How Much Will Prince Harry And Meghan Markle's Wedding Cost?

A royal wedding is a grand affair, and a large price tag won't be the only impressive number attached to the upcoming nuptials of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

The grand event, taking place on May 19 at St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle, has been the topic of conversation ever since the royal pair announced their engagement in November 2017. Now, new details have emerged regarding just some of what is going into the potentially large price tag that the wedding could total.

Bridebook reported an earlier breakdown in March of what the various costs of the wedding could entail—with a whopping $30 million for security being the highest expense, followed by the amount potentially allotted for Markle's dress, which came in at an estimate of £300,000, or roughly $414,000. Other expenses include the totals that could be spent on music and entertainment, flowers and decoration, the pair's rings, bridal party outfits, hair and makeup and even the couple's honeymoon. Overall, the nuptials are expected to surpass the cost of Prince William's wedding to Kate Middleton in 2011—which was estimated at $28 million.

Now, the site also reports some of the other extensive numbers that will be factored into the wedding which will also undoubtedly add to the cost of the event. Among those numbers are 16,000 glasses of champagne for each of the 4,040 guests, who are expected to drink at least four glasses each during the day, as well as 8 million flower petals to make up for one million handfuls of confetti.

In addition, those celebrating the nuptials who are not invited, such as members of the public, will likely contribute to the money the wedding is expected to generate to the British economy by buying things for their own street parties and celebrations. Among the numbers expected for those celebrations are 1.4 million cucumber sandwiches served, 330 miles of bunting, 1.5 billion tissues and one million in donations made to charities, which the couple requested instead of gifts.

Of course, the royal family does not have an obligation to the public that requires them to report on what they spend on events like weddings, so the true cost will likely not be something that is confirmed—no matter if the royal family throws the affair using some of their more famously frugal ways of saving money, or if they throw a lavish event that costs as high as $45 million.

However, even if the event is expensive, the bill will be split amongst several people. Queen Elizabeth is expected to foot the bulk of the bill, with British Taxpayers likely covering the bill for security costs. Markle herself is also expected to have a hand in paying the cost of the wedding, and it has been speculated that she may cover the cost of her dress.