My wife and I were invited to the wedding of our neighbors' daughter. The husband owns an engineering consulting firm. They both seem like they come from well-to-do families, just judging from their manners, the way they talk, an air of dignity about them, and other signs they exhibit. They're not snooty, but they definitely have class.
The groom just graduated from law school. His father is a surgeon, so between the two families, the couple shouldn't have money worries.
The husband had told me there would be over 400 people at the wedding. It was held on the grounds of an 1830's mansion on the top of a small mountain overlooking our city. The view extends at least thirty miles. The mansion is owned by a friend of our neighbors.
We weren't quite sure what to expect. When we saw guys in suits directing us into a huge grassy area where hundreds of other cars were parked, we knew it wasn't a regular wedding.
There were employees of the catering company taking people to and from their cars in golf carts. When we got to the huge tent in front of the mansion, there were already hundreds of people gathered. There were tables with silver trays of hors d'oeuvres. There was a large band playing in the background. It was an excellent band.
The crowd wasn't the usual we're used to seeing at weddings. Most of the people looked to be very well off. As we watched them milling about, I was reminded of the wedding scene from "The Godfather" (absent Luca Brazzi, of course).
The ceremony was held in the back yard (if that's what you'd call it), with the view of the city behind the minister. The service was short, but I managed to do a rough count of chairs. There were ~420 chairs, and there were a lot of people standing as well.
After the service was the food, and the menu was like nothing I'd ever seen at a wedding. It wasn't ham and potato salad (although they had that, too). It was an enormous spread.
It was like a wedding you'd see in a movie. I started estimating costs, and figured it must have been at least $30K. The food alone was at least $15K. This wasn't a $10 a plate meal.
After the meal there were more treats, including a chocolate stand, with two women from a local, expensive hand-made chocolate store handing out all sorts of goodies. I've bought chocolates at that store before. A few pieces cost $20. I probably ate $20 worth of chocolate in the few minutes I stood there.
I saw an example of the photographer's work, a formal portrait of the bride, and it's one of the best bridal portraits I've ever seen. I don't compliment other photographers very often (few photographers do), but I made it a point to find him and give him my compliments. That kind of work doesn't come cheap. He had assistant photographers doing shots of people at their tables, and videographers as well as his own assistant. I wouldn't be surprised if his bill was 5K or even $10K. One of the photographers had driven down here (AL) from Kentucky, so it must have been worth something for him.
The band played again. It was a nine-member band, with a female lead singer, a male lead singer/keyboard player, lead guitarist, base guitarist, drummer, sax player, two horn players, and one other member who played multiple instruments. Again, far better than I've seen at any other wedding, and I've attended or photographed a lot of weddings.
I know that there are people who have this kind of money to spend, but I've never really travelled in their circles, and so haven't seen something like this, except in the movies. It's mind-boggling.
It was a wonderful time, but it certainly reminded me that I'm part of the middle of the middle class.
