Family friend: Chelsea's wedding costs are in the 6 figures -- NOT millions.

[pnwmom]

Having paid for a beautiful wedding for our daughter -- at significantly less than what the bridal magazines want everyone to think is the average cost for a wedding -- I've been suspicious of those "industry expert" estimates all along. Not only do the industry people have a vested interest in encouraging people to spend lots on weddings, but the media wants to make the Clintons look bad.

"People" appears to be the first to report a more realistic estimate:

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20406627,00.html?xid=rss-topheadlines

1. Could it really be costing $5 million?


Not even close. Sources close to the bride's parents, who are paying for the wedding, cast recent tabloid "guesstimates" of a wedding budget between $3 million to $5 million as so grossly fabricated they are unworthy of comment. One longtime family friend said the wedding is not exceeding six figures – so in the hundreds-of-thousands dollar range, not millions.

[HipChick]

1. What does it matter? Even if it cost $100M..

It's their daughter and they should feel free to spend their money however they want..

[pnwmom]

2. The Republicans love to paint Democrats as trashy, profligate, over-spenders.

In both their personal and their political lives.

That's why I think it matters.

[Booster]

6. Well, then we should just counter with what the Pentagon has

"misplaced" and can't account for recently. You would think THAT loss would make both Dems and Repugs scream, but, for some reason, not so much. I just don't understand that (on both sides). Someone in the Pentagon soaked us for a lot of money and no one seems to care. And from what I can gather from sketchy news stuff, it certainly wasn't the troops, but rather the civilian personnel working there. I really don't understand this country at all.

[pnwmom]

8. Some research recently showed that exposure to FACTS don't change most people's opinions.

That certainly would seem to be true with regard to Rethugs.

[Paladin]

7. So Republicans Get To Dictate The Terms Of Weddings Involving Prominent Democrats?

Not bloody likely......

[MannyGoldstein]

3. And the Clintons are known for such honesty. nt

[pnwmom]

9. I'd believe any Clinton friend over on of his enemies in the media. Or on DU. n/t

[mitchum]

4. See...they're just regular folks

[pnwmom]

10. That's how the media is boxing the Clintons in. The only way they can prove

the ridiculous estimates are wrong is by proving their actual costs, which are far higher than most.

OTOH, they only have one daughter, lots of money, and security costs alone could have doubled the cost of the wedding.

[mitchum]

18. I recall that FDR served a hot dog lunch during his first inaguration...

maybe there is some truth to that old adage about old money being more discreet than new money

[pnwmom]

20. That was HIS inauguration. Not his only daughter's wedding.

HUGE DIFFERENCE.

(And Clinton is a private citizen now, and they've done what they could to be discreet.)

[mitchum]

25. Flem Snopes also only had one daughter...

but I don't recall him shelling out an obscene amount of money on a wedding for Linda.
I guess that's at least one way Flem and Bill are different.

[pnwmom]

30. Have I wandered onto a Freeper site? On Chelsea's wedding day, you're going

to compare Clinton to Flem Snopes?

Go peddle your nastiness somewhere else.

[mitchum]

34. Yes, Lord Bill did soooo much to advance progressive causes...

therefore I must be a freeper.
Whatever...

[bluestateguy]

26. Politicizing marriages

Now wow does that make you any different from the good people over at National Organization for Marriage?

[mitchum]

27. Celebrity salivating

Now wow does that make you any different from the good people over at Us magazine?

[pnwmom]

33. Better than being like one of those people throwing mud. n/t

[Warpy]

5. Not only that, but the security costs are staggering

The actual wedding is likely to be reasonable in terms of what wealthy families do for daughters who want to go down the aisle with the full wedding planner treatment.

[pnwmom]

12. I bet you're right. Hillary isn't a flashy person, and neither is Chelsea.

This is probably a typical New York society wedding -- plus security. And large NY weddings are expensive.

[BlueCheese]

11. Reset criticism...

The Clintons are screwing the working class by not spending their money and keeping it all for themselves!!!1!!eleven!!!

[old mark]

13. You mean the media would LIE TO US? Tell us things they knew were not true?

I am shocked, I tell you!!11!


mark

[AnArmyVeteran]

23. 1st the tooth fairy, then Santa and finally the media...

One illusion crushed after another. Hang in there. You can always trust the right wing to be consistently evil...

[old mark]

29. I went to catholic school - I'm used to lies. nt

[SoCalDem]

14. If it cost 40 bucks it would still be no one's business n.t.

[Karenina]

15. Hallo!

:hi:

[MoonRiver]

16. Gee, do you mean facts are not standing in the way of smearing the Clintons?

Surprise, surprise...:sarcasm:

[miscsoc]

17. it's still a big amount of money by most standards

and even if it did cost millions, it wouldn't make much difference. if you've got the money there are worse things you could spend it on than your daughter's wedding. (better things too) there's no point in trying to argue that the clintons aren't plutocrats. of course they are, they are liberal plutocrats, who have the sense to see that common decency demands society "spread the wealth around" (a bit)

Even if they did spend millions, what difference would it make? We shouldn't even bother arguing the point, it's a red herring, arguing against it just perpetuates the nonsensical premise that right wing millionaires are somehow morally better than liberal ones, and that being liberal and rich is hypocritical. Last time I checked Clinton never claimed that millionaires shouldn't exist, and shouldn't spend their money, after tax, in whatever way they like - at most he (or, I guess both of them) just advocated that the state take a slightly larger chunk of their income in the first place.

[opihimoimoi]

19. Didn;t Bushies kid have her recep at the Red Lobster for $$12.50 per head??

[AnArmyVeteran]

21. Didn't faux say it was $27.5 trillion?

[flvegan]

22. For God's sake, it'll be a profit center.

Those envelopes that I'm sure Chelsea got will far far far surpass the cost of the wedding.

[Stinky The Clown]

24. People right here on DU were telling us it was between 10 and 20 million

[pnwmom]

32. I said it was $20 million -- as a joke, which was obvious to anyone who read

the actual post (as opposed to the subject line).

[DFW]

28. If the people who put it on could easily afford it...

Who cares what it cost in the first place?

[NeedleCast]

31. Still Don't Care

about this made up non-issue.

[emilyg]

36. Neither do I.

[Regret My New Name]

35. Those cheap bastards!!!!!