<p class="source"><span>Chris Jackson / Getty Images</span></p><ul class="summary-list"><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/meghan-markle" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Meghan Markle</a> and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/prince-harry" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Prince Harry</a> officially <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B7EaGS_Jpb9/?igshid=1xq8fbo2pxglq">announced via their Instagram and website</a> <strong style="background-color: #ffffff;">on January 8</strong> that they are stepping back as "senior" members of the royal family and intend "to become financially independent."</li><li><strong style="background-color: #ffffff;">Despite <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/queen-harry-and-meghan-blessing-to-step-back-2020-1">initial reports</a> suggesting she'd been unaware of (and taken aback by) the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's intentions,</strong> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/queen-confirmed-harry-and-meghan-will-spend-time-in-canada-2020-1">in a Monday statement</a>, the Queen announced she was "entirely supportive" of the decision and that there will be a "period of transition" where the couple will spend time in both the UK and Canada.</li><li><strong style="background-color: #ffffff;">"Harry and Meghan have made clear that they do not want to be reliant on public funds in their new lives," the Queen <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/queen-confirmed-harry-and-meghan-will-spend-time-in-canada-2020-1">wrote</a>, in part.</strong></li><li>Although Harry and Meghan <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/prince-harry-net-worth-2018-4">are estimated to be worth around $30 million already</a>, experts say the two could easily create a billion-dollar global brand.</li><li><a href="http://businessinsider.com">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.</a></li></ul><p>The Queen <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/queen-confirmed-harry-and-meghan-will-spend-time-in-canada-2020-1">issued a rare personal statement on Monday</a> addressing the news that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle would be taking a step back from royal life: "My family and I are entirely supportive of Harry and Meghan's desire to create a new life as a young family. Although we would have preferred them to remain full-time working Members of the Royal Family, we respect and understand their wish to live a more independent life as a family while remaining a valued part of my family."</p><p>Part of that "more independent life" would involve funding their own <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-much-money-meghan-markle-prince-harry-need-financial-independence-2020-1">lavish lifestyle</a> rather than depending on the money from a <a href="https://sussexroyal.com/funding/">sovereign grant.</a> "Harry and Meghan have made clear that they do not want to be reliant on public funds in their new lives," the Queen continued.</p><p>But ultimately, it would probably be relatively easy for the couple to support themselves. They could maybe even build a billion<strong style="background-color: #ffffff;">-</strong>dollar brand in the process.</p><p>David Haigh, the CEO of Brand Finance, an independent brand evaluation consultancy firm in London, <a href="https://wwd.com/business-news/business-features/meghan-markle-prince-harry-megxit-1203418773/">told WWD's Rosemary Feitelberg on January 12 that he would be surprised</a> if Harry and Meghan couldn't leverage their celebrity into a billion-dollar brand. He even cited <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kylie-jenner-sells-600-million-majority-stake-in-makeup-company-2019-11">Kylie Jenner's billion-dollar cosmetics company</a> as a replicable phenom for the royal couple.</p><h1>From book deals <strong style="background-color: #ffcc00;"><strong style="background-color: #ffffff;">and speaking engagement opportunities </strong></strong>to branded merch, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are poised to build an empire</h1><p>Royal commentator and author Kristen Meinzer told Business Insider's Taylor Nicole Rogers that the royal couple has <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-meghan-prince-harry-sussex-earn-money-financially-independent-2020-1">"great earning potential" when it comes to book deals and speaking engagements.</a> She compared their popularity to that of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/barack-obama-michelle-obama-net-worth-2018-7">Barack and Michelle Obama</a> and noted that the value of their book offers will likely be in the neighborhood of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/obama-book-deal-2017-2">the Obamas' $60 million advance for their 2017 memoirs.</a></p><p>WWD's Feitelberg also reported that <a href="https://wwd.com/business-news/business-features/meghan-markle-prince-harry-megxit-1203418773/">100 trademarks were secured last year</a> covering a wide range of Sussex Royal branded apparel and other merchandise, but those applications only covered use of the trademarks within the UK. Haigh posited that those trademarks were originally "defensive," i.e., filed so that others couldn't profit off their name. The Guardian just reported that a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/jan/12/harry-and-meghan-seek-global-trademark-sussex-royal-brand">global trademark application was submitted to the World Intellectual Property Organization in December</a>, seeking to register the Sussex Royal brand in Australia, Canada, the EU, and the US. The international filings mention a total range of items and services, from stationery paper to the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/jan/12/harry-and-meghan-seek-global-trademark-sussex-royal-brand">"organizing and conducting of emotional support groups,"</a> according to The Guardian.</p><p>"It's noticeable that every time [Meghan] dotes a particular clothing brand or wears anything, they instantly crash the websites and sell out," Haigh told WWD, insinuating that any Sussex branded goods will surely sell well, but also that any future fashion collaborations would too.</p><h1>Other opportunities could include leveraging their celebrity status on Instagram</h1><p>Notoriety sells. Haigh noted that the pair's 2018 wedding brought a billion-pound boost to the British economy and brought in an additional three million tourists to the UK.</p><p>Marketing platform <a href="https://inzpire.me/">inzpire.me</a>, which connects brands like Coca-Cola and UNICEF with potential influencer partners, told Business Insider that Harry and Meghan can expect to earn as much as $105,000 per singular sponsored Instagram post, should they choose to monetize their social media presence. The estimate is based on the current engagement rate of the pair's <a href="https://www.instagram.com/sussexroyal/">@sussexroyal Instagram account</a> - which saw 190,000 new followers in the 24 hours following their statement last week, more new followers than the account gains in a typical month.</p><p>For comparison, Kylie Jenner, who Haigh highlighted as a particular social media success story, has an estimated maximum post fee of $1.5 million, according to inzpire.me. Meanwhile, the Obamas, who Meinzer directly compared the royal couple to, are projected to have a maximum post fee of $230,000.