Chelsea Clinton Wedding Price Tag: $2 Million
Chelsea Clinton, Marc Mezvinsky wedding is unlike anything Rhinebeck has seen.
July 22, 2010— -- It's turning out to be one of the hottest weddings of the season, and probably one of the most expensive.
When Chelsea Clinton and Marc Mezvinsky tie the knot on July 31 they will be surrounded by friends, family and an A-list of celebrities that is likely to include more than one world leader. Hey, Dad's a former president and Mom's the current Secretary of State, after all.
Details of the wedding are slowly leaking out -- it's presumed to be in the small upstate New York village of Rhinebeck -- and it doesn't appear to disappoint. While nobody but the Clintons knows the exact price, it's shaping up to be a costly affair: the total price tag could easily reach $2 million.
When Jenna Bush got married two years ago at the president's ranch in Crawford, Texas, planners estimated it only cost $100,000 for the "down-home" celebration.
To get a better sense of exactly how much it will cost, ABC News reached out to one of the nation's top wedding planners, Claudia Hanlin, founder and partner in The Wedding Library. Hanlin, whose firm is the largest in New York, is the person the CEOs of major companies and the heads of hedge funds call when they get married.
She also happens to know Bryan Rafanelli, the head of Rafanelli Events and Clinton's wedding planner -- though friendships only go so far and Hanlin swears not to have any inside information about this top-secret event.
"My assumption is that what they want is going to be a lovely, traditional wedding," Hanlin said. That will actually keep the cost down, a bit. Don't expect exotic animals flown in or fireworks here as a grand finale.
Vendors may discount their services because of all the free publicity they will get from this event, but that is doubtful given the extra stress and work involved in this complicated wedding.
"Having to do everything in secrecy is a lot harder," Hanlin said. "Not telling your staff what time to show up but having them on call, that adds a lot of stress and difficulty to the event."
