Meghan Markle And Prince Harry's Royal Wedding: The Cost Of Flowers, The Wedding Dress And Cake

If the thought of stepping out in front of the entire world and having billions of people critique your wedding dress/make-up/hair has you running for the hills, take a moment to thank your lucky stars you're not footing the bill for this year's royal wedding.

Days after it was announced that east London pastry chef Claire Ptak has been bestowed the honour of creating a lemon and elderflower wedding cake for Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, the internet is now calculating how much they expect the tiers of spring-inspired sponge to cost.

And, let's just say, it's more than Colin the Caterpillar.

Wedding website Bridebook has shared its official estimate of the wedding cake, calculating the masterpiece will cost a whopping $70,000 (£50,000). Who knew eggs and flour cost that much?

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced their engagement in November 2017

But that's not all. The site has estimated the entire wedding to cost a staggering $2,758,019 (£1,947,013), including security, the wedding dress, music, decoration and production, wedding rings, bridesmaid outfits and church fees.

Here's a breakdown of the estimated cost a Markle's royal wedding:

The wedding dress – $420,000 (£300,000)

Flowers – $155,000 (£110,000)

Photography and videography– $24,000 (£17,000)

Cake – $70,000 (£50,000)

Stationery – $28,000 (£20,000)

Music – $420,000 (£300,000)

Trumpets – $127,000 (£90,000)

Decoration and production – $183,000 (£130,000)

Wedding rings – $8,500 (£6,000)

Bridesmaid outfits – $7,500 (£5,000)

Flower girl and page boy outfits – $2,400 (£1,698)

Church fees – $250 (£175)

Groomswear – $11,000 (£8,000)

Hair and makeup – $14,000 (£10,000)

Entertainment – $21,000 (£55,000)

Wedding favours – $4,000 (£3,000)

Toilets for guests – $49,000 (£35,000)

Kensington Palace recently announced that 800 guests are expected to attend the wedding at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle and formal reception, as well as a private reception later in the evening for approximately 600 people.

The royal couple have also incited more than 2,000 members of the public to join them on their wedding day, with the Palace revealing exactly how you can nab a lucky spot to catch a glimpse Markle in her dress.

So, if you thought the endless hen dos you've got coming up this summer were pricey, at least you're not splashing the cash on a royal wedding.

Katie O'Malley

Site Director

Katie O'Malley is the Site Director on ELLE UK. On a daily basis you’ll find Katie managing all digital workflow, editing site, video and newsletter content, liaising with commercial and sales teams on new partnerships and deals (eg Nike, Tiffany & Co., Cartier etc), implementing new digital strategies and compiling in-depth data traffic, SEO and ecomm reports. In addition to appearing on the radio and on TV, as well as interviewing everyone from Oprah Winfrey to Rishi Sunak PM, Katie enjoys writing about lifestyle, culture, wellness, fitness, fashion, and more.