</p><p>Inzpire.me's cofounder Marie Mostad suggested that Instagram influencing may not be far off for Meghan and Harry, noting their initial Instagram announcement in and of itself was "a big departure" from the way royal news is typically announced. "This may be the first of many modernizations we see in the royal family," she noted.</p><p>But, as Rogers previously reported for Business Insider, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-meghan-prince-harry-sussex-earn-money-financially-independent-2020-1">other royal experts don't expect the couple to hit peak millennial and fully commit to an Instagram side hustle</a>. It's just one of the potentially lucrative options to grow their brand.</p><p>Though it's also unlikely that Markle will <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-meghan-prince-harry-sussex-earn-money-financially-independent-2020-1">return to acting as a full-time gig</a>, reports have already surfaced that <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/meghan-markle-signed-voice-over-deal-disney">she signed a voice-over deal with Disney</a>. While neither the royals or Disney have confirmed the news, The Times of London reported that <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/voiceover-deal-with-disney-hints-at-future-career-path-5sr0jmjvd?utm_medium=Social&amp;utm_source=Twitter%23Echobox%3D1578735558&amp;wgu=270525_54264_15790150765019_a9dd4aa501&amp;wgexpiry=1586791076&amp;utm_source=planit&amp;utm_medium=affiliate&amp;utm_content=22278">payment for the deal will take the form of a direct donation to Elephants Without Borders</a>, emphasizing the couple's commitment to using their celebrity for philanthropy. </p><p>Charity will surely take take center stage in the global brand the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are poised to build - their initial statement included a callout to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/meghan-markle-prince-harry-sussex-royal-trademark-2019-12">the future launch of their "new charitable entity,"</a> and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/meghan-markle-prince-harry-sussex-royal-new-charity-2019-7">their philanthropic causes</a> have been a focal point of their work as "senior royals" in the past.</p>            <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/stop-using-champagne-flutes-this-is-the-best-way-to-drink-champagne-2017-12">Stop using champagne flutes - this is the best way to drink champagne</a></h3>

Actually, it would be pretty easy for Meghan Markle and Prince Harry to build a billion-dollar brand

<p class="source"><span>JohnnyGreig/Getty Images</span></p><p class="caption">Younger generations are redefining retirement.</p><ul class="summary-list"><li>People are said to be <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/retire-millionaire-build-wealth-financial-strategies-20s-30s-40s-50s-2019-1">retiring</a> later in life, but also earlier in life - so which is true?</li><li>With shifting perspectives on age and changes in the workplace, people are extending their careers because they want to keep working, wrote John D. Stoll for <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-end-of-retirement-11578632400">The Wall Street Journal</a>.</li><li>Others are opting for <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/self-made-millionaire-early-retirement-habits-2019-12">early retirement</a> in pursuit of a life that comes with financial freedom.</li><li>Both groups are changing the concept of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/can-i-afford-retirement-in-florida-budget-breakdown-2018-7">retirement</a> by defining it on their own terms. </li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</li></ul><p>When it comes to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/retirement">retirement</a>, there seems to be no middle ground.</p><p>Younger generations, studies have shown, are <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/millennials-less-wealth-net-worth-compared-to-boomers-2019-12">behind in wealth accumulation compared to previous generations</a> and have <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/millennials-gen-x-money-stresses-retirement-savings-2019-10">paltry retirement savings</a>. It's made some realize they may never be able to afford to retire, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/millennial-generation-gap-great-recession-financial-crisis-money-habits-2019-3">experts say</a>. On the other hand, others have saved enough to embark on an early <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/early-retirement-improve-money-habits-advice-2019-8#jeremy-jacobson-and-winnie-tseng-dont-think-about-money-anymore-2">retirement in their 20s, 30s, and 40s</a>.</p><p>But the trend seems to be distinctly moving away from the notion of retiring at age 65, the <a href="https://www.ssa.gov/planners/retire/background.html">standard retirement age</a> when Social Security goes into effect. So are people retiring later in life or earlier in life?</p><p>Turns out, both are true, but we shouldn't be looking at money as the only factor fueling that decision. Instead, we should also be examining what younger generations look for in the workforce and how they ultimately want to live their lives.</p><h2>People are retiring later because they <em>want</em> to</h2><p>Generations entering the workforce today might be facing 50-year careers versus 25- to 30-year careers, economist Olivia Mitchell, professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business, told John D. Stoll for <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-end-of-retirement-11578632400">The Wall Street Journal</a>.</p><p>More than 3,000 workers polled in a 2018 Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies survey don't expect to retire by 65, reported Stoll. And 9% of millennials in an <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/millennials-baby-boomers-financial-behavior-money-habits-2019-4#but-more-millennials-than-boomers-expect-to-never-retire-at-all-around-9-compared-to">Insider and Morning Consult survey</a> said they expect to never retire at all. That's 5 percentage points more than boomer respondents.</p><p>At the surface, a quick look at finances explains a lot: Half of Gen X doesn't have <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-invest-in-a-401k-for-retirement">a 401(k)</a> or <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/retirement-savings-accounts-traditional-roth-ira-401k-comparison">retirement account</a> and neither do 54% of millennials, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/millennials-gen-x-money-stresses-retirement-savings-2019-10">according to a second Insider and Morning Consult survey</a>. The majority of each generation said it was because they didn't have enough money to save.</p><p>Social Security deficiencies and increased health-care costs aren't helping, Stoll wrote, but it's not primarily about the money. People are <em>choosing</em> to work longer for several reasons, he said: Work involves less physical labor than it used to and more rewards; it fills the loss of community created by declining birth rates and religious participation rates; and it's easier to establish one's own terms thanks to the rise of the gig economy.</p><p class="source"><span>Jozef_Culak/Shutterstock</span></p><p class="caption">People are retiring later because they want to keep working.