Princess Diana is back in the news, even though she died more than two decades ago. Netflix created a wildly popular series called “The Crown,” and Princess Di’s wedding to Prince Charles is one of the plot lines in season four.
Let’s face it, Princess Diana has hardly ever been out of the news since she burst onto the royal scene some four decades ago. Untimely death only burnished her legend.
You can get a glimpse into the Netflix take on the big event in the video clip above.
Here’s what it looked like in real life:
So, how did Princess Di’s wedding differ from yours?
Diana had 3500 guests in attendance at her ceremony, not counting another 600,000 swarming the streets.
By contrast, yours, according to The Knot, had 131 guests, which is the national average (not that you’re average!).
Princess Diana’s gown featured 10,000 pearls, intricate embroidery, along with a $115,000 price tag. By contrast, the average American bride spent $1600 on her gown in 2019.
Princess Diana sported a $40,000 (1981 dollars) wedding ring, complete with a 12-carat sapphire stone surrounded by 14 solitaire diamonds set in a white gold band. By contrast, the average U.S. bride sported a $5900 engagement ring in 2019 dollars. Even that amount varied dramatically depending on where you lived. In the Mid-Atlantic area of the country, the average was $7500; in the West and South, the average ranged from $5400 to $5600; and in the Midwest, the average was closer to $5300. If you adjust for inflation, Princess Di’s wedding ring would cost $119,718 in today’s dollars.
Princess Diana had 27 wedding cakes at her reception, while most average brides have but one.
The entire cost of her wedding came to $48 Million ($137 Million in today’s dollars). By contrast, The Knot tells us the average cost of a U.S. wedding is $33,900, but that amount really depends on where you live, as you can see below:
Average price of a wedding by state
- Alabama: $25,500
- Arkansas: $21,800
- Arizona: $29,400
- California: $39,000
- Colorado: $30,000
- Connecticut: $41,000
- Delaware: $34,900
- DC: $40,600
- Florida: $30,600
- Georgia: $30,900
- Hawaii: $32,900
- Idaho: $19,800
- Iowa: $22,600
- Illinois: $39,700
- Indiana: $22,800
- Kentucky: $23,900
- Kansas: $22,400
- Louisiana: $33,900
- Maine: $33,500
- Maryland: $33,800
- Massachusetts: $43,600
- Michigan: $29,700
- Minnesota: $28,800
- Mississippi: $23,800
- Missouri: $26,600
- Montana: $23,000
- Nebraska: $23,300
- Nevada: $22,500
- New Hampshire: $32,100
- New Jersey: $53,400
- New Mexico: $25,600
- New York: $48,600
- North Carolina: $29,500
- North Dakota & South Dakota: $29,200
- Ohio: $29,300
- Oklahoma: $21,200
- Oregon: $22,400
- Pennsylvania: $35,900
- Rhode Island: $49,800
- South Carolina: $30,600
- Tennessee: $26,900
- Texas: $30,200
- Utah: $19,700
- Vermont: $38,300
- Virginia: $33,300
- Washington: $25,600
- West Virginia: $26,500
- Wisconsin: $27,800
- Wyoming: $19,800
Ultimately, the difference between Princess Di’s wedding and your Columbus affair comes down to intimacy and affordability. Let’s face it, smaller (normal) weddings are way more fun because you have an opportunity to connect with your guests. And the price tag is way less! Columbus Pro DJs will make you feel like royalty with regal lighting and dance floor packing entertainment fit for a queen.
