The most outrageously expensive weddings ever
Rebecca Wright
29 April 2021
Out-of-this-world weddings
It's 10 years since Prince William married Kate Middleton in a wedding watched by millions. And it cost millions too. Click or scroll through the details of this and the other most extravagant and pricey nuptials of the rich and famous over the years.
Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt, $1 million (£633k)
On 29 July 2000, Brad and Jen were married in a lavish Malibu ceremony. The extravagant wedding included a flower-bedecked canopy along with 50,000 flowers, a gospel choir, four bands and 200 guests to celebrate with them. Jen’s $50,000 (£32k) dress was by Milan-based dress designer Lawrence Steele, formerly of Prada. Aniston teamed her gown with a specially-crafted pair of four-inch ivory suede Manolo Blahnik heels – off-the-shelf Manolos cost at least $500 (£316).
Malibu mansion
The wedding was held at the massive Malibu mansion of TV producer Marcy Carsey. As the day approached, an army of workers descended on the five-acre Malibu property. Tents were put up, lanterns hung and linen laid on a canopied bridal walkway.
Fabulous fireworks
Around 10pm on the wedding night, guests watched a 13-minute display of pyrotechnic hearts and smiley faces, set to songs by Radiohead, Garbage and Jeff Buckley.
Donald Trump and Melania Knauss, $1 million (£520k)
Back before he was leader of the free world, Donald Trump married Melania at a very elaborate wedding in 2005. The pair said 'I do' at a nearby church before celebrating at Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s lavish Palm Springs home that he bought for $5 million (£4.7m) in 1985. The future FLOTUS wore a custom-made Dior gown, costing between $100,000 to $200,000 (£52k to £104k) and consisting of 300 feet of duchess satin and a 16-foot veil.
The guest list
Everything about the big day was extravagant, from Melania’s diamond-studded wedding band (pictured) to the Tiffany & Co. invites sent out to more than 350 people. Attendees included big names from business, politics, sports, media and Hollywood: Bill and Hillary Clinton (yes, really), Tom Brady, Derek Jeter, Billy Joel, Elton John, Usher, P Diddy, Don King, Donna Summer, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Simon Cowell, Rudy Giuliani, Chris Christie, Shaquille O’Neal and Benjamin Netanyahu.
Marvellous Mar-a-Lago
The tables in the grand ballroom were covered with white brocade damask topped with white satin lace. Dendrobium orchids were wrapped around the linen napkins. Five-foot-tall centrepiece candelabras decorated the tables. The bride and groom cut into a 200-pound, seven-tier, $50,000 (£26k) wedding cake, covered with 2,000 flowers spun from sugar. It took so much wire infrastructure to hold it up that it couldn’t be served to guests, so they were fed with “back-up cakes”.
Victoria Adams and David Beckham, $1.3 million (£808k)
The world’s most famous footballer married 'Posh Spice', aka Victoria Adams, in July 1999. The couple flew in 500 guests to witness their nuptials at Luttrellstown Castle in Ireland, an elegant 14-bedroom house near Dublin. Wedding packages cost $152 (£116) a head, excluding hire of the castle. And 400 people worked on the wedding transforming the folly church in the castle grounds, putting up scaffolding and even laying a new floor.
No tears but a tiara
To match her golden strapless Vera Wang dress, costing $100,000 (£62k), Victoria wore a diamond and gold coronet by Slim Barrett, Princess Diana’s jeweller. It later sold at auction for $35,000 (£23k) in 2013. Not to be outdone by his wife, David ordered a full eternity ring as his wedding band, set with 24 baguette diamonds, with 24 smaller diamonds set on one side, in 18-carat yellow gold, adding up to a total diamond weight of 7.44 carats.
Game of Thrones
The couple famously posed on his and hers golden thrones – a kitsch touch that proclaimed them King and Queen of the celeb circuit. Continuing the matchy-matchy his and hers theme with the purple outfits they wore to cut their cake, Brooklyn Beckham, then four months, even had a purple cowboy hat for this part of the proceedings.