</p><p>We're also looking at age differently thanks to increased life expectancy, he said. More baby boomers today are working than ever before, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/baby-boomers-working-past-retirement-age-healthier-2019-4">reported Business Insider's Tanza Loudenback</a>, citing an analysis of US Census data by financial-planning firm <a href="https://unitedincome.com/documents/papers/United_Income_Older_Americans_in_the_Workforce.pdf">United Income</a>. It's largely because retirement-age Americans are healthier than they've ever been - and it's shaping the perspectives of younger generations.</p><p>People Stoll spoke with said they envision working part-time or returning to school later on, and one millennial said he plans to work in 20-year segments of different interests and take a sabbatical. It helps explain the popularity of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mini-retirement-advice-savings-tips-to-stay-on-track-2019-8">mini-retirements</a>, a series of meaningful respites away from the job.</p><p>"It has never made sense to me to work your whole life and save all of the fun and enjoyment for the end, when you might not have the health or energy to do the things you want," Kyle Stimpson, who took a six-month mini-retirement to travel in Asia and Europe, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/early-retirement-vs-mini-retirement-advice-how-to-save-2018-6">previously told Business Insider</a>.</p><h2>People are retiring early for financial freedom</h2><p>On the flip side of people preparing for a long life of work that extends well past the typical retirement age is the FIRE (Financial Independence/Retire Early) movement. It was <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/purpose-of-early-retirement-giving-back-altruistic-behavior-2018-11">first popularized</a> 20 years ago by the best-selling book "<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Your-Money-Life-Transforming-Relationship/dp/0143115766?tag=bisafetynet2-20">Your Money or Your Life.</a>"</p><p>Since then, more people have set out to join the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/early-retirement">growing community of people pursuing early retirement</a>. Consider <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/millennial-passive-income-early-retirement-advice-2018-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">J.P. Livingston</a>, who built a nest egg of more than $2 million before retiring at 28; <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/day-in-life-of-early-retiree-self-made-millionaire-millennial-2019-9">Grant Sabatier</a>, who retired at age 30 with $1.25 million; or <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/early-retirement-weekly-spending-budget-2018-7">John, a former business executive</a>, who retired at 52 with $3 million. </p><p>A slew of early retirement blogs and books by early retirees have popped up in the past decade detailing just <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/self-made-millionaire-early-retirement-habits-2019-12">how to achieve early retirement</a> - and younger generations are biting. Nearly 5% of millennials expect to retire by age 45 and 6% expect to retire by age 55, according to the original <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/millennials-baby-boomers-financial-behavior-money-habits-2019-4#but-more-millennials-than-boomers-expect-to-never-retire-at-all-around-9-compared-to-4-of-boomers-and-18-of-millennials-dont-know-when-theyll-retire-compared-to-13-of-boomers-9">Insider and Morning Consult survey</a>. And a 2019 <a href="https://www.troweprice.com/personal-investing/planning-and-research/t-rowe-price-insights/retirement-and-planning/personal-finance/how-do-you-compare-.html">T.Rowe Price survey</a> found that 43% of millennials expect to retire before the age of 65.</p><p class="source"><span>Courtesy of Jeremy/GoCurryCracker</span></p><p class="caption">Jeremy and his partner Winnie retired in their 30s.</p><p>With the aforementioned lack of retirement savings among Gen X and millennials, early retirement can seem an impossible feat. Again, though, retirement choices don't all boil down to money. The early retirement community is still a niche one, but its growth indicates that people are willing to make financial sacrifices in some areas if it means achieving financial independence earlier on in life.</p><p>One 36-year-old New York lawyer earning $270,000 <a href="https://nypost.com/2019/10/08/inside-the-strange-secretive-lives-of-rich-millennial-cheapskates/">told the New York Post</a> he <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/early-retirement-live-frugal-to-build-wealth-2019-10">lives off rice and beans</a> so he can save 70% of his salary. Joe and Ali Olson, retired 30-something schoolteachers, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/self-made-millionaire-early-retirement-habits-2019-12#3-theyre-frugal-3">told Business Insider</a> they made strategically frugal choices, like driving the same cars for years and rarely eating out, to live on just $20,000 a year.</p><p>"Even without the 'retire early' life, being financially independent provides a tremendous amount of inner peace," Jeremy Jacobson, who retired in his 30s a self-made millionaire, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/early-retirement-improve-money-habits-advice-2019-8#jeremy-jacobson-and-winnie-tseng-dont-think-about-money-anymore-2">previously told Business Insider</a>.</p><h2>Younger generations are defining retirement on their own terms</h2><p>Whether people prefer to retire early or retire later, both choices are eradicating the concept of retirement being universally tied to one specific age. Younger generations are largely coming to define and modernize retirement on their own terms, rather than government logistics. </p><p>For some, that might mean extending a fulfilling a career, perhaps turning it into part-time work or scattering it with periods to recharge. For others, that might be <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/day-in-the-life-self-made-millionaire-early-retirement-2018-7">ending a career early so they can enjoy traveling</a>, spending time with their family, or working on projects they didn't previously have time for.</p><p>Some may argue that the passive income yielded by some of these projects, such as blogs and books, makes the latter cohort not early retirees but self-employed individuals. Perhaps this means these early retirees are actually part of the group who never plans to retire at all. </p><p>Regardless, the point is this: The decision to retire early or late enables people to live their days as they please. And the benefits are plenty on both ends. Those who want to keep working make it easier to remain "sharp and productive," a workforce expert told Stoll. Many early retirees, on the other hand, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/early-retirement-advice-what-to-know-before-retiring-early-2018-6">have told Business Insider</a> early retirement helped them cultivate and discover new passions.</p><p>It's not surprising, considering that millennials are already kicking to the curb other parts of a timeline imposed by society, like the typical age of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-millennials-changed-the-world-in-the-2010s-2019-12">marriage and homeownership</a>. These decisions may be rooted in <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/money-problems-millennials-facing-student-loan-debt-homeownership-2019-5">financial struggles</a>, but it remains that younger generations are creating lives based on their own personal goals and purposes, not on the expectations laid out for them.</p><p class="tagline">This is an opinion column. The thoughts expressed are those of the author(s).</p>            <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/stop-using-champagne-flutes-this-is-the-best-way-to-drink-champagne-2017-12">Stop using champagne flutes - this is the best way to drink champagne</a></h3>

