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Most Expensive Weddings in History
Many girls grow up with the hopes of having an elaborate, breathtaking wedding. How many have the luxury of living that dream? The preparation of a wedding can be intense, because every aspect must be planned: color scheme, venue, guest list, menu, beverages and many more important details.
And just as everything must be planned, everything must also be paid for. The budget for a wedding varies from couple to couple, but one thing is for sure – sky was the limit for these lucky lovebirds when it came to celebrating their big day. Here’s a look at three of the most expensive weddings in history.
Prince William and Kate Middleton – $34 million
William Arthur Philip Louis and Catherine Elizabeth Middleton tied the knot on April 29, 2011, at the Westminster Abbey in London, England. Kate walked down the aisle in an ivory and lace gown designed by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen, while soon-to-be husband stood at the altar wearing the scarlet red tunic of an Irish Guards officer.
The reception itself cost $600,000, in addition to luxurious hotel rooms for guests priced at $600 per room per night, an $80,000 cake and $800,000 in flowers. Kate’s ring, $136,000, was fashioned from Welsh gold given to Prince William by the Queen.
After the reception, Prince Charles held an exclusive dinner and dance for the newlywed couple, now known as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
It is estimated that two billion people worldwide watched the broadcast of what is known as The Royal Wedding, in addition to the 1,900 guests at the Abbey and the hundreds of thousands of others that gathered outside the palace.
Amit Bhatia and Vanisha Mittal — $78 million
Amit Bhatia and Vanisha Mittal married on Nov. 18, 2004, at Vaux le Vicomte, a 17th-century chateau in France that has been described as the finest chateau and garden. Amit is an investment banker and his bride, Vanisha, is the daughter of Lakshmi Mittal, the billionaire owner of the biggest steel company in the world who was named the fourth richest person in the world in 2008.
Amit arrived on a jeweled chariot, also known as a ceremonial carriage, and Vanisha donned beautiful outfits created by top Indian designers such as Tarun Tahiliani and Suneet Verma.
After receiving invitations in a 20-page silver card, their 1,000+ guests were flown on 12 specifically arranged Boeing jets from India to France for a lavish six-day celebration. Guests were treated to accommodations in five-star Paris hotels and every woman at the ceremony received a Gucci or Prada bag as a wedding gift.
Among other extravagances for the wedding included one hundred dishes prepared by a top Calcutta chef, a $1.5 million wine tab, a temporary castle in Saint-Cloud built exclusively for the special occasion and a celebratory fireworks display at the Eiffel Tower. All that was missing from this grand wedding were some Gurkha cigars to add a special finishing touch!
Prince Charles and Lady Diana – $110 million
In what has been called “The Wedding of the Century,” Charles Philip Arthur George celebrated his nuptials with Diana Frances Spencer on July 29, 1981, at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, England. The Prince and Princess of Wales had a fairytale wedding complete with a horse and carriage and 3,500 attendees.
Lady Diana’s dress, an ivory silk gown with a 25-foot train, decorated with antique lace and 10,000 mother-of-pearl sequins, cost over $15,000 alone. Prince Charles wore his full naval commander uniform.
After the ceremony the couple and 120 guests headed to Buckingham Palace where they were treated to dinner and 27 wedding cakes. The royal order took 14 days to prepare, and the five-foot-high official cake was supplied by David Avery, head baker at the Royal Naval cooking school.
There were 4,000 police and 2,201 military officers to manage the crowd of two million spectators. In addition, the wedding captured the attention of 750 million people worldwide as they watched the televised broadcast of the ceremony.
Smoke ‘Em If You Got ‘Em, Mr. President
- Winston Churchill Smoking a Cigar
- Winston Churchill Smoking a Cigar
The Beverly Hills Cigar Club honors the POTUS that Smokes
For centuries cigars have been associated with success and power. Many of the worlds most famous leaders have been featured with tobacco clenched between their teeth as they lead their countries and inspired the masses. Winston Churchill was so rarely without a cigar occupying his fist that the industry named a cigar size after the Prime Minister. Joseph Stalin was often pictured with Churchill enjoying a cigar. He wasn’t exactly the type of man to succumb to peer pressure. Fidel Castro, perhaps the most influential persona in the cigar world transformed his own personal blend, Cohiba, into the most valued brand on the planet.
Captains of industry, Hollywood elite and World Leaders all have found solace and strength in cigars.” Remarks Vin Lee, Beverly Hills Cigar Club CEO. “It’s true that tobacco and politics have held hands for hundreds of years, even if today it’s more of an arm wrestling match.”
Napoleon Bonaparte III (1808-73) was quoted as saying “This vice brings in one hundred million francs in taxes every year. I will certainly forbid it at once – as soon as you can name a virtue that brings in as much revenue.”