Catherine Zeta Jones and Michael Douglas, $1.5 million (950k)
On 18 November 2000, the two actors exchanged vows at the famous luxury hotel, the Plaza, in New York, where rooms cost from $976 (£748) a night. The couple said their vows between columns of roses and gardenias, and silver urns filled with roses, gardenias, delphiniums, peonies and amaryllis. Following the ceremony, guests moved to the Grand Ballroom, where a 20-foot magnolia tree adorned with 700 white tulips stood at the entrance.
Glittering guest list
In addition to a 40-member Welsh choir singing, the ceremony included performances by Jimmy Buffett (pictured) and Art Garfunkel. Among the 350 guests were Goldie Hawn, Jack Nicholson, Meg Ryan and former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.
Cake by Sylvia Weinstock
Catherine wore a wedding gown by designer Christian Lacroix that was said to have cost over $140,000 (£88k). After the first dance, she and Michael cut into a 10-tier wedding cake by Sylvia Weinstock Cakes, whose elaborate creations cost upwards of $50,000 (£38k). The six-foot-tall vanilla and buttercream cake, which was covered with thousands of edible sugar flowers, had to have two tiers removed and then reassembled just so it could fit through the ballroom doors.
Sir Elton John and David Furnish, $1.7 million (£1m)
In December 2014, after the UK legalised same-sex marriage, the already married couple decided to have another ceremony. The pair married at their Windsor home and shared photos of the day on instagram as they knocked back bottles of Laurent-Perrier champagne (retailing between $56 [£40] and $98 [£70] a bottle) and Pouilly-Fume 2009 (which starts at around $77 [£55] a bottle).
Quirky details
A Damien Hirst sculpture called The Incomplete Truth, featuring a dove suspended mid-flight in formaldehyde, acted as the couple’s altar piece. Sir Elton wore sunglasses throughout the ceremony, even while he and David said their vows. As it was nearly Christmas, traditional mince pies and coffee were sent to members of the media waiting outside.
Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, $2 million (£1.1m)
In November 2006, the now-divorced actors became husband and wife inside Bracciano, Italy's 15th century Odescalchi Castle, which costs at least $500,000 (£383k) to hire, with 150 guests attending. The Hollywood A-listers' wedding demanded three outfits for Katie, one for daughter Suri and bespoke suits for Tom too, all designed by Armani. Katie’s dress for the ceremony cost $50,000 (£28k).
Italian magic
After the special Scientology double-ring ceremony featuring platinum and diamond Cartier rings, costing between $2,000 and $10,000 (£1,500 and £7,600), guests dined on risotto, sea bass with artichokes and parmesan-crusted fillet washed down with some 300 bottles of red Barbesco wine and champagne. And Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli serenaded the couple with the Italian love songs Occhi di fata (“Fairy Eyes”) and La Serenata (“The Serenade”).
Putting on a show
After dinner, guests were treated to fireworks. One guest said the fireworks cascaded from the castle balconies in such an extravagant, beautiful way "your mind could not compute". Back indoors, a slick dancefloor opened up with top DJ Mark Ronson, who has reportedly been known to charge $1.4 million (£1m) for private functions, spinning tunes as Katie and Tom danced until 3.30am.
Christina Aguilera and Jordan Bratman, $2 million (£1m)
Christina Aguilera married Jordan Bratman in November 2005 at the Staglin Family Vineyard in California. Over 130 guests attended the ceremony. A 14-piece orchestra played as the groom walked down the aisle in a Christian Dior tux (worth at least $2,790/£2k). That was followed by a choir singing as the bride entered through a back door. She wore a Spanish-style Christian Lacroix gown that cost $30,000 (£15k) with an elaborate ruffled train, and Christian Louboutin heels.
Winter wonderland
Following the ceremony, a reception was held in an adjoining tent transformed into a magical winter wonderland by wedding planner Michael Gapinski of Along Came Mary. Hundreds of birch trees filled the room, along with silver candles, white hydrangeas with glitter, and manzanita branches wrapped with crystal strands. Each table was covered in white faux fur and had centrepieces of roses, tulips and peonies. Chandeliers hung overhead.