Are people retiring earlier or later? Both are true - and it says a lot about the youngest generations entering and defining the workforce

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Daniel Smith/Warner Bros.</span></p><p class="caption">'The Man From U.N.C.L.E."</p></div><p></p></div></div>With over 100 credits on movies and TV, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1207404/?ref_=nv_sr_1">Daniel Pemberton</a>, 35, is quickly becoming one of the most sought-after composers in Hollywood.</p><p>And 2015 looks to be a banner year for the Englishman as he takes on two high-profile projects, "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." (currently in theaters) and "Steve Jobs" (out October 9).</p><p>"Kiss goodbye to your life," Pemberton told Business Insider this week while taking a break from putting the final touches on the "Steve Jobs" score at the legendary Abbey Road recording studio in London.</p><p>The work has been constant for over a year for Pemberton, but he's not complaining. Working alongside some of the biggest names in the business has allowed Pemberton to create music he believes is different than what we're hearing often in today's movies.</p><p>That's what got him the gig on "U.N.C.L.E.," a reboot of the 1964 spy comedy starring Henry Cavill, Armie Hammer, and Alicia Vikander.</p><p>Director <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005363/?ref_=nv_sr_1">Guy Richie</a> was weaving through the usual composers the film's studio Warner Bros. had compiled for him when he came across Pemberton's show reel.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Chloe Pemberton</span></p><p class="caption">Daniel Pemberton.</p></div><p></p></div></div>"He said it was the first one that didn't sound exactly like everyone else's," said Pemberton, whose recent credits range from <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000631/?ref_=tt_ov_dr">Ridley Scott</a>'s "The Counselor" to the PBS "Nova" series.</p><p>Richie offered Pemberton the job on the spot and worked on the music for "U.N.C.L.E." for the next 11 months.</p><p>"Guy's feeling is if you've seen it or heard it before why do it again," said Pemberton, who was intimidated at first to work with Richie as his films always have such a unique sounds.</p><p>"His last movies were the 'Sherlock Holmes' films which had fantastic scores by <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001877/?ref_=nv_sr_1">Hans Zimmer</a>!" said Pemberton, referring to the legendary composer.</p><p>But Pemberton believes what settled him was the way Richie wanted the music made. Instead of the typical plan of having a composer come in toward the end of post production and spend a few months with an orchestra creating the sound, Richie had Pemberton involved once editing began.</p><p>"I think one of the most important things when you write a film score is having room to fail," Pemberton said. "If you have room to fail you can try great, crazy ideas, that's really exciting."</p><p>With time to develop the score, Pemberton brought in individual musicians to try out different ideas.</p><p>The breakthrough came when he brought in a bass flute.</p><p>"We tried a lot of different ideas over the big car chase that opens the movie and Guy felt [the sound] was too predictable," Pemberton recalled.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>YouTube/Warner Bros.</span></p></div><p></p></div></div>"And then suddenly I did some work with this amazing flute player Dave Heath who normally plays classical concertos. I was like, 'Show me the crazy noises you can make that no one lets you do.' What he did I thought was really cool, so I started writing something around that sound, recorded it and Guy was really into that and it ended up being a big part of the sound in the film."</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Chloe Pemberton</span></p><p class="caption">Dave Heath on bass flute.</p></div><p></p></div></div>Over the course of the 11 months working on the score, Pemberton also brought in players of everything from Spanish guitar, accordions, organs, harpsichords, and "every part of percussion you can ever imagine" to create a vintage 1960s cloak-and-dagger secret agent sound for "U.N.C.L.E."</p><p><strong>Here's some shots of Pemberton hard at work with his musicians:</strong></p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Chloe Pemberton</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Chloe Pemberton</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Chloe Pemberton</span></p></div><p></p></div></div>Pemberton hasn't had much time for a break. Soon after he was done with "U.N.C.L.E." director <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000965/">Danny Boyle</a> came calling asking him to come on his "Steve Jobs" project.</p><p>On the film for the last 9 months, Pemberton says it's very different from creating the score for "U.N.C.L.E."</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Universal</span></p><p class="caption">"Steve Jobs."</p></div><p></p></div></div>"What we're trying to do with 'Steve Jobs' is going to be a surprise in some ways," he said. "The film is a very clear three act structure and we have a device that is trying to play with that in the score."</p><p>Pemberton wouldn't go into anymore detail about the sound in "Steve Jobs," as the score could be faintly heard on his end of the phone during our interview.</p><p>"If I told you what was happening right now you'd be like, 'What the hell?,'" he said.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-bbc-just-shocked-everyone-with-a-clip-from-the-next-sherlock-episode-2015-7">The BBC just shocked everyone with a clip from the next 'Sherlock' episode</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="VrZGo0djrRkC-zwjdjYKfqUbAoFAr_sj" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

Meet the composer behind spy thriller 'The Man From U.N.C.L.E.' and the much-anticipated Steve Jobs biopic

