If an editor puts a celebrity wedding on a front of a magazine you can guarantee it will sell. However, put one of the most expensive celebrity weddings on there and it will probably sell out. The general perception of the ‘celebrity life’ is excessive and elaborate on any given day, so when the biggest day of their own lives comes around they make sure it is an event to remember.
When you pair their huge bank balances with their desire to throw a party that everybody will remember you can guarantee two things; a very long credit card bill and a sore head. Here, we explore four of the most expensive celebrity weddings of all time.
Catherine Zeta Jones and Michael Douglas
When your invite to a wedding consists of a hologram, you can assume the wedding is going to be something special, and that is exactly what Catherine Zeta Jones and Michael Douglas managed. The wedding took place on the 18th November at the Plaza in New York. The bride wore an ivory-beaded satin sheath gown by Christian Lacroix with a diamond tiara.
Extravagant features at the wedding included; a 20-foot tree with 700 tulips, performances from Bonnie Tyler and Art Garfunkel, a 10 tier wedding cake, and a night in the Plaza Hotel’s Astor Suite, which set the bride and groom back roughly £5,000 a night.
Estimated total cost of wedding = £1 million
Sir Paul McCartney and Heather Mills
While this wedding did not have the fairytale ending, the marriage started with a bang. To be fair they did spend £100,000 on fireworks alone so anything else would have been a bit of a let down. Held at Castle Leslie in Ireland, 300 family and friends, gathered for the nuptials of the most famous of the Beatles and his partner, ex-model Heather Mills.
Needless to say the wedding was lavish. Heather wore a gown she had personally designed with Eavis & Brown, which set them back £30,000. The couple also spent £3,000 on their huge wedding cake, £100,000 on a selection of fine flowers that had reportedly been imported from Holland.
Estimated total cost of wedding = £2 million
Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes
One of the most popular weddings in recent memory has to be Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes. These were two people that had lived out much of their relationship in front of a camera, so by the time they got married many feet personally involved. Of course, add to that the fact that Tom Cruise was one of the biggest a-list celebrities in the world, and the rather strange build up to the special day and you had what could only be described as a frenzy. This build up included the famous Oprah appearance, and the knowledge that the wedding would take place in two parts, an official ceremony in the US and a Scientology ceremony in Italy.
At the official ceremony, it is believed that all 150 guests had their clothes designed by Armani, which set the bride and groom back a reported £250,000. They also put all their guests up for a couple of nights at both weddings, which cost them another £500,000. Katie Holmes wore a £30,000 dress from Armani and an astonishing £125,000 was spent on alcohol.
Estimated total cost = £1.5 million
Kate Middleton and Prince William
Ok, so these two may not be traditional celebrities, but by the time they walked down the rather long isle there were few that could not identify Kate Middleton and Prince William. To many people this wedding will never be topped. It is reported that when everything was taken into account this wedding was the second most expensive wedding ever to be held. Costs included:
- £35,000,000 = both internal security and police costs for the day
- £1,500,000 = staff costs
- £800,000 = jewellery
- £300,000 = wedding breakfast
- £220,000 = flowers
- £210,000 = drinks
- £100,000 = cars for every guest
- £25,000 = wedding dress
- £10,000 = private photography
In total, it is believed that the wedding cost 3000 times more than a standard wedding. In fact, the money spent on private photography and the cake alone cost more than the average wedding in the UK. One thing is for sure; this wedding will be remembered by just about everybody.
Estimated total cost = £52 million
Above are just a few of the most expensive celebrity weddings that the world has ever seen. All of these ceremonies were lavish and spared no expense. One thing is for sure, if the celebrity world continues to get bigger, the weddings of the future will be huge. However, they will have to go some way to topping these most expensive celebrity weddings of the past.
About Jane Gokgoz
Jane is the founder of Personalised Gifts Shop and writes regularly about unique gift ideas and useful event etiquette.