Californian class
The dinner menu focused on comfort foods including lobster bisque, a winter salad of garden greens with pecans, crispy roasted chicken and short ribs. Side dishes were served family-style and included spinach, mac and cheese, mashed potatoes and onion rings. The couple spent their wedding night at $3,500 (£1.8k) per night Auberge du Soleil in Napa Valley, before beginning a honeymoon in Bali.
Elizabeth Hurley and Arun Nayar, $2.5 million (£1.8m)
Not content with just one ceremony, actress Liz Hurley and businessman Arun Nayer followed up their civil ceremony at Sudeley Castle in 2016 with a week of lavish celebrations in the historic Indian city of Jodhpur for 240 guests. There were dancing white horses, walkways lined with millions of red chilli peppers and a week of endless parties for 200 or so revellers who danced, ate and even slept outside under luxury tents.
Plenty of palace
The Umaid Bhawan palace where part of the wedding was held is a sandstone Art Deco-style building and surrounded by 26 acres of flower-filled gardens. It’s thought the couple were been invited to stay in the private quarters of the maharajah, His Highness Gaj Singh, while their guests took over the hotel, which charges up to $2,800 (£2,150) a night.
Silk and style
Elizabeth, in a $5,579 (£4k) pink silk sari from Indian couturier Tarun Tahiliani, exchanged vows with her new husband in a flower-filled pavilion in the palace grounds. There was a wedding caravan involving 12 horses and 60 camel carts and fireworks in the evening, a Jodhpur newspaper reported.
Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, $2.8 million (£1.7m)
The reality queen and world-famous rapper got married in May 2014 in thoroughly decadent fashion. Dressing one of the most famous figures in the world was a job for only the most exclusive designers. Kim employed Givenchy for a custom-made couture gown featuring long lace sleeves, a mermaid silhouette, illusion cut-outs at the waist and a cathedral-length veil that set her back $400,000 (£240k).
Two-location celebration
The rehearsal dinner took place at the Palace of Versailles, just outside Paris. Around 600 guests dined in the famous hall of mirrors as fireworks lit up the sky and pop star Lana Del Ray performed at a cost of $100,000 (£60k). But that wasn't even the main event, as the official ceremony took place the day after...
Private jets and flower walls
On the day itself guests boarded a fleet of private jets to the wedding at the Forte di Belvedere in Florence, hired for $400,000 (£240k). Kim walked down the aisle as Andrea Bocelli sang. The couple posed for photos in front of a giant flower wall with the total cost of flowers at the wedding reaching $136,000 (£80k).
Sir Paul McCartney and Heather Mills, $3 million (£2.1m)
In June 2002, the former Beatle married model and activist Heather Mills at a 17th-century church in Monaghan, Ireland, followed by a lavish reception at nearby Castle Leslie, where room rates start at around $268 (£205). On the 300-strong guest list were a host of celebrities including Sir Elton John, Eric Clapton and Paul’s old bandmate Ringo Starr. Guests were told to meet at Heathrow from where they were flown to Belfast.
Finishing touches
A man helping with the staffing of the wedding said: "There are blooms everywhere. At least two articulated vehicles have arrived with pink, white and red flowers from Holland."
Guinness was good for them
After the ceremony, the crowd of 300 walked to a huge, Indian-themed tent with dancefloor next to a lake, where McCartney’s touring band rocked into the wee hours. Guests dined on vegetarian food and an endless supply of booze, including 150 kegs of Guinness Stout costing $33,000 (£23k) and dozens of cases of expensive French champagnes and wines.
Liza Minnelli and David Gest, $3.5 million (£2.5m)
For her fourth wedding, Minnelli pulled out all the stops with a lavish affair and an 850-person guest list. The pair got married at New York’s Marble Collegiate Church in 2002. The bride was accompanied by a matron of honour, in the form of Elizabeth Taylor, and 16 bridesmaids all dressed in black. Minnelli wore a Bob Mackey gown costing $45,000 (£32k).
Celebrity Creme de la Creme
The late Natalie Cole sang her father Nat's classic song Unforgettable as the bride walked down the aisle, followed by her bridesmaids, including Martine McCutcheon, Petula Clark and swimming star Esther Williams. Later on, Michael Jackson kicked off the proceedings by offering a toast to the bride and groom.