<p class="source"><span>Courtesy of Elaine Ratner</span></p><p class="caption">In the three years she's been selling on Poshmark and her ecommerce site, Elaine Ratner said she's made more than $1 million in total sales.</p><p>Is it too late to say "new year, new you"?</p><p>We are, after all, in a new year. A new decade even, as you might've heard.</p><p>This is Drake Baer, writing in lieu of executive editor Matt Turner, who's on parental leave. I run the strategy desk at Business Insider, where we cover how the professional world is shifting and how to navigate it. We have a vested interest in reinvention, one that you can follow through our weekly newsletter, <a href="http://newsletter.businessinsider.com/join/4np/success-insider">Success Insider</a>. And if you're interested in renewables, check out <a href="http://newsletter.businessinsider.com/join/4np/power-line">Power Line</a> - our just-launched newsletter covering clean energy.</p><p>Over the past week, the Business Insider newsroom has had a variety of pieces that will help you plan out the year, and maybe the decade. Perhaps you want to finally get going in real estate, or you're curious about cannabis, or you keep hearing about the social reselling platforms where the kids are getting all their fashion. Or maybe, simply, you want to get stock picks from the highest-performing analysts around. We got you.</p><p>You want to get ahead. We'll show you how.</p><h2><strong>Finance and investing</strong></h2><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/list-of-softbanks-dotcom-era-venture-investments-2020-1"><strong>Here's a look at how SoftBank's dot-com-era investments played out - half of these 14 startups it bet on collapsed</strong></a></p><p>The Japanese conglomerate SoftBank quickly went from being lauded to scrutinized with the fallout of WeWork. But as our reporters uncovered, the house that Masayoshi Son built (like many investors) has a history of calamity. The first megafund, SoftBank Capital Partners, surfed on the dot-com boom at the turn of the last century - and a frankly shocking number of those would-be world-beaters went belly up.</p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/real-estate-investing-advice-syndication-from-spencer-hilligoss-madison-investing-2020-1"><strong>A Silicon Valley tech leader left behind a lucrative career to pursue real-estate investing. Here's the dealmaking strategy that's netted him 3,500 units to date.</strong></a></p><p>Having burned out on the startup grind, Spencer Hilligoss wanted to find a way to financial independence that would be predictable and lucrative. He learned that "syndication" was the best strategy for making smart investments in real estate - with a healthy dose of scale.</p><p><strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/2020-market-forecast-historically-profitable-investment-recommendation-setup-jeffrey-gundlach-2020-1">'This is a really huge buy signal': Billionaire bond King Jeffrey Gundlach lays out a juicy investment setup worth seizing, one that's happened only a handful of times in the past century</a></strong></p><p>Gundlach is a superstar among finance types, known for his bold calls. And he has two interrelated messages: The US dollar is about to get way weaker and commodities are apt to swell in turn.</p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/stock-market-picks-sell-side-analysts-buy-recommendations-ratings-tipranks-2020-1"><strong>Wall Street's 5 most accurate analysts reveal the stocks you should buy now for explosive returns in 2020</strong></a></p><p>The fintech firm TipRanks measure how well sell-side analysts perform, and they gave us the top experts of past year with one stock each analyst rates as a buy. Why not learn from the best?</p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/list-top-cannabis-focused-venture-capital-funds-vcs-by-deal-count"><strong>The top 14 VC firms making deals in the cannabis industry, and where they're looking to place their next bets</strong></a></p><p>The cannabis-investment space continues to mature, and our reporters Yeji Jesse Lee and Jeremy Berke caught up with some of the leading VCs, as measured by deal count, for their 2020 predictions.</p><p><strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wework-sec-letters-about-contribution-margin-2020-1">WeWork convinced a skeptical SEC to let it use a wonky metric that tested accounting rules. Here are 58 pages of letters showing how the coworking company changed the agency's mind.</a></strong></p><p>Dakin Campbell published 58 pages of letters between WeWork and the top U.S. securities regulator that have never been seen by the public. The back-and-forth shows how the company convinced the SEC to let it use a wonky metric that painted its financials in a rosy light when pitching its doomed IPO.</p><h2><strong>Tech, media, and telecoms</strong></h2><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/inside-tesla-culture-and-bare-bones-marketing-strategy-2020-1"><strong>Internal Tesla marketing document reveals how the company tried to position itself as a lifestyle brand that makes the world's best cars</strong></a></p><p>At Business Insider we pride ourselves in living up to our name - that is, bringing you inside the world's most influential companies. Reporter Patrick Coffee did just that on Wednesday with an article extrapolating from an internal document at Tesla that outlines the company's marketing strategy.</p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-much-youtube-pays-for-views-100-thousand-million-150-2020-1"><strong>How much YouTube pays influencers for 100,000, 1 million, and 150 million views, according to top creators</strong></a></p><p>YouTube has a partner program through which influencers can make money off placing ads in their videos. We spoke with a variety of influencers about how much they earn with each video - the pay (and the ads themselves) depend on their length, the demographic, and how long people are watching them.</p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/the-walmart-advertising-execs-to-know-competing-with-amazon-2020-1"><strong>Walmart wants to build an ad business that rivals Amazon. Here are the 11 execs leading the charge.</strong></a></p><p>Amazon makes upward of $17 billion on advertising a year. Walmart is attempting to match that success, with a phalanx of executives with tenures at Frito-Lay, Facebook, and of course Amazon Advertising. Intriguingly, there are quite a few CBS veterans in the mix.</p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-deloitte-plans-to-upskill-4000-employees-in-2020-2020-1"><strong>How Deloitte is spending $2 billion to train 4,000 workers on the hottest tech jobs of 2020</strong></a></p><p>The reality of digital transformation mandates that large companies need to "upskill" their workforce - that is, provide their talent training that makes them freshly relevant as new skills become in demand. The professional services giant Deloitte founded its Cloud Institute last year, providing employees the chance to pursue technical roles in-house. A thousand people went through it last year, with quadruple the cohort in 2020.</p><h2><strong>Healthcare, retail, and transportation</strong></h2><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/verily-ceo-andy-conrad-jpmorgan-presentation-to-investors-2020-1"><strong>Verily just presented for the first time at JPMorgan's big health conference. Here's how the CEO of Alphabet's life sciences firm laid out the unusual business to top investors.</strong></a></p><p>Verily is one of the most intriguing names in health. Owned by Google parent Alphabet, the firm has taken on $1.8 billion in investments, and it's involved in projects ranging from addiction treatment to robotics. And in a presentation, CEO Andy Conrad unpacked how the firm isn't just working on a bunch of disparate initiatives, but a coherent strategy.</p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trucking-truck-driver-shortage-debate-ceo-2020-1"><strong>The argument over whether America is facing a 'truck-driver shortage' has embroiled the trucking industry for years. We asked 3 CEOs and 2 economists to settle the debate.</strong></a></p><p>While trucking is a $800 billion industry, it's facing a labor problem. Trucking companies are seeing staggering rates of turnover - by one estimate, 97%! We spoke with trucking executives and economist about how they'd diagnose trucking's worker challenges, plus how to address it.