Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding is expected to cost upwards of £32million which is over N16bn. Harry and Meghan’s royal wedding is taking place on Saturday 19 May, with the world and his wife tuning in to watch the fifth (soon to be sixth) in line to the throne tie the knot. They’ve had just six months to plan it, announcing their engagement on 27 November last year, but there has been no expense spared.
Wedding planning website and app Bridebook.co.uk has expertly calculated that the overall cost (excluding security) is expected to be over £2,099,873 – that’s over 100 times as much as the national average, which is £17,913. With security costing an eye-watering £30million, suddenly Meghan and Harry have got themselves a £32m wedding.
A total of 800 guests are expected to attend the ceremony and lunchtime reception, followed by 600 at a private evening reception for family and friends. There are also the 2,640 members of the public they’ve invited to think about, so it’s no surprise the wedding is on the expensive side.
Here’s a breakdown of Harry and Meghan’s wedding costs, in case you’re feeling inspired
Venue – £350,000 Harry and Meghan are tying the knot at St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle and luckily, they don’t need to worry about paying for the privilege. While their first receptions is to be held at St. George’s Great Hall, their second reception is being held in a luxurious glass marquee (just like Pippa Middleton had at her nuptials last May) in the grounds of Frogmore House, near Windsor Castle, and these can cost as much as £300,000. Add on catering, security and staff adjoining marquees, it gets pretty pricey.
Catering – £286,000 Catering will be needed for the formal lunch reception for state guests and the intimate dinner reception for close family and friends at Frogmore House. London caterers charge at least £100 per guest for a lunch reception and £300 per guest for a dinner reception, including all food, chefs, staffing and crockery hire. If Meghan and Harry provide the 2,640 members of the public who they’ve invited with tea and scones in the grounds of Windsor Castle, that will also set them back a few bob.
Drinks – £193,000 According to Bridebook, the wedding standard is to serve one glass of champagne for every 30 minutes of the drinks reception, in addition to a minimum of half a bottle of wine per person during dinner. They predict around 1,700 bottles of vintage champagne and 650 bottles of fine wine, whiskey and cocktails to accompany dinner and dancing for the 800 plus guests. While Buckingham Palace’s wine cellars – which boast contents worth a reported £2million – will likely provide the champagne and fine wines for the wedding, they will still set the Queen back a few bob. The royal family’s favourite champagne is Bollinger and that sells for £80 a go, equating to around £136,000 on bubbles. Throw in a few bottles of Prince Charles’ favourite 15-year-old Laphroaig Scotch, some of Meghan’s favourite wine, Tignanello – the wine she named her former lifestyle blog The Tig after – it adds up pretty quickly.
Dress – £300,000 We are unlikely to find out which designer Meghan has chosen for her wedding dress, but she’s expected to spend around £300,000 on a bespoke dress and a tailor-made outfit for the evening.
Flowers – £110,000 There’s no secret about Meghan’s love of flower – especially peonies. Considering Meghan and Harry are having their wedding in two locations, the cost of flowers is likely to jump. While us mere mortals would do the sensible thing and use the ceremony flowers during dinner and dancing too, it’s likely, with no expense spared, Meghan and Harry will deck all of their wedding venues out.
Photography & Videography- £17,000 The country’s top wedding photographers could set you back around £4,500. Meghan and Harry will likely need more than one to ensure all angles are captured, not to mention a videographer so they have the moment on film to watch again and again… and again.
Cake – £50,000 A stunningly-decorated cake from a top cake maker will start from £4,000 and will need to be at least eight tiers to give a slice to each of the 800 guests. Meghan and Harry have chosen Claire Ptak of Violet Bakery in East London and they’ve gone for a lemon and elderflower buttercream-frosted sponge. It’s also expected Harry and Meghan will go for more than one cake, which will only serve to bump up the cost.
Stationery – £30,000 From save-the-dates to the invitations to name cards, menus and signage around the venue – weddings require a lot of stationery. Harry and Meghan have used Barnard and Westwood for their beautiful, bespoke invitations, which have now been sent to guests. A 200-piece Bespoke Stationery set from Barnard and Westwood exceeds the £10,000 mark. As the invites, which feature the Three-Feathered Badge of the Prince of Wales printed in gold ink, have gone out to 600 guests, it’s a pretty hefty price for invites.
