Congrats William and Kate on your marriage

It's official! They're married!

In case you missed it, check out the video of the actual ceremony from ABCNews also check out our live blogging from earlier today at SOA Event Blog and our tweets at SOAeventconcept.



CONGRATULATIONS Prince William and Princess Kate!

The Unemployed Entrepreneur

The Royal Finances: How much is The Queen worth?

I always wondered why the monarchy was still in existence and how they made their money or from where their finances came from. Conveniently all of that information is found on the Official British Monarchy site. But I also have it listed for you below:

1. There are four sources of funding of The Queen, and those working in support of The Queen as Head of State. These are: - the Civil List, to meet official expenditure relating to The Queen's duties as Head of State and Head of the Commonwealth; - the Grant-in-Aid for the upkeep of Occupied Royal Palaces; - the Grant-in-Aid for Royal travel, for air and rail journeys associated with official engagements; - the Privy Purse for The Queen's public and personal use.

2. Head of State expenditure is the official expenditure relating to The Queen's duties as Head of the Commonwealth.

3. Head of State expenditure is met from public funds, in exchange for the surrender of revenue from the Crown Estate. This amounted to £211 million in the financial year to 31 March 2008.

4. The Queen does not receive any money from the Crown Estate. The annual revenue surplus from the Crown Estate is received by the Treasury.

5. Head of State expenditure does not include the costs of security, which is the responsibility of the Home Office and the police.

6. Only The Duke of Edinburgh receives funding from the Civil List. This amounts to £359,000 per annum.

7. Parliamentary annuities for The Duke of York (£249,000 per annum); The Earl of Wessex (£141,000 per annum); The Princess Royal (£228,000 per annum); and The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester (£175,000 per annum), The Duke and Duchess of Kent (£236,000 per annum) and Princess Alexandra (£225,000 per annum) are repaid by The Queen from her private funds.

8. These repaid Parliamentary Annuities are spent on office costs.

9. The Queen has always been subject to Value Added Tax and other indirect taxes and rates on a voluntary basis.

10. In 1992, The Queen offered to pay capital gains tax on a voluntary basis.

11. As from 1993, The Queen's personal income has been taxable as for any taxpayer and the Privy Purse is fully taxable.

12. The inhabitants of the Occupied Royal Palaces and private Royal residences are subject to Council Tax, as set by the relevant local council.

13. Although The Queen's estate will be subject to Inheritance Tax, bequests from Sovereign to Sovereign are exempt. This is because the Sovereign is unable to generate significant new wealth through earnings or business activities, and to recognise the requirement for the Monarchy to have a degree of financial independence.

14. The Queen does not own the Royal Palaces, works of art from the Royal Collection or the Crown Jewels. These are held by Her Majesty as Sovereign and must be passed to her successor in due course.

And with all of that, The Queen is worth an estimated $420 million...compare that to Oprah Winfrey's $2.4 billion. What she doesn't have in monetary worth, she makes up for in properties, stocks and bonds:

Via Forbes: Balmoral Estate in Scotland, which has a castle and 50,000 acres of woodlands, moors and lochs; and Sandringham Estate, with dozens of houses, 60 acres of gardens and 20,000 acres of forest. The real estate is valued together at approximately $150 million. She also has her own private collections of art, furniture, jewels and horses, worth some $110 million. The rest of the fortune comes from conservative investments in blue chip stocks and bonds.

The Unemployed Entrepreneur

The Business of Queendom: An opinion piece

Every Mostly every little girl dreams of the day when she will get to dress up like a princess and be queen for a day during her royal wedding. She imagines what it would be like to be waited on hand and foot by her loyal subjects. She fantasizes about the day her prince charming will whisk her away to a far off land and they'll live happily ever after.

Watching the Royal Wedding coverage got me to thinking: every one isn't fit to be a queen. Being a history buff, I've always known that typically when someone of status gets married it's normally for business or political or financial reasons. Way back when, families formed alliances with each other through the betrothal of their children, but they normally didn't marry just anyone off to their children. Typically it was the son that could help the family gain the most who got married to the most virginal and fairest daughter of marrying age.

Watching the Royal family closely, I've noticed that not everyone can handle the task and responsibility of being a future queen. It takes a dedicated and loyal woman to stand behind a man with that much power. A private woman to not be swindled by the paparazzi and media. It takes a woman who is smart enough to understand the business sense behind becoming a woman of royalty because if you notice, many of the women who married into royalty made their mark on the world one way or another. Whether it was through philanthropy, business, or the like, these women knew how to acquire their assets and put them to good use.

Unfortunately, the next statement goes against my neo-feminist beliefs but it also takes a very strong and understanding woman to love her husband's faults (i.e. love of women, bad decisions, scandalous behavior) and decide whether to work with him and the relationship or quit. I remember watching a documentary about the royal marriages and when they profiled the divorce of Diana and Charles, the Queen Mother said of Charles' affair "Well...men cheat." No, I don't believe in that statement, but if you look at it from a business prospective she has a point.

