How the Ultra Wealthy Are Spending on Weddings in New York City with Lauren Grech of LLG Events
The New York City wedding market has seen an incredible boom post pandemic. High-end couples are now spending between $250,000 and $400,000 on their weddings, a clear increase from previous years. The rise in demand for premium venues, multi-day experiences, and bespoke design has pushed luxury budgets higher than ever and made this tier of the market the strongest it has been in years.
What once was a $500,000 affair has transformed into a million dollar wedding, thanks to the rise of wedding envy on Instagram and Tik Tok. Wedding spectacles at The Plaza Hotel, Cipriani’s, The Waldorf, and the Rainbow Room can now cost well over 7-figures and has pushed the ultra wealthy to go elsewhere. Perhaps their own private islands, their family owned high-rises, estates, malls, even parking garages. The visual benchmarks that once defined “wedding luxury” no longer carry the same weight, and the algorithm has turned too many celebrations into replicas of each other. A wedding at The Pierre Hotel once felt aspirational but now can feel predictable based on the volume of weddings. And now the new generation of wealthy couples is looking for something that cannot be captured or recreated through a saved wedding TikTok folder. They are looking for something that transcends the ordinary.
Originality has become the requirement when it comes to wedding planning and design. Intention over spectacle, how you incorporate the bride’s art, or their favorite musician into the dinner music, is becoming the differentiator between a regular wedding planner and a wedding architect. It is a category defined by taste, relationships that cannot be bought, and the kind of flawless execution that requires years of experience. A venue that has brought to life wedding planners and designers that are defining this level of niche weddings within the New York City market.
A luxury wedding space where Lauren Grech, CEO and Founder of LLG Events, operates. After her Wedding Planner POV series went viral on Tik Tok, we saw the real, raw emotions that planners face producing 7-figure weddings. A hidden world became unlocked, much like richtok influencer Becca Bloom, we’re seeing creators give more and more insight into how the wealthy spend their time and their money.
A recent LLG wedding in New York City went viral as the wedding concept was built around a 1950’s jazz club. Featuring a 6-piece jazz band and a special Michale Buble crooner atop a 3-tiered custom round bar. Grech made the band and the bartenders the focal point of the party by placing them 15 ft. in the air on a 3-tier podium, complete with a mini baby grand piano. Converting Cipriani Downtown into her client’s own private Jazz Club, open only for one night.
Couples are becoming really intentional about their wedding menu and the fun treats they are offering wedding guests. From caviar cannoli’s, strawberry intermezzo’s, lobster towers, custom mini pizza boxes, couples want anything but basic. They no longer want to share wedding menus, they want recipes you can only get specifically on their wedding night. Such as Carbone’s special Spicy Rigatoni Vodka, or first course salads made by Chef Daniel Boulud. You have to know who to call for these special arrangements and Grech has become the go-to wedding planner for this type of soiree year after year. Her impeccable taste and her design details from her weddings do not go unnoticed. She not only caters to New York’s elite, she ensures these tailored experiences are inventive and different for every single one of her clients.
Even down to the fashion, Grech’s clients do not shop in stores, they get to work directly with the fashion designers. Such as Grech’s client who just commissioned 3 custom Christian Siriano wedding gowns. She got to work with Christian directly, received custom sketches, and a personal assistant to manage the entire customization process. From sketches to muslin fittings, Grech’s clients get special treatment and are the first to wear their own couture gowns.
Across all of these events, the spending patterns share a consistent logic. Seven figures are going toward the substance of the experience: hospitality integration, thoughtful pacing, access to chefs and specialty partners, and design choices that reflect their personal design taste rather than trends.
As seven figure weddings continue to evolve, planners who understand this approach will shape the next chapter of luxury. Grech’s work offers a clear view into where that world is headed: toward weddings defined not by volume or virality, but by the discipline of doing things well.
Photos by Allan Zepeda and Felix Feygin
