What the Sex and the City Wedding Really Cost

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For a wedding that didn't actually happen (either on-screen or in real life), the expected nuptials of Carrie Bradshaw and John James "Mr. Big" Preston are pretty damn famous. The cocktail version of Carrie's Vivienne Westwood dress sold out Kate Middleton-style immediately after the movie was released, and let's not even talk about the imitation frocks. Beyond the dress, how much do you think it would set you back to replicate the entire wedding—even the parts that didn't end up happening? We priced it out below.

1) The dress: If you recall, Carrie didn't actually have to shell out for her strapless ivory Vivienne Westwood "Lily of the Valley" confection. Either Vivienne Westwood or Vogue were so taken by Carrie's elated wedding dress shoot that they gifted her the usually made-to-measure dress immediately afterward—thereby saving her approximately $23,780 (£14,500). And since Carrie works in print, she didn't need to disclose it.

Photo Credit: New Line

2) The shoes: Carrie wears quite a few versions of the Christian Dior Extreme Dior Gladiator Heels throughout the movie, but for her wedding, she donned a special tricked-out pair. The shoes retailed for $770, but since Patricia Field customized the metallic version with a bunch of Swarovski crystals, let's call it an even $1000.

3) The veil: According to a rep at Selia Yang, a custom silk tulle veil can cost even more than the actual dress. Wait, what? With that brilliant feather headpiece (which was probably Carrie's added touch) and lush layers of silk tulle, let's go with $5000 for the made-to-order confection.

4) The rehearsal dinner: Then there's the matter of the pre-wedding festivities, which took place at the sleek Meatpacking District boîte Buddakan. Surprisingly, Big and Carrie didn't spring for a private room, choosing the restaurant's communal table instead. A premium three-course dinner menu and the luxury full bar package for 30 guests works out to $8351. Although that doesn't count the single malt that Big pensively sipped at the bar.

5) The hair and makeup: Carrie needs a proper coif to display the statement-making veil, plus a professional hand to apply that dramatic red lip. If she called Upper East Side salon Paul Labreqcue for a senior stylist to make a day-of "out-visit" to the York-Goldenblatt pad, an updo would run $623 and make-up would ring in at $342. Since the dress "upped the ante" for the whole day, Carrie probably also went into the salon for hair and makeup trials before the wedding—tacking on an additional $498. (We'll assume that since the other ladies do well for themselves, they handled the fees for their own 'dos.)

6) The flowers: We asked Michael Davis at Elan Flowers in Tribeca for his thoughts on the following: Carrie's beautiful bridal bridal bouquet of cream roses, white roses and gardenias (which brilliantly and justifiably detonates all over Big's jackhole head); Charlotte, Samantha and Miranda's bridesmaid bouquets; Lily's flower girl and Brady's boutonniere buds; plus the grandiose blueish purple delphiniums and vase arrangements of hydrangeas and roses that we see in the background of the New York Public Library foyer (you know, when best gays Stanford Blatch and Anthony Marentino realize that Big didn't show up). But we also need to add the flowers that we didn't see inside the wedding reception. We're thinking 20 centerpieces (for those 20 tables seating the 200 guests that Big didn't want to invite), plus various other arrangements decorating the place. Michael estimates Carrrie's floral bill to ring in at $40,000. And that's for the classic, beautiful, and not-flashy flower motif that we think Carrie would select.

7) The limo: The girls aren't about to hail a cab to the wedding—and they'll need the limo to dramatically flee the scene after Big's crap-out. Plus, the ride needs to be stretch in order to fit Carrie's dress, which Anthony compares to, "pushing a cream puff through a keyhole". A five-hour rental from NYC Limousines costs $475. Big's escape vehicle, aka the Town Car, is probably billed to his company that does...wait, what does Big actually do?.

8) The tux: Big definitely owns one (as should most men over age 25), so it's a sunk cost.

9) The ceremony and reception: The New York Public Library is one of the grandest spaces in the city to hold a civil ceremony wedding. We have a feeling that Carrie went all out with the most premium rental costing $50,000. (By the way, it is totally possible to throw a modest event at the NYPL, but girlfriend has a massive feather on her head. She's not looking to go small.)

Now, let's factor in the food and beverages for those 200 guests that Big didn't want to invite. Even though the wedding didn't happen, Carrie will have already paid in full by this point and she's definitely not getting any deposits back. The NYPL provides the full bar, which for 200 guests brings in the booze total to $8710 (and you know this would have been a drinking type of crowd). As for cocktail hour, dinner and the cake: Catering from Abigail Kirsch, one of the big time top-notch outfits in the city (and preferred vendor of the NYPL), would run around $66,090.

10) The wedding planner: Since wedding planner Anthony Marentino is Charlotte's best friend (and eventual life partner to Stanford), we're thinking that his services for Carrie were complimentary. However, the New York Public Library does require a professional planner on site for any event, so if Carrie didn't have her Anthony connection, she would have had to shell out anywhere between $15,000 to $25,000 for a high-level full-service wedding planner. Ouch.

GRAND TOTAL: Including the costs of Carrie's gratis dress and the high-end of Anthony Marentino's pro bono wedding planning services? $229,869

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