<p>I hope the press respects the couples privacy, but I am curious if the grooms dad will be at the wedding.</p>
<p>$20K for hair and makeup :eek: seems like at lot when security is only 30K.</p>
<p>How wonderful, what a fairy tale. But in reality, how perfectly over-the-top, excessive and frivolous. $20,000 on hair and make-up—oh my.</p>
<p>$20,000 for hair and make-up can’t be all Chelsea. Let’s hope that’s the mothers and the bridesmaids, too. That, I can see. (We spent about $1,000 for me, 7 bridesmaids, and 2 mothers in 1990. I can see how a bride in the Clinton bracket could pay $20K nowadays.)</p>
<p>soozievt: That’s very cool about your D’s opportunities! And congrats on the anniversary.</p>
<p>I wish Chelsea and her new H the best but I don’t see why the news has to present this as…news. At least one major network news I was watching was all giddy and going into depth about the wedding to the exclusion of real news. I ended up switching the channel because they were going on and on.</p>
<p>Spending this much money on a wedding seems nuts to me but the parents have a huge amount of money and don’t live in the same economic world as most of us.</p>
<p>I don’t think it is unusual for this to be a news story. There are plenty of news stories that are human interest ones, as well as celebrity or public figures. Both Bill and Hill certainly have been high profile in this country. Weddings of Presidents’ children are always covered. But both of Chelsea’s parents have had high level positions in the government, not just one of them. It doesn’t bother me at all if this is covered in the news. It is nice to read something positive about young people and not just their troubles. I’m happy for the couple and as the only child of the Clintons, this is a big moment for them too. </p>
<p>I don’t see how the media would know what is truly being spent. I think someone estimated what a costly wedding could add up to be. I just can’t imagine that the real figures are public. They are very wealthy and I don’t begrudge it. It may be hard to relate to. But with all their money, I don’t see anything wrong with a high end wedding. And they have tried to keep as much of it as private as possible, leading up to the big day, but obviously the interest is there and information will come out. The family certainly isn’t making it into a spectacle on their end of it with the media.</p>
<p>
Sorry, I just cant wrap my mind around $20K for hair and makeup.</p>
<p>Maybe they are doing hair and makeup for EVERYONE in attendance!! LOL :D</p>
<p>
I agree that they should spend their money however they want - I just think it’s a waste on something like an over-extravagant wedding but that’s just me. But if I had their money I might buy a few nice classic cars and some people would think that’s a waste.</p>
<p>I don’t like ‘news’ stories on things like this but I always have the option (and exercise it regularly) of not watching it. I just don’t see why people are actually interested in Chelsea’s wedding at all other than to maybe wonder at the spectacle of the extravagance of it.</p>
<p>I want to see her dress! Vera Wang, right? At least that’s the rumor…</p>
<p>Chelsea came to speak at my college during the election madness, and I thought she was so much prettier in person than in the pictures I’ve seen of her.</p>
<p>I think a lot of the cost is the cost of transporting everything to Rhinebeck. It’s a private house, so it’s not going to have china, silver, table cloths, etc. for 500 people. I doubt that there’s any caterer in Rhinebeck who can handle that, so all that sort of thing is going to have to be trucked in and out. I suspect, without knowing, that everything will be unloaded some place outside the house, and packed into some other vehicle. You can’t take a chance that the guy brnging 50-60 tablecloths in willl manage to plant a pipe bomb or even a listening device or bring a cellphone with camera to take a picture of any of the arrangements. </p>
<p>And, they are going to have to find lodging for most of the wait staff, I think. And of course, for the florist, the wedding planner, the the hairdresser, the make up artist, etc. I say that because I assume that partly for security reasons, they alll have to be in Rhinebeck the day before.</p>
<p>Includes top drawer liquor and cigars I’m sure. And these affairs are really three affairs – cocktail party, dinner, and after party. The catering costs do add up, though that does seem excessive.</p>
<p>I thought the numbers being tossed around were ridiculously inflated, but didn’t think of the cost of having to truck everything and everyone in and clear it all thru security. </p>
<p>I’d love to see a few photos afterward (especially her dress!) but beyond that, this wedding is a private event and should be treated as such. I hope they don’t have those awful papparazi helicopters going - I guess the Secret Service could take care of that though.</p>
<p>CardinalFang, I always try to get a look at the bride when I pass a church with a wedding party outside, too. I’m hoping that they will publish a photo of Chelsea in her dress - it seems like only yesterday that she was a 12-year-old.</p>
<p>I read yesterday that Chelsea has never, ever given an interview. When you think about how much time her parents have spent over the years in the public eye, meeting people, giving interviews…</p>
<p>We mention on CC how we have to come to terms with the fact that our children may have different interests and pursuits and personalities. I wonder how long it took the Clintons to realize and accept that their daughter was more introverted than they are. They certainly never forced her to give an interview.</p>
<p>And I hope we see a bridal photo of Chelsea looking stunning and happy. :)</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>That’s very classy. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t think that the Clintons adore their daughter. As parents, ourselves, we should all be able to relate to the joy in seeing a beloved child happy. If that’s not a universal, across-political-lines experience, I don’t know what is.</p>
<p>Those figures released from ABC are clearly someone’s guess at what the costs are. The Clintons are the only ones who would know all of those figures and you can bet they’re not releasing the information. Some of those numbers are fairly obviously off the mark for anyone who has actually paid for a wedding, even relatively speaking. Having been through this twice now, some of those numbers are closer to reality than others but I wouldn’t take that ABC report as gospel. And for whatever they actually are spending, well, good for them! I’m sure the businesses that are benefiting from this shindig are pretty happy. I hope for a beautiful day for all of them. Nothing is more fun as a parent than seeing your child get married, that is, until the first grandchild arrives. :)</p>
<p>^^sounds like the weather gods are watching down on them; Saturday will be the first day of 80 and sunny AND low humidity in a month…</p>
<p>zoosermom, I agree. Who cares the politics of the parents? They adore their only child who has done things to make them proud. This is a very special moment in her life and it is hard to not be with them in spirit as parents ourselves. </p>
<p>MaryTN, I am not sure that I agree that Chelsea may have different pursuits or personality than her parents and that is the reason she is not so public. I believe simply that she is not a public person so much as she has no public office herself. As a child, her parents shielded her as much as possible from the limelight to give her privacy. She did campaign for her mom when she ran for President. And in fact, she is earning a graduate degree in health policy which is in line with interests her parents hold.</p>
<p>AlwaysAMom, I totally agree with all that you wrote. And I never believed those were actual wedding costs but rather someone’s estimate. And some figures are likely way off and some may be more accurate. And for the Clintons’ stature and pocketbook, I see nothing wrong with it. (not to mention this is their only child) I hope it is a beautiful occasion.</p>
<p>
I see nothing wrong with it either. It’s their money and, having already educated her very well, what better use could they have for it? It’s also a darn good thing for a lot of vendors.</p>
<p>I also wish Bristol Palin well. I’m confident that her parents love her and wish for her happiness, as she undoubtedly does for her son.</p>