Although weddings are memorable and happy occasions, a huge amount of effort goes into the pre-planning and weddings usually cost a bomb. From the venue to catering and gown rentals to decorations, everything added together would eventually burn a giant hole in your pocket. While some of us would be incredibly content with a simple and private wedding, others have had theirs as extravagant and expensive as could be. Here are some of the 10 most famous and expensive marriages ever.
1. Prince Charles and Lady Diana – US$110 million
The royal wedding was attended by tons of royals, two million spectators and a TV audience of 750 million worldwide. It took place at St. Paul’s Cathedral and the couple had 27 wedding cakes plus a five-foot tall main cake.
2. Prince William and Kate Middleton’s Royal Wedding – US$70 million
Following his father’s footsteps, the Duke of Cambridge married his bride, Kate Middleton in a lavish and grand royal wedding. Although the wedding itself didn’t incur that much of a cost, a large sum of that amount was used to provide tight security during the wedding.
3. Amit Bhatia and Lakshmi Mittal – US$60 million
Their silver invitation consisted of 20 pages and a thousand guests were flew in from all over the world, all of whom stayed in five-star hotels around and in Paris. Their wedding was also a six-day extravaganza which included fireworks over the Eiffel Tower, as well as Aussie pop star Kylie Minogue performing her hit songs.
4. Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan and Princess Salama – US$45 million
Their wedding took place in a stadium that was built specially for that occasion which accommodated over 20,000 guests. Every town in Abu Dhabi also celebrated the event and the bride’s wedding gifts included 20 camels that had their backs filled with diamonds and precious jewels.
5. Wayne Rooney and Coleen McLoughlin – US$8 million
They flew 65 Brits to Genoa for a masked ball on a US$120 million dollar yacht. The wedding also took place in a 17th century villa and the reception at a medieval abbey.
6. Marc Mezvinsky and Chelsea Clinton – US$5 million
The wedding included US$600,000 air-conditioned tents, a US$11,000 cake a Vera Wang wedding gown as well as the attendance of Oprah Winfrey. Although they only had 500 guests, they surely did pamper every single one of them extensively.
7. Larry Fortensky and Elizabeth Taylor – US$4 million
The wedding featured Michael Jackson, Liza Minnelli, Eddie Murphy and Nancy Reagan as guests. Elizabeth Taylor was also 20 years older than her groom and maybe that is why their marriage only lasted for five years.
8. Paul McCartney and Heather Mills – US$3.6 million
They had an Indian-themed wedding at the St. Salvador church in Ireland and featured Indian dancers, a vegetarian feast, US$145,000 worth of flowers and US$150,000 worth of fireworks. The wedding party also took place in a rented castle and the cost was US$40,000 for the venue alone.
9. David Gest and Liza Minnelli – US$3.5 million
Michael Jackson was the best man and Elizabeth Taylor was the maid of honour for the wedding. Their wedding, which is one of the biggest celebrity wedding ever, also included a 60-piece orchestra, Tony Bennett, Stevie Wonder, Natalie Cole, US$700,000 worth of flowers and a US$40,000 cake.
10. Arun Nayar and Elizabeth Hurley – US$2.6 million
Their wedding party lasted over eight days in two separate countries. They also paid US$300,000 for private jets and over US$100,000 for accommodations.
