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Luxury event planner Billy Folchetti has organized hundreds of weddings. His clients include celebrities, ultra-high-net-worth people with fortunes of $30 million or more, and others who might not technically qualify as UHNW but find the money for a luxury event nevertheless. 

“Luxury is an experience, it's not a price tag,” he said. “The word luxury, very much like couture, is abused in incredibly regular fashion.” 

Folchetti, who splits his time between New York and Lake Como, specializes in helping American couples create the weddings (or birthdays or anniversary parties) of their dreams in Europe. Interest in destination weddings has exploded since the pandemic, he said, as has the desire for an editorial aesthetic. He now finds himself planning flower-less weddings with crystals and candles instead of the pink and white arrangements that were commonly requested more than 10 years ago.

“The industry often calls me the anti-wedding planner,” said Folchetti. “I think people get caught up too much on what they think they should do versus what they want to do.” 

Ahead, he talks about what it’s like planning weddings for the one percent, why bridal attire fails more often than it succeeds, and what he would have done for Taylor Swift’s big day.

How do you define a luxury wedding?

Price point per head is the industry definition. I did a very small wedding on Lake Como, and the client spent more than $100,000 on just 17 guests. [Ed. note: the industry average in 2025 was $34,000 total and $292 per guest.] I did a birthday party for a client at a château outside of Paris with fewer than 10 guests, and she spent €550,000. If someone spends $10 million, that doesn't mean anything — how many people were there? What was served? How was the service? Were people waiting in line to get drinks from an open bar?

Can you give an average cost per head of events you plan?

Probably $5,000 to $10,000, with extreme outliers.

Who do you view as your client — the bride, or whoever's paying for it?

Every family dynamic is a little different. In the more common scenario, the groom's present for the first call and absent for everything else because he's "at the office." You send the bill, and the bride says no problem. Then the groom calls and says, "What the fuck?"

Well, I don't know what you expect if you refuse to get on calls because you don't want to talk about flowers or what heels she should wear or the food, because you just want to make sure there's Johnny Walker Blue behind the bar so you and your buddies can get wasted.

Are you saying TLC needs a Groomzillas show instead of Bridezillas?

Nine out of ten problems I've had in my career were generated by grooms. I have a protective clause in my contract — the Zilla Clause, not the Bridezilla Clause. 

Other examples of grooms behaving badly?

Almost always…