</p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-open-pure-barre-franchise-location-become-successful-owners"><strong>The ultimate guide to opening a Pure Barre franchise and becoming wildly successful, according to 2 multiple-franchise owners</strong></a></p><p>Ballet, but make it boutique fitness. Pure Barre has over 500 studios across North America, serving more than half a million clients. The owners we spoke with detailed the challenges of starting up and dispensed sage advice on metrics and marketing.</p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mcdonalds-franchisees-stay-focused-on-new-chicken-sandwich-leaked-email-2020-1"><strong>McDonald's franchisees in leaked email call for the fast-food giant to 'stay focused' on creating a chicken sandwich that customers crave as the chain battles Popeyes and Chick-fil-A</strong></a></p><p>Chicken's hot. Popeyes and Chick-fil-A have become pop-culture presences unto their own. And the golden arches want in on it, testing new sandwiches in Houston and Knoxville. "We need to stay focused on coming up with a chicken sandwich our customers are going to crave," so reads an internal email.</p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/poshmark-sellers-made-side-hustles-six-figure-businesses-2020-1"><strong>How entrepreneurs use apps like Poshmark to turn side hustles selling clothes into full-time gigs earning 6 figures or more</strong></a></p><p>Online resale is also hot, especially with millennials and Gen Z. Poshmark is a social reseller with an emphasis on fashion, and our reporter Jennifer Ortakales spoke with a pair of "poshers" about how they grew their platforms from side hustles into full-time businesses. One key strategy: The social nature of Poshmark creates a built-in marketing mechanism. A quarter-million followers goes a long way.</p><p class="tagline"><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/intelligence/40-big-tech-predictions-for-2019?IR=T&amp;itm_source=businessinsider&amp;itm_medium=ctgr_bii&amp;itm_term=ctgr_leadgen&amp;itm_content=amazon&amp;itm_campaign=40-big-tech-predictions-for-2019-2"></a></p>            <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/stop-using-champagne-flutes-this-is-the-best-way-to-drink-champagne-2017-12">Stop using champagne flutes - this is the best way to drink champagne</a></h3>

Perfecting the Poshmark 6-figure side hustle, Wall Street's most accurate analysts make predictions, and the biggest VCs in cannabis place bets

'The Walking Dead' star Callan McAuliffe on Sunday's big reveal, the show ending, and how he'd love to be part of the upcoming 'Lord of the Rings' show

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Charles McQuillan/Getty Images</span></p><p class="caption">Iain McFarland, an Orange bandsman, plays his flute during the 11th night bonfire at the New Mossley housing estate on July 12, 2015 in Belfast, Northern Ireland</p></div><p></p></div></div>With earnings season wrapping up, now is as good a time as any to take a bird's eye view of the health of US corporations.</p><p>After <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/q1-earnings-preview-2016-4">disastrous expectations from analysts</a>, 71% of S&amp;P 500 companies who have reported their quarterly earnings thus far have <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/monday-scouting-report-may-9-2016-5">beat consensus projections for profits</a> <span>(about 87% of the S&amp;P 500 have reported as of Sunday)</span>.</p><p>However, in spite of the beats, companies are still in a profit recession.</p><p>Defined as two or more quarters of negative earnings growth, we are now three quarters deep into this corporate-specific recession. Profits <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/monday-scouting-report-may-9-2016-5">dropped by 7.1%</a> for S&amp;P 500 companies year-over-year for the first quarter.</p><p>"Global corporate earnings are in recession now although they are not yet falling as fast as they do during US economic recessions," wrote Jan Loeys, global strategist at JPMorgan.</p><p>Based on on Loeys' analysis, it does not appear that it is <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/corporate-recession-more-than-just-oil-2016-3?r=UK&amp;IR=T">easing up any time soon.</a></p><p>"Past episodes where soft US earnings reversed course saw either strong fiscal or monetary stimulus or strong growth in productivity," wrote Loeys in a note to clients.</p><p>"With central banks having much less to give today, fiscal policy neutral, and productivity falling, it much harder to expect higher company earnings over the next year."</p><p>Loeys' isn't <em>overly</em> worried about this, despite the fact that in <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/corporate-profit-recession-indicator-2016-2">almost every occasion such a profit drawdown</a> corresponds with the dramatic policy action he outlines above or a broader, economy-wide recession.</p><p>"Falling profit margins have been the important warning signal and cause of an eventual US recession and we thus continue to see an elevated risk of such a contraction over the next 1-2 years, even as the immediate risk appears low," wrote Loeys.</p><p>On the more bearish slant is Andrew Lapthorne, head of quantitative strategy at Societe Generale. To him this profit downturn is a sign that stocks are far too overvalued and the economy <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/profit-margins-call-for-recession-2016-2">is weaker than you think</a>.</p><p>"MSCI World EPS is now declining at the fastest pace since 2009, losing 4% in the last couple of months alone (this despite stronger oil prices)," wrote Lapthorne in a note. For the S&amp;P 500 specifically, the year on year drop in profit drop was the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/monday-scouting-report-may-9-2016-5">most since third quarter of 2009.</a></p><p>"Global earnings are now 14% off the peak set in August 2014 and back to where they stood five years ago. Equity prices on the other hand are 25% higher. Gravity beckons!"</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table click-to-enlarge"><div><div class="image"><a title_source="Societe Generale" title_caption="" class="zoomin" href="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5730e7829105842b008c1bcd-960/screen shot 2016-05-09 at 3.39.22 pm.png"><span class="sprites click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span></a><p class="source"><span>Societe Generale</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Lapthorne also noted in a later note that even stripping out the dismal energy sector MSCI profits are down 1% from peak. Stripping out both outliers to the upside (financials) and downside (as we mentioned, energy) profits are down 5% from peak.</p><p>So yes, corporations hopped over a <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/earnings-forecast-negative-revisions-2016-4">monumentally low bar</a> in the first quarter of 2016, but that <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/little-hope-of-profit-recession-ending-2016-2">doesn't mean their troubles are ending.</a> What that means for the broader economy and stocks is up for debate. It could be just a slowdown, or a signal of a nearing recession depending on how you look at it.</p><p>Either way, as profits stand now, it isn't pretty.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/global-economy-biggest-threat-2016-4">FORMER GREEK FINANCE MINISTER: The single largest threat to the global economy</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="4wNWo1MzE6mCXkk1XHZUEjn1PYYwkNot" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

