The Thirteen Most Expensive & Extravagant Weddings

                                                                      

The heroine, Monica, in my debut romance novel Under Her Spell plans romantic events, specializing in unique marriage proposals. Her clients are usually on a very tight budget, and sometimes she doesn’t even get paid in full. She lands her big break when one of Milwaukee’s most eligible and wealthiest bachelors hires her to plan his marriage proposal. The pressure is on to make it the most unique proposal ever. She wonders how the rich and famous manage to outdo each other. Below is a list of the 13 most extravagant weddings in the world. My list is based on a Forbes list and other sources. (I won’t mention how many of these couples are no longer married.)

13) Paul McCartney to Heather Mills. $3 million. Married 2002. The couple were married in St. Salvador’s church in Monaghan, Ireland. The reception venue, Castle Leslie, cost $40,000. Although the wedding took place in Ireland, entertainment and food was Indian themed. Paul, George, and Ringo played an original song titled “Heather” dedicated to the bride. (Ahh, that's romantic.)

12) Salma Hayek to Francois-Henri Pinault. $3.5 million. Married in 2009. The actress and French billionaire were married at the famous Venice opera house Teatro La Fenice. Guests arrived at the ceremony wearing black and gold masks. The reception, a carnival masked ball, took place at Venice’s historic Punta della Dogana where Bono performed. Guests included Penelope Cruz, Charlize Theron, and Woody Harrelson.

11) Liza Minnelli to David Gest. $3.5 million. Married in 2002. The Broadway star and music producer were married in New York’s Marble Collegiate Church. The Best Man was Michael Jackson and the Maid of Honor was Elizabeth Taylor. A 12-tier wedding cake cost $40,000 and flowers cost $700,000. Stevie Wonder, Tony Bennett and Natalie Cole performed along with a 60-piece orchestra.

10) Trista Rehn to Ryan Sutter. $4 million. Married in 2003. The couple met on the ABC show The Bachelorette and were married in front of 17 million viewers. This wedding was only mentioned on Forbes list, which might be because the network picked up the bill.

9) Chelsea Clinton to Marc Mezvinsky. $5 million. Married in 2010. Chelsea Clinton married her childhood friend and investment banker Marc Mezvinsky at the Astor Courts estate in New York, originally built for John Jacob Astor IV. A big part of the bill went toward air-conditioned tents, which cost around $600,000. Guests included Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and celebrities Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen.

8) Delphine Arnault to Alessandro Vallarino Gancia. $7 million. Married in 2005. One of France’s richest women and the heir to an Italian wine dynasty held their reception at Chateau d’Yquem in Bordeaux, home of the world’s most famous sauterne wine. The venue was decorated with 5,000 white roses and guests included Elizabeth Hurley and Karl Lagerfeld.

7) Coleen McLoughlin to Wayne Rooney. $8 million. Married in 2008. Famous soccer star Wayne Rooney married his childhood sweetheart Coleen McLoughlin at a 17th-century villa, followed by a reception at a medieval abbey near Portofino, Italy. They flew in 65 guests for the weeklong celebration, which included a masquerade ball held onboard a $120 million luxury yacht. They were able to offset some of the cost by paying OK! magazine $4 mil for exclusive access to the wedding.

6) Priya Sachdev to Vikram Chatwal. $20 million. Married in 2006. The jet-setting hotelier/actor and his model/actress bride flew in 600 guests from 26 different countries for a lavish 10-day celebration, which took place in three Indian cities. Guests included Bill Clinton, Naomi Campbell, and P. Diddy.

5) Aleksandra Nikolic to Andrey Melnichenko. $30 million. Married in 2005. The Russian billionaire and the former Miss Yugoslavia wed on the Cote D’Azur in France. A big chunk of the wedding budget went for performances by Whitney Houston, Christina Aguilera, and Julio Iglesias, each of whom earned an estimated $3.6 mil. It’s rumored that they had a chapel dismantled in Russia and rebuilt on the Riviera for their wedding.

4) Prince William to Kate Middleton. $34 million. Married in 2011. The couple were married at Westminster Abbey in London in front of over 2 billion television viewers worldwide. More than 2,000 guests were invited to the wedding and reception. A large portion of the budget was set aside for security. Kate’s Grace Kelly-inspired wedding dress ran about $400,000 and the flower bill was $800,000. The 8-tier wedding cake was a fruit cake, decorated in cream and white icing with 900 delicate sugar paste flowers.

3) Vanisha Mittal to Amit Bhatia. $60 million. Married in 2005. Vanisha Mittal, the daughter of an Indian steel tycoon, and Amit Bhatia, a banker, were married at Chateau de Vaux-le-Vicomte outside Paris. One thousand guests received free jet transportation to France and were put up in 5-star hotels for the 6-day celebration, which included fireworks at the Eiffel Tower and can-can girls.

2) Prince Charles of Wales to Lady Diana Spencer. $70 million (in today’s dollars). I’ve also seen this estimated as high as $110 mil in today’s dollars. Married in 1981. Same as Charles’s son William’s wedding, much of the budget went to crowd control and security. The wedding was watched by over 750 million television viewers. Diana’s fairytale wedding dress, estimated at $35,000 in today’s dollars, had a 25-foot train and 10,000 pearls. The couple had 27 cakes, along with the official 5-foot-high wedding cake.

1) Princess Salama to Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. $100 million (in today’s dollars). Married in 1981. Princess Salama and the leader of Dubai didn’t want to be outdone by Prince Charles and Lady Diana’s wedding that same year, so they built a 20,000-seat amphitheater for their guests. Princes, emirs, sheiks and ambassadors were flown in on 34 private jets for the 7-day event.

What is the most extravagant or unique thing you’ve ever seen done at a wedding?

Thanks to Coffee Time Romance for having me here today. My debut contemporary romance, Under Her Spell, will be available October 15. Please check out my website to read a cover blurb and to follow my Blog Tour. Each stop will have giveaways, including copies of my book, Amazon and Barnes & Noble gift certs, lovely writing journals, and more. www.elizadaly.com

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