Social media hasn't only changed how we vacation, it's also changed how much money we spend on weddings. According to The Knot, the average wedding has gone up consistently over the past five years and it is more than $32,000 today.
Whether it's seeing these over-the-top weddings on social media or in publications like Vogue, everyday brides now seek to replicate luxury-grade weddings. But for the wealthiest people in the world, money is no object. The weddings of their dreams are made into a reality, all with the help of the top wedding planners. Here's how the wealthiest people do weddings…
Brides Seek To "Outdo"
Wedding planners did not become popular until recent decades. Many years ago, wealthy couples would enlist a social secretary or other members of their staff to plan events. As weddings became more outrageous and brides sought to "outdo" other weddings they had seen on social media or attended themselves, the need for specialized wedding planners increased.
Top Wedding Planners
There are so many wedding planners around the world but only a handful of them plan the most expensive and highest-end events. These are weddings that only the wealthiest people in the world can afford, as elaborate events like this cost millions. Sarah Haywood is one of these wedding planners and her Instagram page is out of any brides dream.
Sarah Haywood
Based in the UK, Haywood's Instagram bio reads: "Named No 1 Luxury Wedding Planners by Vogue," and Harpers Bazaar Bride calls her "the most sought-after nuptial artist in the world." Haywood has been specializing in international weddings and since the early 2000s, she's planned some of the highest budget weddings held in Europe.
Uber-Wealthy
Haywood told Vox Media that she works almost exclusively with high net-worth individuals, most of whom are business moguls, with the occasional royal or celebrity mixed in. But she notes that celebrities, especially reality TV stars, never want to pay for anything. Only the A-listers can afford over the top weddings and the uber-wealthy who lead very different lives than the wealthy.
Confidentiality
"The uber-wealthy have staff around them," Haywood says. It's very difficult to get to them. I often don't have direct contact with them." Haywood admits to not even knowing the name of one of her favorite clients and she only learned what he did for a living when a security guard hired for the event figured out his mother's name. Still, the client's own name remains a mystery.
The World's Best Of Everything
"Whoever you are, your wedding day has got to be a day that's more special than every other day. So if you already lead a life that to you and me would be incredibly special- staying in the world's finest hotels, traveling there in your own private jet, homes all over the world, finest cars, finest food, couture clothing- and then you say to me, 'I need you to give me a day that's more special than my everyday life,' that's the difficulty, that's the challenge, and that's what I have to deliver."
Russian Clientele
Although her clients never come to her with a budget, that doesn't mean they don't negotiate. "There's a very common misconception that the wealthy don't care about money or aren't good with money. They are very savvy with money, and they argue with me and budget with me down to the dollar," she says. The only clients that don't necessarily fuss over money are Haywood's Russian clientele; they are responsible for the showiest affairs.
Over The Top
Haywood tells Vox of a Russian client who had their wedding at the Waldorf Astoria in New York. "They were very generous and lovely," she says, "but it is as if you had to take everything out of your closet and put it on the table and show it, because otherwise, you look poor or stingy. I don't which is worse, to be poor or stingy, but neither of them are considered very good. I've never had one of my Russian clients ever say to me, 'Are you serious?'"
Preston Bailey
Preston Bailey is another big wedding planner in the industry. He started out as a florist and went on to be a top wedding planner, catering to the rich and famous. He explains to Vox that luxury for his clients means showing them something that they've never seen before. "Luxury is creating an event that as people walk in, tells a story, an entertaining story."
Winter Wonderland Wedding
"This is a clientele that you just can't bring them in for three hours and put them in a room and that's it. You have to create levels of entertainment." Bailey designed Melissa River's winter wonderland wedding, which resembles something out of a storybook. He's even been the planner for Donald Trump's third wedding, as well as weddings for two of Trump's children.
Design
For wedding planners like Haywood and Bailey, they've seen their clients spend a lot of money on design. Besides flowers and tables, there are installations and transforming a space could take weeks. The real big guns will splurge on hiring headline acts to perform on their big day. Jennifer Lopez, Mariah Carey, and Chris Martin, as just a few celebrities that have been hired to perform at private weddings.
Celebrity Performances
Performance fees can be very pricey and the cost can depend on where the artist is in the world at that time and if they have to fly out of the country or leave their tour. The cost for A-list performers can rise into the millions. Then there are technical aspects that must be addressed.
John Legend
For example, Haywood says, "If you hire John Legend, he will only perform using a particular Yamaha piano, and that's because he's going to sit down, he's going to play, and it's got to be exactly as it would've been if he was performing at the Grammys. There's even an agency that will book acts and clients are encouraged to give an amount they're willing to spend.
The Best Food And Wine
From there, the agency will let the client know who is available in that part of the world during that time and for how much money. Costs for weddings also add up when you factor in couture gowns, the best food, and the most expensive wines. One of Haywood's clients served 20 kilos of caviar at their wedding. To make this happen, they had to install a kitchen safe for the eggs and hire someone to guard it.
Nell Diamond And Teddy Wasserman
Fait Accompli was the event company that planned Will and Kate's wedding, and they also organized the wedding of Nell Diamond and Teddy Wasserman. The couple had their engagement party at the Guggenheim Museum in New York and their wedding at Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in the south of France.
French Riviera
Hotel du Cap is one of the most glamorous and iconic hotels in the world and set at the top of Cap d'Antibes on the French Riviera, it was the perfect place to have their affair. Luckily for their guests, they made their wedding last three days and they paid for everything so the weekend would be stress-free.
Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc Wedding
Friday during the day guests filled out activity cards and had the option to go on a tour of Old Nice, explore the Picasso Museum, enjoy a bike ride through the mountains, or take a boat trip. On Friday night, a rehearsal party was held at a little beach bar, followed by the wedding ceremony on Saturday night. No expense was spared and the elegant affair was a moment in their lives that the couple will never forget.
Luxury-Grade Weddings
While a wedding like Diamond's is something couples could only dream of, Marcy Blum writes that everyday brides want luxury-grade weddings. This can perhaps be blamed on social media. Blum told Vox, "We tell them, 'You can't have a napkin that doesn't have a monogram on it. You have to have the save the date. You have to have a 16-day wedding.' It's our fault."
Hiring A PR Firm
Hiring a Public Relations firm to get press placement for your wedding is also common today. Maid of Social, provides social media and PR strategy for weddings, including packages promising to get your wedding featured. The company's 5-Carat package gets you a 360-degree social media strategy that includes an editorial partnership on Instagram, as well as press placement that would be confirmed in advance.
Billion Dollar Wedding
The entire package is around $5,000 but it can be much higher than that depending on what you want. Maid of Social also promises "connections to non-traditional wedding brands to secure product placements." While some brides are a little more demure in their approach, others don't mind a show, like Khadjia Uzhakhova who married the son of a Russian oligarch, Said Gutseriev. Their wedding is believed to be the world's first billion-dollar wedding.