Chelsea Clinton's wedding may cost about US$3mil
This Dec. 1996 file photo shows Chelsea Clinton, right, with Marc Mezvinsky.
Wedding experts say Chelsea Clinton's gala this weekend could run upward of US$2mil to US$3mil.
That compares to the roughly US$24,000 most American newlyweds spend on their special day.
Details have been notoriously difficult to pry loose, but industry insiders have gathered enough intelligence to estimate some of the costs of Saturday's wedding.
Clinton, 30, the daughter of former President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, is marrying investment banker Marc Mezvinsky.
The venue has never been made public, but it's all but certain that the couple will wed Saturday evening at Astor Courts, a secluded estate along the Hudson River built as a Beaux Arts style playground for John Jacob Astor IV more than a century ago.
The estate features the sort of commanding view that once inspired Hudson River School painters, as well as 50 acres (20 hectares) of buffer space to shield the party from prying eyes.
The most expensive item for the wedding? Catering, estimated at US$750,000 by Brides magazine deputy editor Sally Kilbridge. Toilets could run about US$15,000 to US$20,000.
Security in Rhinebeck, about 145 km north of New York City, is expected to be tight.
The Federal Aviation Administration says local airspace will be restricted from 3 p.m. (1900 GMT) Saturday to 3:30 a.m. (0730 GMT) Sunday.
FAA spokesman Jim Peters said Thursday that decisions to restrict air space are made in consultation with other federal agencies. He could not confirm whether the Secret Service requested this one.
The FAA website says the restriction will be in place for "VIP (Very Important Person) Movement" but did not elaborate.
The Clintons have been silent on plans for the weeding, but President Barack Obama says he did not make the guest list for the wedding.
In an interview on ABC's televisions talk show "The View," Obama said he was not invited because the Clintons wanted the event to be about their daughter and her future husband.
Obama says that is probably for the best, joking that it will be tough enough to have one president at the wedding. - AP
Published July 30 2010
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