Don't get fooled, corporations are still in recession

<p class="source"><span>Kat Rizza Photography</span></p><p class="caption">The author and her husband at their wedding.</p><ul class="summary-list"><li>I've worked as a bridal editor on and off for the past eight years, and I've learned a lot about <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/brides-budget-for-wedding-breakdown-2018-7">wedding budgets</a> along the way.</li><li>When I got married in 2019, my partner and I set a max budget of $10,000 and came in at about $9,500.</li><li>We kept our guest list small, asked for help, and went nontraditional on most details to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/save-money-wedding-reception-engagement-2019-8">keep our spending in check</a>. </li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/yourmoney?utm_source=bullet">Read more personal finance coverage</a>.</li></ul><p>Weddings are a delight. The food, the friends, the dancing, the love and commitment - it's all glorious. But we all know <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wedding-budget-spending-from-engagement-ring-to-wedding-dress-2018-4">weddings are expensive</a>. In 2018, the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-much-does-it-cost-to-get-married-average-wedding-2019-7">average US wedding cost nearly $39,000</a>, and the industry is worth more than $72 billion overall.</p><p>It's hard not to get sucked into the fun of it all - who can say no to personalized candy bar favors when they're just a couple of dollars each? When you're planning the best day of your life, no price tag seems too high.</p><p>Until the big day is over and you find yourself in debt, unable to reach your financial goals or pay for the life you dreamt of before saying "I do." That's a bad feeling. </p><p>Over the past eight years, I've worked on and off as a bridal editor, covering everything from drive-thru weddings in Vegas to NFL players' multi-million dollar affairs to New Age spiritual ceremonies and backyard blowouts - I even profiled a couple whose makeshift wedding took place in an office suite after Hurricane Sandy ruined their original plans. So I've acquired some high-level budget-slashing skills. </p><p>When I started planning my own wedding in 2019, I set a budget of $10,000 with my fiancé - then I drew on every tip, trick, and hack I've learned over the years to keep us on track.</p><h2>My 3 best pieces of advice</h2><p>I followed three basic rules when planning my wedding:</p><h3><strong>1. Keep the guest list small</strong></h3><p>The first tip is obvious: The bigger the guest list, the bigger your bill. For every guest, you're paying for plates of food, flutes of Champagne, cocktails, wine and beer, a party favor, a chair (and a chair cover), an end-of-the-night sparkler, a fan if it's hot, an umbrella if it's rainy, a pair of flip-flops for feet tired of dancing in heels, and every other sweet and lovely detail in between.</p><p>If the bill is $300 per person for all that whimsy and wonder - an easy sum to reach, believe me - you can imagine the difference in price between a wedding for 50 close friends and family members and a guest list twice that size. </p><h3><strong>2. Ask for help</strong></h3><p>In general, planning and managing your own wedding will be cheaper than hiring a wedding planner, especially if you have a clear vision for what you want and don't go wild with your DIY projects and spending.</p><p>But managing your wedding without professional help takes a village. And the village has to agree to support you from the get-go. You cannot (and should not) literally DIY every detail of your day.</p><p>I had a lot of help when I got married, and that kept my budget way down. For one thing, I'd acted as day-of coordinator at one of my best friend's weddings a couple years earlier, making sure her day ran smoothly so she could focus 100% on getting married, and she returned the favor for me this summer. That was a massive help and my wedding day wouldn't have been successful without her.</p><p>Plus, because we got married in Toronto (my hometown, far from where we live in Los Angeles) I relied on my dad for help with local tasks. I asked him to pick up a giant poster we had printed before the wedding, for example, and he carted me around the city the day before the wedding finishing up last-minute tasks.</p><p>I also borrowed Mason jars from my brother for our flower arrangements, did my own hair and makeup, and had a friend sing us down the aisle. And, instead of hiring a DJ, my husband and I made a playlist of our favorite songs and had a friend oversee the stopping and starting of the music.</p><p class="source"><span>Kat Rizza Photography</span></p><p class="caption">The author and her husband with their dog, Lolli.</p><p><strong>Bonus tip: Save for your wedding using a high-yield savings account.</strong></p><p>I wish I'd used a high-yield savings account to pay for my wedding (the interest accrued on $10,000 could have covered at least a part of our decor!) but I didn't open my first online savings account until after I tied the knot. Live and learn.</p><p>The third piece of advice is a little more complicated.</p><h3>3. Don't say 'wedding'</h3><p>If you've ever searched online for budget wedding advice, you've probably come across the phrase "don't say 'wedding.'" Heck, I've probably written those words!</p><p>The basic gist of this advice is that you'll save money if you avoid saying you're shopping for a <em>wedding</em> cake or <em>wedding </em>flowers or <em>wedding </em>food. The problem, however, is that it's unrealistic for newly engaged couples to shop for wedding stuff without saying "wedding" - especially if they don't know what they're shopping for or where to look.</p><p>The <a href="https://www.weddingwire.com/cost/wedding-cake">average wedding cake</a>, for instance - multi-tiered, artfully decorated, hand-delivered to your venue - rings in at about $500. They're works of edible art and involve tastings and consultations, so they're priced with all those factors in mind.</p><p>If you follow the "don't say 'wedding'" rule, however, you could select a simpler cake that's just as delicious but features a lot less decoration; perhaps something you'd find at a local bakery and pick up yourself the night before your wedding. For that, you might pay around $100-150, but it depends on where you live, how much cake you need, and where you're ordering from. </p><p>It's not that wedding vendors are ripping you off, it's just that weddings require <em>a lot</em> from the professionals who work them, so they set their rates accordingly. If you're willing to do a little more legwork on your own and hunt around for great deals, you can keep your budget in check. That's what I did.</p><h2>Our wedding budget</h2><p>To start, my husband and I kept our guest list small - we invited our closest friends and family members and expected no more than 70 guests; about 50 showed up to our wedding.</p><p>One thing to note: Because we got married in Toronto, we benefitted from what I jokingly called the "Canadian discount" - basically, our US dollars went further in Canada because the Canadian dollar is worth less (about 77 cents to the US dollar). Below, I've listed the price of each line item in US dollars.