Pippa Middleton’s wedding bill could have exceeded £1m ($1.3m), it was estimated Monday, although it is a safe bet that the Middleton family did not have to shell out of the entirety of the costs, thanks to generous friends and brands keen to be associated with the Middleton name.
For example, among the more expensive items would have been a fleet of 50 Land Rovers that ferried guests from a security check area to the main celebrations. The Daily Mail estimates this might have cost as much as £30,000—however, the Middletons are likely to have benefited from a special deal that sees Land Rover supply vehicles to the royal family at greatly reduced costs.
Similarly, Pippa is unlikely to have paid retail for her wedding dress from Giles Deacon, which would have cost £40,000 ($52,000). A second dress she wore for the evening celebrations is likely to have cost Pippa a few thousand bucks extra.
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The importation of a glass marquee from Belgium is estimated to have cost £100,000 ($130,000) while the lavish reception for 350 people after the wedding, which featured out-of-work models serving 150 bottles of Dom Ruinart 2002 Champagne at £135 ($175) a bottle, could have cost £20,000 ($26,000). Wine—750 bottles of Nyetimber 2010 Blanc de Noir Millington—would have cost around £55,000 ($66,000).
Add in other costs, such as a fly-past by a vintage Spitfire £5,000 ($6,500), vintage cars for the bride, groom, and pages, an estimated £20,000 ($26,000) on the wedding cake, music, bands, extravagant lighting—including a light show that saw footage of the bride and groom beamed onto the back of Bucklebury Manor—portable table-tennis tables dotted around the venue (at which Roger Federer took on Prince Harry) and a five-course meal for 350, and the costs could easily have soared above £1m ($1.3m.)
Security—which meant guests had to send in photographs and produce a password before gaining entry to the wedding—could have cost as much as £20,000 ($26,000), the Mail estimates.
However, given Pippa’s enviable name-recognition and her background working in event planning, she was doubtless able to negotiate the best possible rates with suppliers, which included her former company, Table Talk.
The lavish festivities concluded at 4 a.m. Sunday morning, according to reports.
