The 8 Most Extravagant Celebrity Weddings of All Time
Regal, grandiose, and magical, these weddings are unforgettable.
From matches made in Hollywood to pomp and political nuptials, A-list weddings are fairy tales come to life. With lockdowns and quarantine putting a halt on major celebrations last year, celebrities such as Ariana Grande and Lena Dunham sought out creative ways to tie the knot. Though small and intimate weddings seem to be on-trend for many this year, extravagant weddings make for a memorable story. As society moves towards contemporary wedding celebrations, with brides such as Hailey Beiber and Sophie Turner blurring the lines between cool and traditional, L'OFFICIEL looks back at the most magical and monumental nuptials topped with romance and grandeur.
From high jewelry to chartered planes, long trains to over-the-top cakes, here are the most extravagant weddings of epic proportions from years past.
Grace Kelly & Prince Rainier III of Monaco
Twenty-six-year-old Oscar-winning actress Grace Kelly, who dated the likes of Clark Gable and William Holden, married her prince charming—quite literally. Kelly married the 32-year-old Prince Rainier III of Monaco in a wedding ceremony that was named the wedding of the century on April 19, 1956. Kelly met the young prince during a visit to his 13th century pink palace while she was attending the Cannes Film Festival. Their wedding had a total 600 guests including Cary Grant, Aristotle Onassis, Ava Gardner, and many more.
Lady Diana Spencer & Prince Charles
The world was enthralled by the estimated $48 million wedding of Princess Diana and Prince Charles. Princess Diana stepped foot at St. Paul's Cathereal in London to wed Prince Charles, heir to the British throne, in a whopping 40 yard-long silk taffeta and crinoline train. The royal wedding had roughly 2,500 guests in attendance, 2 million celebrants out on the streets of London, and 750 million people tuning in on live TV.
Celine Dion & René Angélil
Celine Dion reportedly vowed that her wedding to René Angélil would be the biggest extravaganza she ever staged. At 26, Dion married her 52-year-old partner and longtime manager Angélil on December 17, 1994 in Montreal. The grandiose celebration consisted of Dion walking down the ailse in a seven-pound headpiece embellished with 2,000 Austrian crystals, an oversized French profiterole cake during the reception, and guests sprinkled with fake snow as they entered the reception hall.
Liza Minnelli & David Gest
In true New York fashion, Liza Minenelli swiftly married David Gest at the Marble Collegiate Church in Manhattan in a showstopping Bob Mackie dress. Minnelli and Gest made headlines with a kiss that Donald Trump, who was in attendance, said, "I have been to many weddings, and I have never seen a kiss like that before." The grand reception was held at the Regent Wall Street Hotel with 850 guests, including Michael Jackson, Elizabeth Taylor, and many more as well as performances by Tony Bennett and Roberta Flack.
Brad Pitt & Jennifer Aniston
In a pivate ceremony on the coast of Malibu, golden couple Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston tied the knot on July 29, 2000. In a silk and satin gown by Lawrence Steele, Aniston walked down the ailse past 200 guests escorted by her father and Days of Our Lives star John Aniston, while Pitt waited in a four-button Hedi Slimane tuxedo holding a pair of diamond and white gold wedding bands which he helped design. To this day, photos from Pitt and Aniston's wedding released to the public are little to none.
Beyoncé & Jay-Z
Hip hop and pop royals Beyoncé and Jay-Z, who married in 2008, recently released never-before-seen photos from their wedding day. The ceremony was reportedly held at Jay-Z's 13,500 square-foot Tribeca penthouse, decorated with 70,000 dendrobium orchids flown in from Thailand, with roughly 40 of their closest friends and loved ones in attendance. Beyoncé strayed away from designer wedding dresses, and instead opted for a dressed designed and made by her mother Tina Knowles-Lawson.
Kim Kardashian & Kanye West
With a rehearsal dinner heald at the Palace of Versailles, a ceremony that took place in a Florentine fort in Italy, and matching Givenchy ensembles, rapper Kanye West married Kim Kardashian in a grandiose yet intimate celebration in 2014. The wedding reportedly cost $12 million which included chartering a private jet for their A-list guests from Paris to Florence.
Priyanka Chopra & Nick Jonas
Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas know how to throw the ultimate wedding weekend. The unforgettable nuptials consisted of Hindu pre-wedding rituals and two lavish ceremonies: a Christian ceremony where Chopra wore a custom Ralph Lauren gown with a 75-foot train and a Hindu ceremony at the Umaid Bhawan Palace in Jodhpur. Countless VIPs were on Chopra and Jonas' guest list including the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Elizabeth Chambers Hammer, and more.