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Chelsea Clinton Wedding Price Tag Could Reach $2 Million
Chelsea Clinton waves as she departs after a campaign stop in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Thursday, May 15, 2008.
(Credit: AP)Reports speculate that the wedding costs could total $2 million.
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ABC News reported that renting the Astor Courts estate in Rhinebeck, N.Y., the rumored location for the high-profile event, could cost between $125,000 to $200,000 alone.
The catering, being done by Blue Ribbon Restaurants, St. Regis and Olivier Cheng Catering and Events, is estimated to cost $750,000. One company might be doing the cocktail hour with another taking care of the main meal and the third one doing late-night snacks.
Wedding planner Claudia Hanlin told ABC News that each company may charge around $500 a head, given the remote nature of the wedding site, along with having to share the kitchen and coordinate with two other caterers. That works out to $1,500 per guest (there's rumored to be 500 of them) for food alone.
Among the other costs, according to the report: $250,000 for the flowers, $40,000 for the music, $35,000 for photography and $30,000 for security.
Hanlin also said the wedding dress could cost anywhere between $5,000 to $25,000, but she pegs Clinton to be in the $15,000 range. Her gown was initially rumored to be by Oscar de la Renta, but recent reports have also said she will wear Vera Wang.
And while the Rhinebeck location is not yet confirmed to be the wedding site, recent Secret Service activity in the area is making the locale seem less like a possible decoy and more like the real thing.
State troopers working with the U.S. Secret Service told the Associated Press on Friday that they have gotten more calls than usual related to the posh Astor Estate in Rhinebeck, an upstate town where two Norwegian journalists were charged with trespassing as they snapped photos at the estate's gate. The journalists were on assignment, covering Chelsea Clinton's expected wedding at the estate for the Oslo newspaper Verdens Gang.
State police Maj. Michael A. Kopy said officers will be diligent about keeping the estate secure.
"We're aware of the visit by the former president of the United States and are working with the U.S. Secret Service as we do with all visits by protectees of the Secret Service," Kopy said. "We're responding to calls (around the estate). Anybody who is located on the grounds of the estate will be arrested and prosecuted."
President Obama, Barbra Streisand, Stephen Spielberg and Oprah Winfrey among the guests said to be invited to the July 31 nuptials.
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