Regal reception
Guests feasted on seafood salad and filet mignon with vintage champagne worth thousands. As the 60-piece orchestra started to play, waitresses handed round petit fours and red heart-shaped boxes of handmade chocolates for every guest. The multi-tiered sponge wedding cake stood almost six feet but most of the guests, seated at 120 tables, missed the cake cutting.
Elizabeth Taylor and Larry Fortensky, $4 million (£2.1m)
Elizabeth Taylor wed construction worker Larry Fortensky in a lavish, exclusive ceremony in October 1991 at her friend Michael Jackson’s Neverland ranch. Wearing a pale yellow $25,000 (£13k) Valentino dress, Taylor married Fortensky in front of 160 guests. Security took up a big part of the budget, with 250 Israeli security guards hired for the occasion and helicopters assigned to shoo away the press helicopters hovering to take photos.
Hollywood royalty
Guests included Ronald and Nancy Reagan, Gerald and Betty Ford, millionaires David Geffen and Marlon Davis, Merv Griffin, then-20th Century Fox chief Barry Diller, songwriter Carole Bayer Sager, talk show host Arsenio Hall, record producer Quincy Jones, director Franco Zeffirelli, actresses Pia Zadora and Liza Minnelli, and actors Roddy MacDowell, Gregory Peck, George Hamilton and Home Alone star Macaulay Culkin.
Tulips from Amsterdam
Taylor spent $200,000 (£105k) on flowers for her eighth wedding, flying them in from Amsterdam, the world's tulip capital. And she spared no expense on a lavish menu that featured pasta with white truffle sauce, sautéed medallions of veal, smoked salmon caviar and chocolate cups filled with sorbet.
Amal Alamuddin and George Clooney $4.6 million (£2.8m)
When Hollywood’s most eligible bachelor and a British human rights lawyer got married, class and luxury was all part of the big day. The Clooneys married in 2014 in Venice and threw a huge party to celebrate. Spending a whopping $250,000 (£150k) just on flowers, George got married in an Armani tux, while Amal wore a Sarah Burton for McQueen dress coming in at $380,000 (£227k).
High-end hotels
Renting out rooms for guests at the famous Cipriani hotel cost the Clooneys almost $3 million (£1.8m) alone. And that’s before the costs of the hotel where the actual reception was held. It’s estimated that hiring The Aman cost $250,000 (£150k), while the lighting, table rentals and other production rentals for the party totalled up to $300,000 (£180k). And their five-course Italian style dinner on Saturday with chef Riccardo de Pra cost around $300 (£180) per person.
Canal costs
According to Jayne Seddon, director and owner of Venice Events, the boats that ferried the Clooney wedding guests around Venice cost €600 per boat for just two hours. As they had all of the boat drivers on standby for three days, day and night, their bill for the boats at $400 (£240) per hour for 72 hours would equal $36,500 (£21.8k).
Chelsea Clinton and Marc Mezvinsky, $5 million (£3.4m)
At the multi-faith ceremony in 2010, former US President Bill Clinton walked his only daughter down the aisle at Astor Court, Rhinebeck, New York. The bride wore traditional white, a strapless $20,000 (£13.4k) gown designed by family friend and wedding guest Vera Wang.
State-of-the art security
Much of the wedding budget went on security. The wedding location was top secret and a no-fly zone was imposed over the event. The road to the exclusive estate was blocked off but, to make everyone feel better, the Clintons gave neighbours bottles of wine for the inconvenience.
Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel, $6.5 million (£4.1m)
The pop star and actress were another couple who chose Italy for their wedding, getting married at the five star Borgo Egnazia resort in the Puglian city of Fasano in 2012. As she walked down the aisle, Biel was surprised by Timberlake singing and performing an original song he’d written for the occasion.
In the pink
Jessica wore a light pink custom made Giambattista Valli strapless dress while Timberlake’s tuxedo was designed by Tom Ford. The pair exchanged gold bands with a hammered finish, designed by Leor Yerushalmi of Jewellers of Las Vegas.