As iconic as these world leaders are, the office of the President of the United States has hardly been without lighter and ashtray. Up until Hillary Clinton tossed out the last ashtray during the Clinton Administration, at least 29 of the 44 men who have held title in the oval office enjoyed tobacco whether as cigars, cigarettes, chew, or pipe even as they negotiated to restrict the industry. John F. Kennedy is reputed to have instructed Press Secretary Pierre Salinger to assemble as many of the Presidents favorite Cuban cigars as he could prior to signing the Cuban trade embargo. Salinger confirmed he had sourced 1,200 Petit H. Upmann cigars, Kennedy’s favorite cigar size and brand. Throughout this period, First Lady Jackie O was enjoying up to 3 packs of Salems a day.
“While every POTUS has been a man thus far, many will argue the power and influence lies with the women behind them.” offers Lee “ This is as true with First Lady Michelle Obama as it was with Kennedy, Bush, and Clinton.”
A list of U.S. Presidents who are known to have enjoyed tobacco:
2. John Adams, 1797-1801 Cigars
4. James Madison, 1809 – 1817 Cigars
6. John Quincy Adams, 1825 – 1829 Cigars
7. Andrew Jackson, 1829 – 1837 Cigars, Chewing tobacco
8. Martin Van Buren, 1837 – 1841 Pipe
9. William Henry Harrison, 1841 Pipe
10. John Tyler, 1841 – 1845 Cigars
12. Zachary Taylor, 1849 -1850 Cigars
17. Andrew Johnson, 1865 – 69 Cigars
18. Ulysses Simpson Grant, 1869 -1877 Cigars
21. Chester Alan Arthur, 1881-1885 Cigars
22. Grover Cleveland, 1885 -1889 Chewing tobacco
23. Benjamin Harrison, 1889 – 1893 Cigars
24. Grover Cleveland, 1893 – 1897 Chewing tobacco
25. William McKinley, 1897-1901 Cigars
27. William Howard Taft, 1909 – 1913 Cigars
29. Warren Gamaliel Harding, 1921 – 1923 Cigars
30. Calvin Coolidge, 1923 – 1929 Cigars
31. Herbert Clark Hoover, 1929 – 1933 Cigars
32. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 1933 – 1945 Cigarettes
34. Dwight David Eisenhower, 1953 – 1961 Cigarettes
35. John Fitzgerald Kennedy, 1961 – 1963 Cigars, Cigarettes
36. Lyndon Baines Johnson, 1963 – 1969 Cigars, Cigarette
37. Richard Milhous Nixon, 1969 – 1974 Cigars
38. Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr , 1974 – 1977 Pipe
41. George H. W. Bush, 1989 – 1993 Cigars
42. William Jefferson Clinton, 1993 – 2001 Cigars
43. George W. Bush, 2001 – 2009 Cigars
44. Barack Obama, 2009 – Cigarettes
“This February 21, 2011 pull a CAO America Bottlerocket cigar (our official Presidents Day cigar) out of the humidor and salute the men that have lead our country to greatness.” suggests Lee. “Embrace the freedoms these men have defended for us, including the right to choose…to smoke or not to smoke”.
- Happy Presidents Day!
Win a box of Macanudo Vintage Cigars from Grand Metropolitan
For most people, Thanksgiving means time with family, too much food, the parade and of course, the big football games. This year, football fans who want to guess the final score for this year’s big game can visit www.thanksgivingbowl.com and have a chance to win a box of Macanudo Vintage Cigars.
“The Macanudo Vintage provides a relaxing smoke and complements all Thanksgiving festivities — pre-meal snacks, the main meal or leftovers,” says Lee. “It’s a moderate cigar that can be enjoyed at a family event by a new smoker but is still sophisticated enough to make connoisseurs happy.”
Macanudo Vintages sell for between $10 – $15 a stick and are available at most tobacconists.
Whether you care about the game or not, why not try to win a great prize like this?
Cigar Specialist at Art of Being British Event Tomorrow in London
In London this weekend? Learn how to make hand-rolled cigars from a Davidoff specialist at the Art of Being British Street Party tomorrow. Held from noon – 5 p.m. on Jermyn Street, event goers can also visit stalls set up by the best of London’s luxury brands, live entertainment and a free hog roast and cream teas by the Cavendish London Hotel. British jewelers Links of London will also serve lemonade and teacakes while participants have the opportunity to win one of their British Bulldog charms. And to top it all off, The Ritz will have their famous Phantom Rolls Royce that they purchased in 2006 as a part of their 100th anniversary on display . If you’re in London or traveling to the area, this is definitely an event to check out!
