The rise of the multi-million-euro luxury Irish wedding
The celebrity wedding planner Marcy Blum organised the May wedding of the New York couple Ally Rice and Sean Fernando Adare Manor in Co Limerick, which went viral after photos and videos were widely shared on TikTok and Instagram, in collaboration with the London production team Bespoke Events. Some suggest that the couple's three-day affair came in at a seven-figure sum.
Rory McIlroy's wedding to Erica Stoll at Ashford Castle in Co Mayo, in April 2017, is estimated to have cost about €1 million — a chunky price tag but a mere fraction of the €40 million to €50 million that Jeff Bezos, the billionaire Amazon founder, is estimated to have dropped when tying the knot with the former journalist Lauren Sánchez in a lavish, star-studded three-day event in Venice last week. And even that figure is a drop in the ocean compared with the most expensive wedding in the world, which took place last July in Mumbai. An estimated €500 million was spent on the marathon nuptials of Radhika Merchant and Anant Ambani, the youngest son of Asia's richest man, Mukesh Ambani. The three-day prewedding celebrations alone cost €135 million.
The Limerick-based international luxury wedding planner Olivia Buckley regularly designs, plans and oversees destination weddings in Ireland and Europe. 'Multiday events with extensive production, bespoke structures and immersive experiences often reach into the multimillion-euro range,' she says.
She adds that from her own experience of planning super weddings of this magnitude, a budget of €3 million to €5 million would be necessary to create a truly bespoke experience. She recommends couples allow 'at least 18 months for the planning of their wedding, or up to 24 months for logistically complex experiences'. That's longer than it takes to make some movies.
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One of the most elaborate aspects of the Adare wedding was the bespoke glass marquee. Buckley has facilitated similar requests over the years. 'We were once asked to create a Midsummer Night's Dream-inspired celebration, complete with Celtic symbolism, fairy folklore and set within a bespoke glass marquee.
'Costs can vary significantly, but a glass or orangery-style marquee represents a significant investment because, beyond the aesthetic elements like lighting, staging and furniture, there are essential infrastructural requirements: satellite kitchens, power, plumbing, bathroom facilities and sometimes scaffolding, depending on the site.
'Prices typically start at €250,000 and increase based on scale, guest numbers and overall design ambition.'
The glass marquee may have created a fairytale atmosphere, but €250,000 is a frightening amount of money to pay for one single element of a multiday celebration. Flowers also added hugely to the romantic vibe and fantastical feel of this wedding and Buckley estimates that the floral budget for a luxury event such as this would start at €75,000.
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'Flowers can be one of the most impactful design elements when transforming a space, especially across a weekend celebration. When floral design is woven through multiple events, from welcome dinners to ceremonies and receptions, the cost naturally increases,' she explains.
Ellen Rose Bird from Dublin is a wedding content creator. In 2022 she established her company, Your Story by Elle, and since then she has witnessed weddings get bigger, bolder and more elaborate. Media teams (a content creator, photographer and videographer) are part and parcel of weddings these days, and when really large numbers of guests are involved this team can double in size, Bird explains.
Couples want their weddings to be highly personalised and experiential, she says. Add-ons such as painters making portraits of guests, custom-built walls decorated with handwritten notes for attendees, falconry shows, tennis courts, afternoon teas, picnics, rehearsal dinners and bridal brunches are all possible.
'Weddings are much more experiential these days — couples want their guests to be really well taken care of. Nobody wants to wait until ten o'clock for the party to start, so all-day entertainment is usual and bespoke cocktails and open bars are common. No guest will have to queue at the bar, though. Waiters are always on hand to serve guests.'
Buckley concurs. 'Couples are looking to offer their guests an unforgettable experience, a true escape from the everyday. We've worked with internationally renowned headliners and A-list performers, who can command fees in the range of €1 million to €2 million.'
Bird covered 50 weddings last year and she will create content for 70 couples by the end of 2025. She's noticed that brides no longer simply invest in a wedding dress but curate wedding wardrobes for their multiday celebrations.
'Embroidered robes are often worn by brides as they get ready for the ceremony. One particular bride had sourced a vintage Dior slip. I see a huge number of bespoke bridal gowns and dramatic veils, and second dresses are the norm now,' Bird says.
The wedding and event planner Sarah Riney, founder of the New York-based Clover & Ivy Events, has even seen brides have their hair cut and completely restyled between outfit changes.
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Riney has regularly planned destination weddings to Ireland since she launched her business in 2018 and she reveals it's not uncommon for a client to have a bridal stylist travel with her. She reiterates that modern weddings are all about bespoke details and unique experiences.
'One of our brides wanted her wedding themed around the Disney movie Brave, another requested an enchanted forest ceremony, while another decided to marry on the Cliffs of Moher.'
Bird is currently planning her own wedding, making her especially price aware. She says that a large number of the weddings she has worked on have hit or exceeded the €1 million mark. The majority of those couples are Irish, she says, while only three were not and they were from the US.
Social media has raised awareness of what's possible, Buckley says, inspiring clients to push the boundaries and design something truly personal. 'The rise in spending is about creating an experience that feels meaningful, immersive and entirely one-of-a-kind.'
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