Music – £300,000 Music will feature heavily at their wedding – from bell ringers to the organist and choirs in the church, to musicians for the reception and a top wedding band and DJ. It’s even rumoured a top music act like Elton John – or The Spice Girls, even – could perform on the day, although whether they’ll charge for the privilege is another thing altogether. One thing’s for sure: the best in the business is an expensive business.
Trumpets – £90,000 Prepare to hear the classic Royal Announcement ‘dun dun-dun-dun-duuun’ coming from 20 bespoke silver-plated fanfare trumpets, all stamped with the Royal Coat of Arms as requested by the Ministry Of Defence. Each of these will set the couple back between £3,000 and £6,000.
Decoration and Production – £130,000 Weddings are all about the wow-factor so expect plenty of amazing lighting and production from the church to the reception to the intimate dinner at Frogmore House.
Wedding Rings – £6,000 Meghan’s wedding ring will most likely be Welsh gold – a tradition the royal family have held since 1923: the Queen holds a small amount of gold in the royal vaults. Kate Middleton’s wedding ring was created by royal warrant holder Wartski, with ties to Wales, and they are likely to do Meghan’s too. It’s expected that Harry will choose to wear a ring, unlike his grandfather Prince Phillip and brother Prince William. Prince Charles, however, does wear a gold band and Harry may follow suit.
Bridesmaids Outfits – £5,000 While Kate only had sister Pippa Middleton as her bridesmaid and then younger flower girls, Meghan is expected to have around three or four, as is the growing trend in both the UK and US, where Meghan is from. A designer bridesmaid dress can cost as much as £1,000 – that’s not including all of the alterations that may be needed, which Bridebook has included in its quote.
Flower Girls and Page Boys Outfits – £1,698 Flower girls and page boys are also expected to be in abundance at the royal wedding, with Prince George and Princess Charlotte expected to take center stage. Kate’s outfits for her flower girls and page boy outfits were created by Nicki Macfarlane.
Church Fees – £175 Yep, Harry and Meghan will have to pay their marriage fees just like everyone else.
Groomswear – £8,000 Harry is expected to wear a tailor-made Royal Air Force uniform for the wedding – and it won’t come cheap. It’s also likely he’ll wear a custom tuxedo or suit from Savile Row.
Hair and Makeup – £10,000 Hannah Martin of Bobbi Brown and Richard Ward did Kate and Pippa’s wedding makeup and hair, so Meghan may opt to use them as she has spoken of her love of Bobbi Brown in the past. However, Belgravia’s Neville Hair & Beauty is also a favourite of Meghan’s.
Groomswear – £8,000 Harry is expected to wear a tailor-made Royal Air Force uniform for the wedding – and it won’t come cheap. It’s also likely he’ll wear a custom tuxedo or suit from Savile Row.
Entertainment – £55,000 Anything from a grand fireworks display to photobooths to children’s entertainment and even a display from the Royal Air Force could take place at the royal wedding. The budget will need to be big for those impressive stunts that Harry and Meghan will want to wow their guests with.
Wedding Favours – £3,000 It’s a given that Harry and Meghan will make their wedding favours personal – but will they take inspiration from America or England? And will they go down the DIY route? Either way, favours for 800 guests won’t come cheap.
Toilets – £35,000 Given how many guests are attending their wedding – 800 plus 2,640 members of the public – plenty of toilets is an absolute must. Spend a penny? More like 3,500,000 pennies!
Transport – Free The Queen’s State fleet of three Rolls-Royces, three Daimlers and two Bentleys will no doubt all be in use on the day, meaning they can save a few pounds in the transport department.
The Honeymoon – £120,000 Bridebook predicts that Harry and Meghan will opt for some alone time before the wedding, then whisking their closest friends away for a party-filled holiday to celebrate with them after their big day. It’s also expected that Meghan will be paying for the honeymoon as a gift to Harry.
Security – £30 million The big one: security. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge spent £30,000,000 on security for their 2011 wedding. That’s around 15 times as much as Harry and Meghan’s whole wedding will cost. While the wedding might not be in London, security will be just as tight with threats having previously been made to Meghan and thousands of members of the public heading to Windsor to revel in the festivities.
TOTAL – £32,099,873