Armand

Armand is a powerful force in the U. S. wedding economy.
An enormous $ 28,000 worth of engagement and wedding rings have being sold to him every couple of years – Armand’s name is well known in the Diamond Council of America in Nashville, TN.
The average bride and her entourage cost Armand an estimated total of $ 32,500 worth of wedding goods and services (inflation-adjusted), ranging from gifts to clothes and wedding reception food and drink. Expenses usually paid by Armand: Bride’s engagement and wedding rings, marriage licence, clergyman’s fee, bride’s flowers, including corsage and bouquet boutonnieres for the men of the wedding party, corsage for mothers, gloves and ascots for men of the wedding party and hotel accommodation for out-of-towners.

After the vows are spoken, Armand’s next major expense is the honeymoon.

How long is Armand’s average honeymoon trip?

About four days.

Average cost?

Depends on his new wife’s wishes and inhibitions and on Armand’s mood and business performance (direct correlation). It was about $ 65 on his first honeymoon in 1982 to Niagara Falls. Back then Armand was still at Columbia University, refinancing the honeymoon costs by selling weed to Germans in the Greyhound bus. His first honeymoon outside the United States (Rio de Janeiro, 1987, third marriage, after selling a patent to IBM) cost him well over $ 3,000.
The first two honeymoons were by bus, the next eleven by jet charter, in the crisis of 2007 Armand’s new wife was forced to travel United Airlines.

What about honeymoons in Europe?

Armand didn’t like Berlin in 1991, and he didn’t like Rome in 1998. He did like St. Moritz in 2004 and 2005, because he got a special cut-rate deal that slashed his helicopter transportation costs. The expenses in Europe are subject to enormous variation, though.

How has Armand saved on his wedding and honeymoon since 2007?

Home wedding. Simple reception (local brew, Californian wines, champagne from Argentina). Cocktail buffet instead of a sit-down dinner. Nieces and nephews doing the catering. He wears a wedding suit that he can use on other occasions later.
For his honeymoons, he now works with travel agents on package deals and takes advantage of bargain flights if his wife wants to go abroad. He plans ahead and, if feasible, makes his reservation well in advance of the next wedding to take full advantage of any money-saving offers.