Did ABC pay for ‘The Golden Wedding’ and how much did it cost?

Getting engaged to one another during the finale of the inaugural season of The Golden Bachelor, Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist are truly a match made in heaven.

In an event called The Golden Wedding — streaming live on ABC from the the La Quinta Resort & Club in La Quinta, California yesterday (January 4) — Turner and Nist became newlyweds, surrounded by friends, family, and all of our favorite Bachelor Nation stars. With ABC flying out Wells Adams from Bachelor In Paradise to bartend, Susan Noles from The Golden Bachelor to officiate, Kathy Swarts from The Golden Bachelor, and Charity Lawson from The Bachelorette to serve as red carpet correspondents, and more, anywhere from 100 to 150 people walked the “Gold Carpet” at the function, ultimately proving that The Golden Wedding was as extravagant as can be.

Because of all of the glitz and glam that the evening had in store — which included a broadcast on live television with an elaborate team and camera crew to make it happen — anyone who tuned into The Golden Wedding had nothing but money on their mind. Given how expensive The Golden Wedding looked, fans of The Bachelor franchise might be wondering whether or not ABC paid for the function, as well as how much it cost altogether.

Keep scrolling for the answer to these frequently asked questions…

Did ABC pay for The Golden Wedding?

As one can assume, ABC did pay for The Golden Wedding, from the ring to the dress to the venue and beyond.

Given that Nist has a net worth upwards of $500,000, Turner was accused being a “gold digger” after introducing Theresa to his family as a “professional businesswoman” on The Golden Bachelor. Because of this, fans of The Bachelor franchise took to X — formerly known as Twitter — as soon as The Golden Wedding was announced, accusing the two lovebirds of agreeing to a televised wedding in order to have everything paid for by ABC.

“Gerry’s cheap a** knowing ABC will pay for the entire wedding if it’s televised.”

“Gerry tearing up thinking about all the money about to hit his bank account later #GoldenBachelor“

“The Golden Bachelor viewers liked season cuz Gerry seemed genuine. ABC/The Bachelor franchise tainted that by making the wedding a branding & money-making op. Wasn’t anything like real Gerry & Theresa. So staged & weird, worst of The Bachelor brand, instead of the authenticity of the couple. Shameful!”

Not to mention ABC gifted Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist an all expenses paid trip to Italy that the duo is using as their honeymoon. The network is seriously hooking them up with all of their festivities as newlyweds!

How much did The Golden Wedding cost?

While there is no way to know exactly how much The Golden Wedding cost, Showbiz Cheat Sheet estimated how much money was spent on the special day, and it looks like it was a pretty penny…

For starters, Turner and Nist tied the knot at the La Quinta Resort & Club in La Quinta, California. According to Wedding Spot it costs about $30,000 for the venue and outside vendors, but that is definitely not all that The Golden Wedding consisted of, with ABC also providing Theresa with a stunning wedding dress — likely worth thousands of dollars — as well as a dazzling Neil Lane diamond ring. After all, someone needs to pay for the floral arrangements, the live band, the wedding cake, and more!

To top it all off, given that a majority of the guests were members of Bachelor Nation — such as Brayden Bowers and Christina Mandrell, Kenny Braasch and Mari Pepin, Dean Unglert and Caelynn Miller-Keyes, and more — the network likely flew in each guest in for the wedding, including every single contestant from the inaugural season of The Golden Bachelor, resulting in thousands of dollars more in plane tickets and lodging alone.

With all of this in mind, Showbiz Cheat Sheet predicted that The Golden Wedding cost the network hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not more. How wild is that?

Regardless of the cost, The Golden Wedding was a real treat! In case you missed it, fans of The Bachelor franchise can stream the one-of-a-kind event via Hulu or Disney Plus now to watch Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist — or should we say Theresa Turner? — tie the knot.