When you have a business deal, it is both unethical and not smart to quit the business at the first sign of trouble. That is the reason you sign contracts and go through so many legal red tape to even be able to conduct business....legally. As with a marriage, there is a reason you get a marriage license, it's a contract to be married to your mate. But, everyone is not fit to be in business otherwise everyone would have one. Just like the responsibility of being someone's princess or queen, everyone is not fit. You have to be a certain type of person, with a particular view, and a certain strength to carry that much weight.

Kate Middleton has a lot going for her as the future queen of England. From an outside point of view she is very demure, level-headed, strong, and opinionated without being obnoxious. Like Diana she appears to be approachable and amicable which will work in her favor when she decides to make her mark on the world. Although, she has centuries of tradition greeting her at Westminster Abbey, I think Kate Middleton is not only fully aware of her marriage to Prince William, but she will be able to accept it full on. The best thing about her is that she is the woman that HRH Prince William chose to marry. Being that they are marrying for love, Prince William will do a fabulous job of keeping her happy and maintaining the marriage.

**That's my opinion and no it doesn't reflect the opinions of my business, interns, employees, or affiliates.**

The Unemployed Entrepreneur

Weddings: Big Business

With this week marking the countdown to the "wedding of the century" and dubbed "Royal Wedding Week," I as an event planner and aspiring wedding planner had to do my part being a part of the extravaganza. On the SOA Event Blog on Tumblr, we discuss different wedding details: royal wedding dresses, locations, etc. On The Unemployed Entrepreneur, we'll be discussing more of the business side of the royal wedding and weddings in general. So sit back and enjoy as I and we take you on a journey into weddings!

Weddings: Big Business

-The average wedding costs approximately $29,000 dollars compare that to the $6.4 million dollars it cost for Lady Diana and Prince Charles' wedding in 1981!

-Brides will spend an average of $1000 and upwards to $10,000 on her wedding dress. Price is determined on how ornate the design, the designer, location, and season. Diana's silk dress with 25 foot train cost $115,000. Speculations estimate Kate Middleton's dress to be twice that amount.

-A man will choose a stone carat (typically a diamond) at an average size of 2.0 carats. The Duchess of Windsor, Wallis Simpson was given a 19.77 carat diamond and emerald engagement ring by her beloved Edward VIII.

-Most newlywed couples travel to the Caribbean's for their honeymoon. The Royal Family has traveled to their own estates in England and surrounding countries.

-The average couple will be together for about 1.5 years before getting engaged. Diana and Charles were together for about 6 months. Kate and William dated for NINE years before he finally proposed!

As you can see, weddings are big business. The average wedding takes a lot of time, energy, and money to put together. But as I posted in Royal Weddings: The Original Stimulus Package, weddings don't just take a lot of money but they make money too. Between the publications, fashions, memorabilia, food, flowers, and trends the wedding industry is a $40 billion industry that is continuing to grow annually. With more celebrities creating trends and brides wanting newer more unique weddings, it's no wonder a bride is willing to spend a small fortune for her "perfect day."

Not sure what the estimated wedding costs will be for Prince William and Kate Middleton, but whatever it is it will reflect the grandeur of the occasion.

The Unemployed Entrepreneur

Royal Wedding: the original stimulus package

I was perusing the internet searching for content and of course being an event planner, I type in a google search "how much does the royal wedding cost?" What do I find? "How the Royal Wedding is good for the economy." Seriously? A wedding. My initial reaction was cynicism. As much money as this wedding is going to cost? What about all the taxes the locals are going to have to pay because of it? But then after letting the idea marinate, it donned on me. This Royal Wedding isn't just the be all of weddings in 2011. It really can stimulate the British, and thus, the world economy.

First there is the plethora of jobs. Between the seamstresses working on Kate Middleton's THREE wedding dresses; florists putting together their hundreds of centerpieces, bouquets, boutonnieres, and floral decor; caterers and catering staff preparing the feast; and not to mention the security, this wedding will be able to feed a third world country for YEARS.

Every time I turn on the television, I hear about a new fashion maven, entertainment mogul, or journalist gearing up to head to London to cover and be a part of the media circus that is the Royal wedding. That leads me to think about the hoards of people who will be travelling just to say "I was there." Tourism as well as the coverage is going to be RI-DI-CUL-OUS! Can you imagine how much a one star hotel is going to cost in the coming weeks? Much less a 5 star.

The local economy and exports. The other day, I posted on the SOA Event Blog a porcelain replica of the "Princess Kate Middleton bridal doll." Think about the handmade and local gifts, treats, and memorabilia that is being made for this shindig. The town alone will make a boat load of money from all the tourists and locals purchasing their gifts.

Certainly the week of the wedding, that will be all we'll see but hey...the world is in a depression of sorts. It's about time we had something to not only give us hope, but maybe a little money and inspiration as well.

How else do you think this royal wedding will stimulate the economy (British and world)?

The Unemployed Entrepreneur