Royal wedding by the numbers

Publish date
Tuesday, 1 May 2018, 2:50PM
Photo / Getty Images

Photo / Getty Images

The average wedding bill has soared to $30,000 on recent years - but if you're feeling guilty about going over your bridal budget, these figures might make you feel better.

When Prince Harry ties the knot with Meghan Markle on May 19 he will do so in lavish style with a ceremony at Windsor Castle and reception at Frogmore House, reports the Daily Mail.

And according to a team of wedding experts who have crunched the numbers, their VIP guests will be treated to a staggering 28,000 canapés on the day, washed down with billions of champagne bubbles.

Wedding planning app Bridebook.co.uk estimate the royal couple will feed their guests on 28,000 canapés and spend up to $175,000 on trumpeters alone.

Meanwhile, thousands of tourists will be travelling to London to see the newlyweds, and thousands more will be partying in their honour.

The wedding of the year will require millions of flower petals, miles and miles of bunting, and enough cucumber sandwiches to feed the entire British population.

The numbers were calculated following an analysis of over 170,000 weddings via Bridebook's wedding planning tools and budget calculator, and a review of more than 70,000 wedding industry suppliers listed on its wedding venue and supplier directory.

With 3 billion global viewers and an expected $544 million boost to the British economy, this is the Royal Wedding in numbers.

16,000 glasses of champagne

With 4,040 guests, each expected to have at least 4 glasses of champagne throughout the day and evening, that will be at least 16,000 glasses filled with 250 billion bubbles!

8 million flower petals

There could be as many as 1 million handfuls of confetti in Windsor on the big day, eagerly awaiting to throw 8 million flower petals in the air to celebrate the newlyweds.

42 per cent more searches than Brexit

Meghan Markle is currently generating 12 times more search traffic than British Prime Minister Theresa May, and on peak days has received 42 per cent more searches than 'Brexit' and 32 per cent more than 'Jesus'.

$175,000 for trumpets

Twenty silver-plated fanfare trumpets stamped with the Royal Coat of Arms have already been requested, and they each come between $5834 and $1166 a piece/toot. That will be $175,000 for trumpets!

500,000 people at Windsor

Some 500,000 people are expected to visit Windsor for the Royal Wedding. They will get to witness the most Disney moment of the day: the Royal Carriage procession.

200,000 flowers and 60 florists

With an estimated budget of $213,000 on flowers, from larger stems to buttonholes and delicate bouquets, more than 200,000 flowers will be styled by around 60 florists across all three venues for the big day.

A banquet hall 10 times the size of the average British home

At 5,381 square feet, the size of St George's Hall will ensure no guests are stepping on each other's toes during the reception. The hall is 10 times the size of the average British home!

28,000 canapés

An estimated 28,000 canapés will be needed to keep the Royal Wedding guests happy throughout the day and evening events.

1,000 waiters and staff for the day

Alongside the 500 people team who work at Windsor Castle on a daily basis, another additional 500 are likely to be on duty on the day, according to Bridebook's most recent estimates.

28,000 wedding photos

Although most won't be revealed to the public, Meghan and Harry's wedding photographer, and the team to support him are expected to make their flashes go off at least 28,000 times throughout the day and evening.

Three Royal stag dos

Harry has been rumoured to have enjoyed three bachelor parties with different groups of friends. Including a skiing trip, a classic Scotland stag-do with his closest mates, and to celebrity hotspot Hedsor House, near Windsor.

More than 100 million drinks in celebration in the UK

With at least 24 million people expected to watch the Royal Wedding in the UK, plus the FA Cup Final and extended pub opening hours, the whole of the UK is going to be toasting Harry and Meghan.

5,000 police on duty

From grenadier guards to armed police to snipers and undercover officers, 5,000 officers are expected to be on duty on the day to keep everyone safe.

3.3 million web pages about the Royal Wedding

From lifestyle blogs about Meghan's wedding dress to online betting sites predicting the odds of rain on May 19th – there are already over 3.3 million pages online about the Royal Wedding.

730,000 hashtags

Since their engagement was announced, the hashtag #RoyalWedding has been used 730,000 times on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Twitter takes the cake with the most discussions, with an average of 1,200 tweets using the hashtag every day.

460 Royal Wedding dedicated Instagram hashtags

Instagram has over 460 Royal Wedding hashtags. However, not everyone has the #RoyalWeddingFever, with some couples tagging their photos as #HarryandMeghanStoleMyDate.

3 billion global viewers

After more than 2 billion people watched William and Kate's wedding, and the global rise of the smartphone and social media since then, more than 3 billion people are expected to watch this Royal Wedding, which is expected to be the most viewed event in history.

17 leading dress designers

More than 17 dress designers are in the running for designing Meghan's dress, with leading odds on Ralph and Russo, Erdem, and British bridal-designer Philippa Lepley!

NZ Herald

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