Day-Long “Cigars for Heroes” hosted in Bristol for Fallen Marines
Shawn Nelson, Steve Spernak and the families of three Orange County Marines who died this summer came up with a new way to honor fallen Marines last Sunday, according to the Orange County Register. Spernak and Nelson, inveterate cigar smokers, arranged with Santa Ana tobacconist Ribhi Saoud to host a day-long “Cigars for Heroes” tribute at Saoud’s shop on Bristol.
At least 50 people gathered for the tribute smoking cigars – not all of them men. All types of care packages were accepted, but the families specific and primary goal was to send cigars to the Marines still serving overseas.
Nelson said, when a Marine or soldier overseas “gets a box of cigars, you’re a king for a week” in your unit. Saoud offered a deal for participants to buy three from him, and he’d give the customer a fourth to donate to the Marines. Around 500-600 cigars were donated to the cause.
Rocky Mountain Cigar Festival Hosts 30 Cigar Manufacturers
The first-annual Rocky Mountain Cigar Festival will take place Sunday, August 29, 2010, from noon to 7p.m. in Boulder, CO.
If you remember that Boulder was the first city in Colorado to pass the smoking ban back in 1996, then you might be wondering why the Gallagher family chose to host the festival at this location. The Daily Camera reported that the organizers of the event feel at home in Boulder as the Gallaghers have been in Boulder for six generations.
The article states that the Gallagher family has been actively involved in the Cigar business since the 1980s when they started Smoker Friendly International. The event on Sunday will be smoker friendly, of course, and hosts 30 cigar manufacturers and celebrity appearances. Participants will have the opportunity to meet football star Randy White and “Sopranos” actor Joe Gannascoli. White will be representing Smoky Mountain Chew and Gannascoli is the face of Cugine Cigars.
Tickets range from $25 to $150. The Gallagher family said they hope to make the Rocky Mountain Cigar Festival one of Boulders popular annual festivals for the future.
Nestor Miranda Presents a Pre-Release of the Guillermo Leon and Art Deco
The Blue Havana II Cigars and Gift shop in Alpharetta, GA, celebrates its fourth anniversary Saturday, Sept. 11, 2010 and hosts a special event from 12 noon to 8p.m. to raise funds for Families of September 11 (FOS11), according to TheWeekly.com. Nestor Miranda, founder of Miami Cigar Co., will offer a special pre-release of Guillermo Leon and Art Deco cigars at the event as well as special deals on the entire line of La Aurora, Nestor Miranda and Tatiana cigars. To get a taste for the Guillermo Leon, The Stogie Guys posted a review recently.
Blue Havana II store owner, Jim Luftman, will offer 9/11 wristbands (Remember – Honor – Hope) for the suggested donation price of $2 each. The $10 admission provides catering by the ‘Cue Barbeque of Milton, GA, a cigar and raffle ticket for the hourly raffle drawings to win a variety of gifts. Luftman will also donate $20 from each cigar box purchase to the FOS11.
Bugatti Claims Speed Title (Again)
Bugatti S.A.S. officially has the world’s fastest car.
Clocking in an average speed of 268 miles per hour, Bugatti’s Veyron Super Sport muscled its way back to the spotlight at VW’s Ehra-Lessien testing grounds earlier this month.
For fans of the exotic, cigar smokers have their own supercar in the Louixs, deemed the “Bugatti Veyron” of cigars.
To grab a stick of this dynamite, visit the Beverly Hills Cigar Shop.
Educating the Congressional Cigar Association
Two cigar personalities – Guillermo Leon and Nestor Miranda – will speak in conjunction with W. Curtis Draper to the Congressional Cigar Association on July 20, according to an article by Tom Johansmeyer.
“As anyone who followed the fight in Albany remembers, one of the biggest problems the cigar industry faces is that politicians don’t really understand it, often confusing us with ‘Big Tobacco,’” Johansmeyer writes.
Although the event is not open to the public, Draper will host a private dinner for up to 10 guests with a price tag of $200 each at Blue Duck Tavern in Park Hyatt.
Photo of Nestor Miranda courtesy of cigarreader.com
Spoiler! The World Cup’s true winner is…
Photo courtesy Beverly Hills Cigar Club
On Sunday the wait is finally over.
After weeks of dramatic competition with as many bad referee calls as missed goals, soccer fans around the world will finally have a clear winner:
Moet and Louixs. That’s right.
Beverly Hills Cigar Club CEO Vin Lee has announced his picks for celebrating the World Cup outcome– in luxurious fashion of course.
The Netherlands will battle Spain for the cup but cigar smokers will sit back in calm repose enjoying a Louixs cigar, one of the rarest cigars available.
And while you’re enjoying the slow burn of the Louixs, take in some history while sipping your Moet Champagne– another Louis (XV that is) made champagne huge.
Speaking of history, The Netherlands have lost in their last two World Cup Finals appearances. If you’re from the Netherlands and they can pull off the win on Sunday, Moet and Louixs just might be in order.