The co-owners of Porthault linens wanted a nice wedding for their oldest daughter but something happened so now they’re being sued by the event planners. I didn’t post this in the wedding planning thread because I’d have wanted to read it even if we didn’t have a daughter getting married 4 months from today.
The rich are different.
MODERATOR’S NOTE
Corrected a misstatement in the above.
Oy!!
Didn’t read the story but the only thing better than the rich spending $1mil on a wedding is the rich spending $2mil on a wedding. Spend it! Spend it all!
That’s $1m out of their pockets and into the pockets of many others.
Spend it. Please.
Ms. Carl should sue her plastic surgeon instead. She looks like her face is stretched and tied behind her head.
The rich aren’t different. This could have happened to anyone on a much smaller scale. No contract? No budget? Afraid to speak up, for worrying the bride?
I opened the link and read a little bit. I should’ve read the whole thing but got the gist of it. I don’t want to take shots at wealthy people. I see your point @jym626 about Mrs. Carl’s face but I don’t understand why you’d say that other than to just be hateful. If your picture was up, would you like someone to do that to you?
They are wealthy. Maybe they earned it. Maybe they didn’t. Should they help the less fortunate? Maybe but perhaps they feel like the less fortunate should help themselves. One can look at it different ways.
I don’t understand why people go nuts over weddings. If you are happy with whomever your son or daughter is hitching up with everything else should be down hill. STEM2017 pretty much hits the nail on the head. Let the wealthy spend it all at least that way it filters out throughout the economy.
@GoNoles85 You apparently seem to miss the sarcasm. For some woman who has than much money to spend waste on an over the top wedding, it could have been better used on a better facelift. That would have been a much better use of her $ then ecru monogrammed napkins. Your snarky comment is also hateful. Hypocritical too. Its unlikely that lady will ever see my opinion-- but I am entitled to express it. At least I wasn’t hypocritical. Please stop the scolding.
My picture would not be up because I would be very find myself in such a ridiculous situation. If they want a million dollar+ wedding, that is their choice . Ridiculous, but their choice… And more ridiculous is what @toledo said-- no contract. Say whaa???
The wedding planner had billed them so much that the cost was $3 million instead of $1 million. It really could happen to any of us - on a MUCH smaller scale of course and only if we were as careless as this couple was (and the planner was).
I like the detail about the “wedding dogs” not being in the official photos as a grievance!
I have a cure for the issue…never get married!
Wonder what they spent on their kids’ educations?
@toledo - you’re right, of course, but I’m frankly amazed that such financially successful people should have made such foolish mistakes. How can you not have a contract and a budget when you’re talking about spending that kind of money? Or entrusting others with an important family event? No one likes to upset a bride, I guess (remember that HIMYM episode when Lily got everything she wanted just because someone would say, “It’s for the bride”?). But she’s a grownup who presumably knows that bad things happen.
My purpose in posting the link wasn’t to take shots at the rich. They are different, though (from me, at least), in that they have so much more money. I suppose I’ve always thought they had more money because they were better at managing it than I am. But we’ve got contracts all over the place for my d3’s wedding.
@jym626: At least the plastic surgeon gave Ms. Carl a permanent smile (?) to help give her the outward appearance of “sailing through” the angst of their lawsuit. The legal costs will probably run another $200,000 or so.
Moral of the story: Donate that $1 million instead to the deserving college of your choice, have a simple wedding focused on meaningful relationships, and enable others to make good choices that lead to a better future.
When I read about those super lavish wedding I’m happy, because they paid a creative to monogram all those napkins (probably a small business owner with a monogram machine). Hot air ballooning is another small business owner.
These people support a lot of creatives and a lot of businesses with their lifestyle. I have no issue with it at all.
As for her face-she’s probably pushing 60, and she looks happy and not wrinkly. I don’t think I’d do what she did with her lipstick liner, but in that pic with her daughter where they’re both in their dresses, she looks lovely. Aging is a really tough thing to deal with-if she wants a facelift to feel better, while it’s not something I would want to do to my face, I’m not going to look down on her for choosing it.
The only thing that I find unforgivable is that the dad is a lawyer and he didn’t get a contract for the wedding planner-c’mon! I did my own wedding from scratch 24 years ago as a 23 year old and I had written some of my own contracts for the vendors when they didn’t have any.
LOL @MinnesotaDadof3 ! Make lemonade out of that lemon 
It would be a beautiful gesture if they donated the $ to a worthy cause. This seems to have become ugly on several levels. I don’t decry her getting a facelift-- its just not a very good one.
Regardless of whether or not it was a bad one, it think it is not helpful for society if women are quickly being judged by their looks. Probably that is what drove the woman to think she need a facelift.
Good point, @“Snowball City” . Its the same issue with the over the top wedding and with the moms outrage that the story went viral, and that’s the point. Seems to be all about image. I hope the couple can disengage from the parents battle and enjoyed their wedding and their new life together. Best wishes to them.
I admit that I lol’d at the idea of drinking specialty cocktails out of ostrich eggs.
But, this being college confidential, I think this tale isn’t so different from many we have here … only instead of weddings it’s college educations. All the time we see people making irrational financial decisions because their kids "have worked so hard’ to get into their dream schools. Same basic concept – parents who want to do for their children – but make choices with their hearts and not their heads.
I did find myself equally annoyed at the planner.
The monogrammers are probably already attached to the linens company they own. And the facelift might have been ok with different make-up, not such a shiny look that it seems plastic. (Well, if we’re dishing opinions.) Also agree the mom’s day-of dress was gorgeous.
Yes, they should have had better oversight- and notice, no, the planner didn’t submit the supposed “Vendor Advance Contract” with court docs.
Other than that, watching the lives of the uber wealthy is always amusing.
Precisely. Exactly. Nailed it.
Thank you.
By the way, people admire Warren Buffet for driving a 30 year old Lincoln Town Car and eating a $8.99 steak every night. I guess they don’t realize that this means billions and billions of dollars stay in his pocket. Who does this help?
Spend it Warren. Renew your nuptials and have a BILLION dollar wedding. Please.
The WaPo comments are as wild as the article. Here’s the link to the write-up of the wedding and the backstory of the couple – http://www.brides.com/story/multi-day-hamptons-new-york-loire-valley-france-wedding-ideas-gia-canali-photography