💍 The Economics of Celebrity Weddings

Letter From The Editor

Last issue of the Summer, and it’s been a wild Summer at that. Usually the business world slows down a little bit in the Summer, or at least in August - but not this year! We’ve had tariffs, semi-trade wars, engagements, mergers, acquisitions, and more Taylor Swift than ever before (I’m not even complaining about that last one!).

But with Labor Day upon us, Summer is officially almost over. Here in the North East the leaves are already starting to change in the Adirondacks, and the lakes are getting a lore more “refreshing” as we like to say. It’s been so dry in August we have burn bans, but that won’t stop all the cook outs and BBQs that make Labor Day so epic in my neck of the woods. I just got back from shopping for the long weekend, and on the topic of economics I can tell you I easily paid 20-30% more on groceries with thinks like meats, fruits, and vegetables costing our family more this year. What would Summer of 2025 be without inflation!?!?

Now onto the Summer’s last issue of irl Media NEWSletter!

In today’s newsletter I discuss the economics of celebrity weddings, like for example, completely randomly and for no real reason at all, the upcoming wedding for the recently engaged Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift. We also get into how Elon Musk’s X might be about to settle a lawsuit by former Twitter employees, I’m in love with the new ‘Kiss of the Spider Woman’ trailer that dropped last week, YouTube TV and Fox reached a short-term contract extension so I’m not going to miss any of the NFL when the season kicks off, Amtrak says their NextGen Acela trains are coming this Fall but I’ve heard that one before, and Cadillac announced that it had signed experienced drivers Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas so I’m super pumped for the 2026 Formula 1 season!

Scroll on!

The Business Behind The News

Top Story

💍 The Economics of Celebrity Weddings

On Tuesday, August 26 Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift announced their engagement in an Instagram post after 2 years of dating. The groom-to-be, Travis Kelce went the traditional route asking Taylor Swift’s father, Scott Swift, for his daughter’s hand in marriage. Receiving his approval, Travis Kelce proposed to Taylor Swift, getting down on one knee, in a picturesque garden. Taylor Swift posted to the ‘Gram “"Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married,” followed by a firecracker emoji…because why not?!?!

Poppa Kelce, AKA Travis Kelce’s dad Ed Kelce, spilled the beans during an interview, revealing that his son Travis Kelce actually proposed to Taylor Swift around 2 weeks ago at a garden in Lee’s Summit, Missouri just before the happy couple were supposed to have a dinner date.

And just because I know you’re dying to know about the ring, Travis Kelce went with an Old Mine Brilliant cut 7-9 carat diamond ring that he helped design with Kindred Lubeck, who’s an Internet famous New York City-based jewelry designer who’s big on TikTok these days, because of course she is.

Some jewelry experts estimate Taylor Swift’s engagement ring could be worth as much as $5 million dollars, which would be approximately 29% of Travis Kelce’s 2025 NFL contract of $17.25 million for the year. If that’s not motivation for Travis Kelce to help the Kansas City Chiefs make it to the Super Bowl this year I don’t know what is.

There’s no doubt that the wedding of Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift will be one of the most talked about weddings in recent history, and both its size and who attends will end up having a big economic impact on wherever they choose to get married.

But enough about the engagement of Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift.

I want to focus on the economics of celebrity weddings, and the broader wedding industry here in the U.S.

The U.S. wedding industry generates around $70.5 billion dollars in revenue annually, and that doesn’t even include how much couples spend on their honeymoon, which is estimated to be an additional $4-$8 billion dollars. With around 2.5 million weddings taking place in the U.S. each year, the wedding industry includes wedding planning, venue rentals, catering, bridal attire, and entertainment.

It turns out the business of love, or at least those who choose to walk down the aisle, is a very profitable business.

The average cost of a wedding in 2025 here in the U.S. is between $30,000 to $35,000 dollars, although we should put a BIG asterisk on that. This number can vary greatly depending on the location of the wedding, the number of guests invited, and if you decide to splurge on things like a chocolate fountain for dessert, and ice sculptures to impress your guests. If you have your wedding in a major city like New York or LA you can tack on another $20-$30K, bringing your total up to around $60K on average.

But can you really put a price tag on the most special day of your life?

Yes! Yes you can!

Then we have celebrity weddings. As if to prove that celebrities aren’t like us, let’s take a look at some of the more lavish celebrity weddings in recent years.

In 2012, Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel were married at the exclusive Borgo Egnazia resort in Puglia, Italy, which is a beautiful, castle-like property that the couple reportedly rented out entirely to ensure their privacy. And their wedding wasn’t just one day like your average wedding. Their festivities were a week-long celebration leading up to the main event, including a pre-wedding beach party complete with fireworks. The bride, Jessica Biel, notably broke tradition by wearing a stunning custom-made, light-pink Giambattista Valli Haute Couture gown. The groom, Justin Timberlake, wore a Tom Ford tuxedo he helped design (pretty impressive I must admit). In a personal touch, Justin Timberlake serenaded Jessica Biel with a new song he wrote specifically for her. Cost of a custom Justin Timberlake - priceless! But the total cost of their week-long celebration was an estimated $6.5 million dollars.