Coleen McLoughlin and Wayne Rooney, $9.9 million (£5m)
In 2008, the English footballer and his childhood sweetheart got married in Santa Margherita near Portofino in Italy in the secluded Villa Durazzo, with a ceremony and celebrations for 65 guests. Coleen wore a cream strapless organza dress with an embroidered bodice and cascade skirt by designer Marchesa, estimated to have cost $279,000 (£214k). The flights to New York for all the fittings cost $117,000 (£90k) alone.
Wayne and Westlife
The couple surprised their wedding guests when Irish singers Westlife showed up on stage at a cost of $558,000 (£428k). The boy band sang I Do as Coleen and Wayne slow-danced before Wayne joined the boys onstage for a sing-song. Thanks to the footballers and other high-profile guests, the 100-strong security team charged $33,000 (£25.3k) for 12 hours' work.
Private jets and pizza
Guests were flown in to Portofino on a private jet and the main event was preceded by a masked ball on board a yacht and a 'pizza party' on the eve of the wedding. Pre-wedding celebrations are thought to have cost close to $1.4 million (£1m) alone.
Michael Jordan and Yvette Prieto, $10 million (£6.6m)
The basketball player and model got married in April 2013 at the Episcopal Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea in Florida with nearly 300 guests in attendance. The ceremony was followed by a reception at the Bear’s Club – a luxurious private golf club. Yvette wore a gown by J’Aton Couture with handmade silk lace created especially for her costing at least $16,700 (£11k).
Huge venue
An enormous wedding tent was set up at the golf course with a full array of options including a band stage, massive ballroom and dining room. The wedding reception venue was 40,000 square feet, bigger than Jordan's own enormous mansion, which measures 35,000 square feet. As part of the meal, guests were served an all-white, seven-layer white rum wedding cake covered in fondant and sugar crystals, adorned with crystal brooches and the couple’s monogram on the top.
That's entertainment
As well as an 18-piece band, guests were treated to performances by Robin Thicke, who is thought to charge $150,000 (£115k) for a private performance, and Grammy Award-winner Usher. The table decorations were especially lavish, a continuous candle-lit landscape with crystal candelabras and mercury glass vessels, each filled with one variety of white flower, including roses, peonies and tulips, and one accent of purple.
Petra Ecclestone and James Stunt, $16.7 million (£10.3m)
Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone shelled out an eye-watering sum for the three-day extravaganza that saw his daughter marry James Stunt at Odescalchi Castle in Rome. The wedding in 2011 saw the medieval town of Bracciano grind to a halt as 350 VIP guests arrived for the ceremony inside the castle, which cost $432,000 (£265k) to hire.
Nothing but the finest
Petra wore an $112,000 (£69k) couture wedding gown by designer Vera Wang. Guests were served vintage Louis Roederer Cristal champagne and $5,600-a-bottle Chateau Petrus wine in an air-conditioned white marquee, while acrobats performed beneath hot air balloons amid the first of the evening’s two fireworks displays. Guests were also entertained by the Black Eyed Peas, who charged upwards of $558,000 (£340k) for a private show.
William and Kate, $39 million (£24m)
It was the wedding of the decade with a price tag to boot. Most of the huge bill for the royal event on 29 April 2011 was spent on security and, with 1,900 guests, it was never going to be cheap. Kate’s timeless wedding dress, designed by Sarah Burton at Alexander McQueen, cost $400,000 (£307k) alone.
Abbey ever after
The ceremony was held at Westminster Abbey, which was decked with real trees either side of the aisle and the cost of flowers was $800,000 (£614k). The night before the wedding, the Middletons stayed at the Goring Hotel, Kensington. The bill for the exclusive hire of the 71-room hotel near Buckingham Palace is estimated at $119,000 (£91k) alone. The Royal Suite, where Kate spent her last night as a single woman, is so exclusive it doesn't have an official price tag.
Lavish entertaining
The Queen hosted a lunchtime reception at Buckingham Palace for 650. Then there was a night-time party in which there were fireworks, a live band led by the pop star Ellie Goulding, and the Palace’s magnificent Throne Room was transformed into a "massive nightclub". Only the couple's inner circle, 300 people, were invited to that bash, hosted by the Prince of Wales. The couple ordered a huge wedding cake by baker Fiona Cairns that cost $80,000 (£61k).
