Date: April 29, 2011
Where held: Westminster Abbey, London
Number of guests: 2,000 guests; 2 billion TV viewers, nearly one-third of the world's population
Cost: $34 million
The wedding of Britain's Prince William to former college classmate Kate Middleton was relatively modest, upbeat and even homey compared to his parents' nuptials.
"It was not anywhere near over-the-top," says Souza. "I mean, the fact that they brought in trees to Westminster Abbey; I was expecting them to really bring in trees to where it would look like Sherwood Forest! Clearly they both wanted to get married outside but were bound to get married the way that they had to get married."
Despite the somber overtones given its timing, just weeks before what would have been Princess Diana's 50th birthday, the Will-and-Kate wedding was joyous and even goofy at times, thanks to the youthful playfulness of their supporting cast, Prince Harry and Pippa Middleton.
Yes, the royals spent $800,000 on flowers, $80,000 on two wedding cakes and $600,000 on receptions. But the lion's share of the price tag, $32 million, went toward security and crowd control, largely at taxpayer expense.
"Unlike Charles and Di, this couple had a real relationship. They did it privately to some degree and publicly to some degree. I thought they did a great job," says Souza.