Chelsea Clinton Wedding Cost Estimates Out of Control

By Jo Piazza Posted Jul 30th 2010 04:30PM

Everyone loves to speculate on the costs of celebrity weddings. And in the case of Chelsea Clinton, a girl America has watched grow up and blossom into a beautiful young woman (those 'SNL' skits be damned), her upcoming wedding is the closest thing we get to a royal wedding of sorts.

So, of course, everyone is trying to price out her upstate New York nuptials to fiance Marc Mezvinsky going down this weekend. The New York Daily News, has the wedding costing between $3 and $5 million. ABC pegs the price at $2 million.

Say what? Political insiders and folks who know Chelsea and her parents call the extravagant cost estimates entirely absurd. Chelsea, for one, has never been a big spender, nor does she enjoy flaunting her parent's celebrity status. So, the hand-painted aisle that the News intimated she will walk down on her big day, probably not happening.

Putting it in perspective, the estimated price tag on then-presidential daughter Jenna Bush when she married at the president's Crawford, Texas, ranch was only around $100,000.

Of course, Jenna got that venue for free. ABC is pegging the venue cost alone for Chelsea's wedding as high as $200,000 for Astor Courts, a mansion designed for John Jacob Astor IV in 1902. The house is on the market for $12 million. It also happens to be owned by Clinton donors Kathleen Hammer and Arthur Seelbinder, who were unlikely to rake their good friends over the coals. Plus, all the publicity from this high profile wedding will probably just drive up the sale price. Everybody wins.

Yes, the guest list for this weekend is big. It will probably shake down to around 400 of the Clintons' friends, family members as well as select celebrities and business associates of mom and dad, a list that includes various heads of state and titans of industry.

Because there are so many high-profile guests, the Clintons will certainly need to throw a tasteful affair, but they don't have to go over the top. With a budget of just under $1 million, the Clintons can spend $2,500 per guest. That gives them plenty of cash to play with for what is already being billed as the Wedding of the Century.

Chelsea's preferences aside, the entire Clinton clan is nothing if not media-savvy. Dad is the head of one of the largest charitable organizations on the planet, The Clinton Global Initiative, and mom is Barack Obama's ambassador to the world.

"How would it look if Hillary Clinton were showing up in Pakistan to speak to women who earn less than a dollar a day, or if Bill went to his donors to ask for money to build wells in Africa after they just spent Liza Minelli-style money on their daughter's
wedding. These guys are way too smart for that," one political consultant, who has worked with the Clintons, told us.

The guessing game will finally come to an end in about 48 hours, when select wedding details will be released to the press, and when they are, we will see a picture of a tasteful and beautiful affair that still cost less than Tom and Katie's nups. Mark our words.

Follow Jo on Twitter

Tags: Bill Clinton, Chelsea Clinton, Hillary Clinton, marc jacobs

Comments

(48)

Friday 30 July

By cyn

Highest Rank Vote down Vote up Report this

How many kids did you feed today?

By Captious1

If the Clintons have the money - and they do - then whose business is it how much it costs?

And more importantly -- WHO CARES??!?!

Jenna Bush got married. Does anyone know how much it cost? No -- because NOBODY CARES!

People really need to get a life.

By matt wood

Lowest Rank Vote down Vote up Report this

Tell BJ bill hello for me Love Monica

By Pam

Chelsea is the Clinton's only child and if they can afford to give her the wedding of dreams..why shouldn't they? I personally don't approve of extravagant weddings but if that what someone wants that's their business--not ours.

People get a life and mind your own business.

By Ed

Vote down Vote up Report this

Screw the Clintons

Monday 02 August

By Cindy

We are Americans, people ! Give some respect ! This was the President of the United States and this is his family. It makes news. I wish Chelsea a beautiful wedding and I don't care how much it cost. Her parents can afford it! We, as Americans, should just wish her and Mark well. I am proud to be from Houston, Texas.

By abarzee

Hey Chelsea and Marc have a great wedding day and a wonderful life. Your parents will make fine in-laws

By LUNALILO

I'd like to see what some of these people who write about Chelsea's looks look like. Hogwarts? Or were they fortunate to have been born beautiful, and then got ugly, mean-spirited hearts?

Chelsea WILL be lovely at her wedding.

By tom

Yep - spend all that money! Anything to make Buckey Beaver and her soon to be spouse happy!

Also think Chelsea and Hilary need to keeep an eye on Bill around the bridesmaids.

By Teri Malony

Congrats to Chelsea and Marc. Don't be mean people. Life is way too short

Saturday 31 July

By SallyE

The Clintons and their buddies always want us to think that they are "of the people". What a joke. I believe that George Soros is helping to fund this wedding.

By Robncxtrl

I'm sure the Clintons feel like the King and Queen of the United States because the media is sure treating them as such. It's a wedding athough an astronomical high priced one, the media needs to stop covering it as though it's some coronation.

By mego

High Rank Vote down Vote up Report this

Good Luck Chelsea!

By mona

Thats her DAM business how much she spends on her Wedding!!!!! I am sure everyone on her lives beyond their means!! and if you hd their money you would spend it too...STOP HATING!!!!!

By June

Chelsea has gone through college gracefully and now is marrying her life long sweetheart. They are a great example for all children to look up to - especially those who contanstly get in trouble with the law, end up pregnant while in highschool, etc., etc...
I am happy that they are receiving a dream wedding-they deserve it.
The people in society that "know the price is outrageous and how terrible it is" are either quite unhappy with their own life and/or feed on negative energy and would like everyone to jump on their bandwagon.
In short, for those people - please mind your own business. And if you need something to be negative about their are many things in the current news that would please your tastelessness. Let the Clintons have their dream wedding. It is not your money, time, energy, or wedding.

By AlterrdEgo

Definetly a marriage of money and namesake. Damn, it has to be Whoa!

By Ferrari Bubba

It looks like daddy is spendind some of the Marc Rich and Patty Hearst Pardon payoff money on the wsedding.-- Yer pal, Ferrari Bubba

By Rose

Congrats to the Happy couple. I did not vote for Your father but I did like him. Hilary 2012

By steven

its their money, they can spend it how they want.
But why do they keep saying upstate NY does anyone own a map, they are getting married about 60 miles north of the city, its like being in Florida and saying Georgia is in the Northeast

By vme

most of you are so ignorant, if not stupid overall. unfortunately, no amount of outside input could help your lacking intelligence. and green, as they say, is indeed, an ugly color, which none of you wear very well. please do remain in your "deliverance" state of mind - otherwise you may hurt yourselves.

Page 2 of 3