In 2014, actor/writer/and director George Clooney, and human rights lawyer Amal Clooney were married at the historic Aman Canal Grande hotel in Venice, Italy after a week long celebration that some of their famous friends including Matt Damon, Cindy Crawford, and Bono, who’s known to love a good wedding (no not really, I don’t have a clue what Bono likes and really couldn’t care less). George Clooney and Amal Clooney’s wedding cost an estimated $13 million dollars, but considering George Clooney is worth an estimated $500 million dollars, he can afford it.

Now let’s talk about royal weddings. In 2018 Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were married in a fairy tail wedding in St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle, which is a venue that has deep historical significance for the British monarchy and is where Prince Harry’s father Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles held a small prayer service before their wedding. Almost no expense was spared for their wedding, including security which cost an estimated $41 million dollars for the event in order to keep those pesky paparazzi and anti-monarchy protestors away. At the end of the day Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding cost the royal crown as much as $45 million dollars.

None of those weddings even came close to what has been billed as the most expensive celebrity wedding in history; the wedding of Anant Amban to Radhika Merchant. You see, Anant Amban is the son of Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani, who has an estimated net worth of $100 billion dollars. For the first pre-wedding event, the happy couple and a thousand of their closest friends and family were entertained at a private concert by Rihanna, who was reportedly paid $5 million dollars to perform. Then, the celebrations continued with a second pre-wedding event on a four-day cruise through the Mediterranean for 1,200 guests, and featured performances by Katy Perry, Pitbull, and Andrea Bocelli. The third and final set of pre-wedding events took place in Mumbai, where Justin Bieber was flown in to perform at a sangeet ceremony, which is a vibrant Indian pre-wedding celebration filled with music, song, and dance, and is traditionally held to unite the two families in a joyful, festive atmosphere before the wedding. Because nothing unites two families quite like a concert by Justin Bieber. Then on July 12, 2024 Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant were officially married in Mumbai, India at the Jio World Convention Centre and the Antilia building. Total price tag for this month-long wedding celebration: an estimated $600 Million dollars with a capital M, making their wedding one of the most expensive celebrity weddings ever.

See, I told you celebrity weddings weren’t like yours or mine.

👮‍♂️ Business

Elon Musk’s company, X, reached a tentative agreement to settle a lawsuit from former Twitter employees who claimed they were owed $500 million dollars in severance pay after Elon Musk’s 2022 acquisition. The deal was disclosed in a court filing on Wednesday, August 20, 2025, with both parties asking to postpone a September 17 hearing. It seems even a billionaire can’t avoid paying for his past messes, even if it's just a tentative agreement.

🎬 Entertainment

I’m so excited for this movie. It looks pretty epic, and I’m going to go ahead right now and predict Jennifer Lopez will get nominated for an Oscar for her performance in ‘Kiss of the Spider Woman’!

📺 Tech

YouTube TV and Fox reached a short-term contract extension on August 27, 2025, to prevent a blackout of Fox channels on the streaming service just before the NFL season is set to kick-off. YouTube TV has said that Fox was "asking for payments that are far higher than what partners with comparable content offerings receive," while Fox claimed Google was using its "outsized influence" to propose terms that were "out of step with the marketplace." With a blackout averted, football fans can still tune in to the beginning of football season in the U.S.

🚂 Transportation

Amtrak's NextGen Acela, which was originally expected in 2022, officially debuted on August 28, 2025, after years of delays. The new trains will have a top speed of 160 mph and feature amenities like 5G-enabled Wi-Fi, individual power outlets, and a redesigned Cafe Acela. Amtrak President Roger Harris stated the trains are “beautiful, they are fast, they are state-of-the-art, and they are American-made” with parts manufactured in nearly 30 states, even if they are made by the French company Alstom.

🏁 Sports

On August 26, 2025, Cadillac announced that it had signed experienced drivers Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas to lead its Formula 1 debut in 2026. Sergio Perez's two-year contract is valued at around $10 million dollars annually. No word yet on how much Valtteri Bottas is getting paid, although for his last year in F1 with Kick Sauber in 2024 he was reportedly paid around $10 million dollars a year, so it’s a good bet he’s getting the same amount as Sergio Perez. The American team, backed by General Motors, will become the 11th team on the Formula 1 grid. It sounds like Cadillac is not taking any chances and is starting strong with a team of veteran drivers.

Was this email forwarded to you? Did you not hate it?

Then consider subscribing to our irl Media NEWSletter. The only newsletter that brings you the business behind the news, with a healthy dose of sarcasm - all delivered to your inbox every Tuesday and Thursday in an easily digestible 5-minute read.

irl Media NEWSLETTER is written, edited, and published by Chris Thompson.