Clinton’s wedding to Marc Mezvinsky in a country mansion on Saturday could cost up to £3.2millionBill and Hillary Clinton are also not shy of a dollar – since leaving office as president he has made a fortune from the lecture circuit and she is US Secretary of State, which carries an annual salary of £120,000.
Between 2000 and 2007 they earned a reported £70million.
The Clintons have have done their best to keep the guest list at a manageable number, forcing them to exclude many longstanding Democratic supporters.
A seat will doubtless be saved for President Obama should he attend – currently there are no plans for him to do so – but apart from that only those with a personal connection to the bride and groom have been invited.
Among the celebrities expected to attend, according to reports, are Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg and Barbra Streisand, as well as former prime minister John Major.
Major donors to the party and dozens of acquaintances have been snubbed as the family tried to keep the list under 500 people.
‘We love you all but this is her wedding,’ Hillary Clinton said.
Comments
The conservative Bush family (whose politics I detest) had lovely private gathering for daughter Jenna, without rumors of millions spent and friends alienated. And that was back when the economy hadn’t yet tanked.
But like too many liberals, the Clintons (whose politics are differently suspect — Bill achieved the deregulation that ruined the US economy, and Hilary is for keeping the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan going), who were as tacky and lowbrow as it gets starting out (trailer trash married to middle class respectability), used politics to make money and turn their daughter’s wedding into a nouveau riche scandal when financial times are tight. Oh yeah, and she’s marrying the son of a convicted felon.
And the Democrats wonder why people join the Tea Party???
- River, Toronto, 28/7/2010 16:51
- carl, England, 28/7/2010 16:50
A wedding day should be about love, but their day will be over-shadowed by money. This is highlighted by articles such as these that focus on the amount spent, not the happy couple.
- Anna, Guernsey, 28/7/2010 16:16
How silly, if you earn the money and want to spend it on your kids then so be it…we live in a world where everyone can make their riches, many people from poor lower class backgrounds have made a lot of money look at Sir Alan Sugar or Britney Spears. Also people from the third world have made a lot of money, Akon and Wycleff Jean and Nelson Mandela.
People who want it enough will get it, and then they will throw lavish weddings for their children!
- James, London, 28/7/2010 16:50
- Mrs. I. M. Sochacka, Dalbeattie,, Scotland, 28/7/2010 16:47
Actually, since you ask, my husband gave the man who was rummaging through the bins some money. I am a psychologist and don’t make a habit of staring at people less fortunate than myself, so your comments isout of order.
Yes, Chelsea is the Clinton’s only child but can spending all that money on a wedding be “What’s best for her”
I don’t think it is somehow.
- AgogAgog, UK, 28/7/2010 16:43
- Little over the top, North West UK,
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