</p><h3><strong>Venue: $1,800</strong></h3><p>We tied the knot at a small brewery in the east end of Toronto. The price of our venue was based on an hourly bar spend, so the total cost included seven hours at the venue (including tables, chairs, and patio space), beer, bar staff, cleanup, glassware, gratuity, and a special occasion permit. Because our guest list was fairly small, we didn't go over the hourly bar spend. Yes, we were very lucky!</p><p>Instead of looking on traditional wedding websites for venue ideas, I used a site called <a href="https://thisopenspace.com/">thisopenspace</a> to find our venue. It lists all sorts of spaces - from photography studios to cafes and restaurants - where events or shoots can take place.</p><p class="source"><span>Kat Rizza Photography</span></p><p class="caption">The author and her husband tied the knot at a small brewery in the east end of Toronto.</p><p>We had a vision in mind for our wedding (vintage, industrial) and had talked about possibly choosing a brewery as a venue, and we landed on the perfect choice using thisopenspace.</p><h3>Catering: $1,700</h3><p>We hired a wood-oven pizza truck to serve our wedding meal. Wedding catering can easily cost $100 per person (on the low end) - including service staff, china, cutlery, and linens - but I knew food trucks cost a lot less because there's not as much involved.</p><p>The truck provided paper plates, plastic cutlery, and paper napkins, and served directly from the truck. Because our guest list was small, it was easy for everyone to go up to the truck's window at their leisure and place their pizza order. And in the meantime, they could snack on roasted potatoes and Brussels sprouts that were available in serving pans.</p><p class="source"><span>Kat Rizza Photography</span></p><p class="caption">The wedding was catered by a wood-oven pizza truck.</p><p>Our wedding was obviously casual - a lot more casual than would be comfortable for some other couples. But it worked for us (the pizza was exceptionally delicious!) and our guests were happy.</p><h3>Photography: $1,217</h3><p>We didn't follow the "don't say wedding" rule on this one - we definitely wanted a wedding photographer!</p><p>We had budgeted about $1,500, and our incredibly generous photographer - <a href="https://katrizzaphotography.com/">Kat Rizza</a> - gave us her hourly rate instead of charging her full-day wedding rate since we only needed four hours of photography.</p><p>If you have a photographer in mind but don't think you can afford their rates, email them and see if they have other pricing options. They may be willing to work within your budget if you don't have full-day needs.</p><p class="source"><span>Kat Rizza Photography</span></p><p class="caption">They hired a wedding photographer for about $1,200.</p><h3><strong>Dress: $250 + $20 for bodysuit, $100 for shoes</strong></h3><p>I knew I wanted a long-sleeve, loose, lace dress, so I hunted around on Etsy until I found exactly what I was looking for. I wore a nude bodysuit underneath that I bought from Target for $20 and bought my shoes from Lulus for $100.</p><h3><strong>Suit: $450 + $30 for shoes</strong></h3><p>My husband bought his suit and dress shirt off-the-rack at Topshop (RIP); it didn't require any alterations. I found his shoes at Primark in Boston while I was there on a business trip.</p><h3>Wine and soft drinks: $150</h3><p>We wanted to offer some non-beer options to our guests, so we bought about 12 bottles of wine from the liquor store as well as lemonade and soda.</p><h3>Cakes and cupcakes: $211</h3><p>We served three beautiful bakery cakes and a half-dozen gluten-free/vegan cupcakes at our wedding. We picked them up the day before the wedding and one of our friends cut and served the cake during the reception.</p><p class="source"><span>Kat Rizza Photography</span></p><p class="caption">They served three bakery cakes and a half-dozen gluten-free/vegan cupcakes.</p><h3>Flowers and decor: $750</h3><p>We decorated our venue primarily with fresh green garland; I also made six simple pink, white, and green arrangements. My bouquet and hair flowers, as well as my husband's boutonniere, were artificial and purchased from Etsy.</p><p class="source"><span>Kat Rizza Photography</span></p><p class="caption">They decorated the venue primarily with fresh green garland.</p><p>We bought a bunch of items on Amazon, too, including a cake topper, tablecloths, cake knife and lifter, and plastic plates and forks for cake. We had the text of the Loving v. Virginia Supreme Court decision printed in large poster format, and hung it on the wall with a magnetic frame from Amazon.</p><h3>Flights and accommodations: $1,475</h3><p>We stayed in two different Airbnbs - a cheaper one for our first few nights in town and a more expensive one for the last three nights. We took our family portraits and first-look photos at the more expensive Airbnb because it was picturesque and because it saved us having to book an additional space.</p><h3>Rings and earrings: $476</h3><p>Both of our wedding bands and my earrings were purchased on Etsy.</p><h3>Lawyer: $192</h3><p>We had to get a letter from a lawyer in Canada to allow us to marry there.</p><h3>Sound equipment: $100</h3><p>We rented a speaker, a microphone, and an acoustic guitar from a local provider called Long &amp; McQuade. We picked up these items the day before our wedding and returned them before our flight home.</p><h3>Invitations: $300</h3><p>We went traditional on this detail and bought our invitations from <a href="https://www.minted.com/">Minted</a>.</p><h3>Marriage license: $108</h3><h3>Officiant: $250</h3><h2>Total: $9,579</h2><p>It was a truly magical, debt-free day.</p><ul class="read-more-links"><li>More <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/yourmoney">personal finance</a> coverage</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-open-high-yield-savings-account-now-interest-rates-down">4 reasons to open a high-yield savings account while interest rates are down </a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-open-wealthfront-cash-account-savings">It took less than 10 minutes to open a high-yield cash account with Wealthfront and earn more on my savings</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-buy-a-house-with-no-money-down-home-loans">How to buy a house with no money down </a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/when-to-save-money-in-high-yield-savings">When to save money in high-yield savings</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/best-rewards-credit-cards">Best rewards credit cards</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/reasons-to-get-life-insurance-you-havent-thought-of-yet">7 reasons you may need life insurance, even if you think you don't</a></li></ul><p style="font-size:14px;"><em>Personal Finance Insider offers tools and calculators to help you make smart decisions with your money. We do not give investment advice or encourage you to buy or sell stocks or other financial products. What you decide to do with your money is up to you. If you take action based on one of the recommendations listed in the calculator, we get a small share of the revenue from our commerce partners.</em></p>            <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-we-knock-on-wood-origins-of-7-other-common-superstitions-psychology-magical-thinking-2018-2">Are you superstitious on days like Friday the 13th? These are the origins of 7 common superstitions, like why we knock on wood.</a></h3>

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