Five Of The Most Extravagant Celebrity Weddings: Do Kim Kardashian And Kanye West Really Take The Cake?
The celebrity wedding of the decade is over as Kim Kardashian and Kanye West are now officially husband and wife after tying the knot on Saturday May 25th, in a suitably spectacular ceremony in Florence Italy. By all accounts the wedding was a lavish affair but now it's all over, just how does Kim and Kanye’s wedding measure up to some other famous nuptials? Are Kimye really the most extravagant of them all?
Kim Kardashian and Kanye West (2014)
Venue: The couple were married at the Forte di Belvedere in Florence Italy. The picturesque renaissance fortress cost the couple $420,000 to rent for the occasion, with the city’s mayor saying the money would be spent "helping fund restorations of Florence's art treasures." The Guests: There were reportedly 200 guests on hand to witness Kimye take their vows, including John Legend, Serena Williams and Vogue’s André Leon Talley, but not Beyonce and Jay-Z. The Dress: Kim wore a lace Givenchy gown with a very, very long veil, while daughter North reportedly wore a matching replica dress. Cost: Right now the cost of the Kimye wedding has been estimated at $2.8million, but that doesn't include all the prior festivities or the guest's flights which could bring the total to around the $10 million mark.
Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones (2000)
Venue: Catherine and Michael opted to stay local using New York’s Plaza Hotel as their wedding venue. The Guest: The Douglas’s big day was as star studded as you’d expect with 350 guests including A-listers, Goldie Hawn, Jack Nicholson and Meg Ryan, oh also Mick Hucknall was there. The Dress: Catherine wore an elegant Christian Lacroix gown made from antique Chantilly lace which she accessorised with a tiara and veil. Cost: A budget friendly $1.5million.
Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes (2006)
Venue: TomKat, as they were known, tied the knot fairytale style in Odescalchi Castle in Bracciano, Italy. The couple married in a Scientology ceremony which lasted only 15 minutes! The Guests: Around 150 guests attended Tom and Katie’s wedding, including Jennifer Lopez, Will Smith and wife Jada along with David and Victoria Beckham. The Dress: For her big day. Katie wore a custom Georgio Armani gown which was beaded all-over with Swarovski crystals, and trimmed with tulle and lace. Cost: A pricey, $3.5million.
More: Kim and Kanye's wedding snaps released
Next page: Who's wedding cost $34 million?
**Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries (2012)
Venue: Sorry Kim we had to go there! For Kim's 2011 wedding to basketball player Kris, they stayed close to home, choosing an estate in Montecito California. The Dress: Vera Wang designed not one but three dresses for Kim free of charge for her wedding, Each was reported to be worth $20,000. The Guests: We could all watch it on E! but 400 lucky guests were actually in attendance including Eva Longoria and Ryan Seacrest. Cost: $6 million was the estimate by wedding planner Sharon Sacks, who said the couple got a pretty good deal thanks to the publicity surrounding the ceremony.**
** Michael Jordan and Yvette Priet (2013)**
Venue: Basketball legend Michael Jordan married model Yvette in an extremely lavish ceremony at the Episcopal Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea in Palm Beech Florida. The Guests: Over 300 close friends and family were on hand for the big day including golfer Tiger Woods and director Spike Lee. The Dress: Yvette chose a French silk J'Aton Couture gown which was decorated with Swarovski crystals. Cost: The most expensive celebrity wedding of them all, this one put Jordan back an estimated $10 million!
More: Kim and Kanye head to Ireland for their honeymoon
Prince William and Kate Middleton
Venue: There’s only one venue fit for a royal wedding and that’s London’s Westminster Abbey, where William’s parents Charles and Diana had married 30 years earlier. The Guests: 1,900 guest were invited to the Abbey to witness the royal wedding in person, but you didn't really need an invitation as an estimated 162 million viewers worldwide watched the televised broadcast. The Dress: Sarah Burton of Alexander McQueen designed Kate’s dress, which was a mixture of stain and lace. The bride's veil was held in place by a tiara lent to her by the Queen which had been handed down from her mother. Cost: Kim and Kanye might think they're royalty, but William and Kate showed how the real thing do it. Their wedding cost was estimated to be around the $34 million mark, making the royal nuptials the priciest of them all.