Have you ever wondered which have been the most expensive celebrity weddings ever? The average American wedding costs around $28,000, so as you can see, tying the knot is quite a costly affair. If you find it rather impossible to raise such money for your wedding, brace yourself before taking a look at the bills of the celebrity ceremonies in our countdown. Spoiler alert: they are all well into the millions! The couples in our list surely know how to throw a party: the best dresses and cakes, high-end locations, accommodations for all the guests, travel arrangements for everyone invited to get comfortably to the venue, top performers as entertainment, and over-the-top flower arrangements.
However, the grass isn’t always greener on the other side. Celebrities surely do have cash to blow in lavish, ridiculous parties, but they have to deal with a great amount of pressure on a daily basis as well. So much so that not everyone is able to cope with the stress, and some of them eventually snap in the most indecorous fashion. If you enjoy the miseries of celebrities as much as their joys, make sure you check out our list, They Did What? 9 Celebrities Who Lost it in Public.
So, are you curious about the most expensive celebrity weddings? Let’s take a look at the countdown.
7. Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel
For their $6.5 million wedding, movie stars Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel booked an entire hotel in southern Italy. The expensive event took place at the Borgo Egnazia resort in the city of Fasano, where their friends and family were lucky enough to stay. As well as the typical wedding elements –dress, cake, entertainment, etc.- the extravagant bill included hotel and travel expenses for everyone who was invited, and the closing down of the buildings surrounding the hotel to ensure the privacy of the ceremony.
Celebrities weddings don’t come much more acclaimed (or expensive) than one involving Justin Timberlake. Yet six managed to top his. Read on for the six most expensive celebrity weddings ever thrown.
6. Wayne Rooney & Coleen McLaughlin
In 2008, the renowned soccer player Wayne Rooney (currently captain of Manchester United) married his lifetime sweetheart in Genoa. The English soccer star spent the big bucks when tying the knot with Coleen McLaughlin, his working-class girlfriend. The ceremony took place in a 17th century villa, Villa Durazzo, where the guests arrived after enjoying a masked ball on an extravagant yacht, and a reception in a medieval abbey. The cost of such an event? $8 million!
5. Michael Jordan and Yvette Prieto
NBA legend Michael Jordan got married for a second time in Palm Beach to Yvette Prieto, the Cuban-American model, in an event that cost around $10 million. The entertainment for the special day included Robin Thicke and Usher, who I’m sure the 300 guests were delighted to listen to.
4. Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries
Kim Kardashian’s first marriage ended after only 72 days. However, her first wedding was one of the most expensive in the world, and a very memorable event that was broadcast in a four-hour TV special. The wedding, which cost in the neighborhood of $10 million, was an event for 500 guests, that included three Vera Wang dresses, a $6,000 cake, and $10,000 invitations.
3. Kim Kardashian and Kanye West
Without a doubt, Kardashian weddings are some of the most extravagant and over-the-top in the world, but Kim’s seem to be the most lavish ones in the family. The total cost of her second wedding, this time to her baby daddy Kanye West, was somewhere around the $20 to $30 million mark. The expensive celebration took place in Europe, both in Italy and France, and the bride and groom took care of the entire expenses of accommodating and transporting their guests.
2. Prince William and Kate Middleton
Are there more refined and beloved celebrities than the British royals? Well, at the time of a wedding, the British royalty goes above and beyond to make it an unforgettable, dreamy event. In 2011, when Prince William married Kate Middleton, they did it in an opulent fashion, which amounted to $34 million in total expenses. An $80,000 cake, $8,000,000 on flowers, and a bridal dress of over $70,000 were included in that price tag.
1. Prince Charles and Lady Diana
Prince William’s wedding was only outdone by that of his parents: Prince Charles and the beloved Lady Di. In 1981, more than 6,000,000 people on the streets and more than 750 million viewers at home witnessed the costliest celebrity wedding thus far, in which the heir to the British throne finally tied the knot. Back then, the wedding cost around $48 million, which if we adjust to today’s inflation rates would amount to an astounding $115 million.