As we transition from summer to autumn, we sit in prime wedding season. According to the Knot’s 2014 Real Weddings Study, 15% of weddings were held in June and October closely followed with 14% of weddings. While social media pages are flooded with the extravagances of weddings across the world, you might start to wonder how much the fancy decor, her nice dress, and their open bar cost. For wealthy with money to burn, weddings are an opportunity to go all out in every way, and history has certainly seen some otherworldly — and expensive — weddings.
Top 5 Most Extravagant Weddings in History
1. Paul McCartney and Heather Mills:
In 2002, music legend Paul McCartney and entrepreneur Heather Mills got married at a castle in Ireland. Their wedding cost a mere $3.6 million. They had 300 guests at their ceremony who got to attend a lavish reception after the fairytale ceremony. Unfortunately, the millions spent were all for naught, as the couple’s divorce was finalized six years later.
2. Delphine Arnault and Alessandro Gancia:
These two financial heirs spent $7 million on their nuptials in 2005. Delphine Arnault, heiress to the Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy empire, and Alessandro Vallarino Gancia, heir to an Italian winemaker dynasty, held their ceremony in south-western France in a Roman Catholic Church. Arnault wore a wedding gown designed by John Galliano for the House of Dior, and their reception was filled with 5,000 white roses. This financially-endowed couple also divorced shortly after in 2010.
3. Kim Kardashian and Kanye West:
The high-profile celebrity couple were married in 2014 at the Forte di Belvedere in Florence. The reality TV star, Kim Kardashian, and hip-hop artist, Kanye West, spent a reported $12 million on their wedding. Andrea Bocelli sang as Kardashian walked down the aisle, and the reception featured performances from artists John Legend and Lana Del Rey.
4. Vanisha Mittal and Amit Bhatia:
Vanisha Mittal, the daughter of a steel magnate, married Amit Bhatia in Paris’schateau Vaux-le-Vicomte in 2004. With 1,000 guests, silver-case invitations, a performance by Kylie Minogue, and fireworks at the Eiffel Tower, their wedding cost around $60 million.
5. Lady Diana and Prince Charles:
Naturally, the British royals top the list for expensive weddings. When accounting for inflation since their wedding took place in 1981, Lady Diana Spencer and Prince Charles’s wedding cost about $100 million. Her dress, made by David and Elizabeth Emmanuel in ivory silk taffeta and antique lace, had a 25-foot train and is one of the most famous in history.
For many people, their wedding is the most important day in their life. And for those endowed with millions to spend on the grand event, they can perfect that day with all of the bells and whistles possible.
My favorite wedding was Lady Diana. Like a fairy tale. I didn’t realize so many weddings in October, but it is a good month weather wise, etc. I’m all in favor of a humble wedding, unless the families can truly afford it, without harming saving for retirement, health insurance in old age, etc.
I completely agree. If you have major bucks to blow, great, go for a huge wedding. Otherwise, I can think of so many other things that you could do with all that money!
Some of the over-the-top celebrity weddings can be fun. It’s fun to see how people’s decorating choices match up with yours. My family and I like a couple of the modern ‘high-drama’ wedding shows, like “Say Yes To The Dress” and especially the original run of “Four Weddings”. My mom and sister even got to me wedding planner David Tutera!