Royal wedding fever is a thing — and it’s safe to say that the world has it right now. Still! After the royal wedding already happened! And if you didn’t know (were you hiding under a rock, COME ON), here’s what’s up: Prince Harry got hitched to actress and amazing human being Meghan Markle on May 19th, and the whole event was luxurious. We loved her dress, her flowers, and of course, her cake. The fact that stars like Oprah and the Clooneys were part of the 600 invited made it all the better. So, uh — how much did all of this cost? You MUST be wondering, right?
It’s a legit question, as weddings are pretty pricey. Unless you have it in your backyard and catch a major sale on wedding attire, Fortune believes that a standard American wedding costs a little more than $35,000. So, you can imagine that the royal wedding — which is, of course, broadcast worldwide — is just a tiny bit more.
Well, maybe more than a tiny bit. CBS reported that the royal wedding was estimated to cost $45 million. That’s the equivalent of winning Survivor 45 times. It’s nearly 3,000 times what’s in a Monopoly game bank. So, aside from royal etiquette, now you can understand why it was important for everything to go perfectly.
But Harper’s Bazaar wanted to put out a reminder that while the wedding was expensive, Markle and Prince Harry actually spent much less than those before them. Princess Diana and Prince Charles’ wedding ceremony back in 1981 reportedly cost $110 million with inflation considered, which we can barely believe. They report that Prince William’s 2011 wedding to Kate Middleton was around $34 million, meaning that Harry spent slightly more than his older brother.
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So, what did the money go towards? Security was a big part of it — and when you’re in the royal family, security isn’t something you want to scrimp on.
At least it was all money well spent. Not only are these two quite visibly in love, but everything about their ceremony was absolutely beautiful. Check out some of the beautiful photos from the wedding below:
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle walking down the aisle. Swoon.
Meghan Markle being the most perfect human being on this planet.
The cake which we’ve obsessed over for the last week. We get by now you’re rolling your eyes at us, but come on. It’s so pretty!
Markle’s mother, Prince Charles, and Duchess Camilla.
The car that Markle and Prince Harry drove to the reception. We never doubted those two had style.
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If you’re still not sick of the royal buzz, check out the cake video that we made, inspired by the royals, but with our own twist.
Best part? Definitely doesn’t have to be part of a 35 million dollar budget.