Harry and Meghan, $41.6 million (£32m)
It was a romance that captivated the world, even before their engagement was announced. Paparazzi hounded then-actress and activist Meghan Markle from the moment she was linked to Prince Harry. It was no surprise that their wedding was hardly a low-key affair, broadcast live to an estimated audience of over two billion people across the globe.
A fairy tale affair
After months of speculation about her wedding dress, Meghan emerged in her classic Givenchy gown, designed by Clare Waight Keller. The gorgeous creation came with a pretty price tag of $507,000 (£390k), plus another $13,000 (£10k) for her hair and make-up. The fairy tale ceremony was followed by a star-studded private afterparty, with performances from Sir Elton John and James Corden. And Hollywood actor George Clooney took to the dancefloor with the Duchess of Cambridge and the bride herself.
Safety first
With the world watching, security was a big concern and a truly huge expense. The cost of accreditation passes alone was said to be $3,800 (£2,907) along with $1.95 million (£1.5m) for barriers, screens and flags for spectators. In total, the final security bill was reportedly an eyewatering $39 million (£30m) and almost the entire wedding budget.
Vanisha Mittal and Amit Bhatia, $60 million (£32m)
As the daughter of steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal, one of the richest men in the world, Vanisha’s 2004 wedding was always going to be a showstopper, kicking off with a special engagement party at the Palace of Versailles near Paris. The estimated 1,500-2000 guests were sent a 20-page long wedding invitation in a silver box, which also included their flight tickets to Paris, and their lodging details at the avant-garde InterContinental Paris Le Grand, where rooms cost $500 (£383) a night.
Bollywood bling
Designers Tarun Tahiliani and Suneet Varma were called upon to design the outfits of the bride, bridegroom and all the family members. Since no Indian wedding is complete without the wedding thumkas (dances), ace Bollywood choreographer Farah Khan was signed up to coach the family members. To avoid photography leaking out but also allow guests to communicate with each other, Lakshmi Mittal provided each invitee with their own mobile phone for the occasion.
French fancies
The wedding was held at opulent Vaux-le-Vicomte, an ornate French château located 34 miles away from Paris. A mandap (traditional Indian pillared structure used in Hindu weddings) was made on the pond located within the sprawling garden of the manor house. That evening singer Kylie Minogue was reportedly paid $279,000 (£214k) for her performance.
Prince Albert and Princess Charlene of Monaco, $70 million (£50m)
Probably one of the most expensive of all time, this 2011 royal wedding saw 650 guests arrive at the courtyard of the medieval Palace of Monaco. Charlene Wittstock wore an Armani Privé duchesse silk dress. Although the exact price is unknown, off-the-peg Armani Privé start at several thousands. This custom-made dress took three seamstresses 2,500 hours to make and featured a five-metre-long train adorned with 40,000 Swarovski crystals and 20,000 mother-of-pearl teardrops.
Dinner by Ducasse
Celebrated French-born chef Alain Ducasse (whose tasting menu at the Dorchester costs $195/£150 a head), prepared the multi-course dinner for 650, which took place on the seaview terraces of the Opera House and nearby Fairmont Hotel.
Charles and Diana, $110 million (£79m)
It was the "wedding of the century" as Prince Charles married Lady Diana Spencer. Around 3,500 guests made up the congregation at St Paul's Cathedral. Two million spectators lined the route of Diana's procession from Clarence House, with 4,000 police and 2,201 military officers to manage the crowds. Diana's wedding dress was valued at $12,300 (£9,400) (equivalent to $44,000/£33,750 now). The dress was designed by Elizabeth and David Emanuel and had a 25-foot train of ivory taffeta and antique lace. Charles wore his full dress naval commander uniform.
The bigger, the better
Charles and Diana selected St Paul's over Westminster Abbey, the traditional site of royal weddings, because St. Paul's offered more seating and permitted a longer procession through London before a reception featuring 27 wedding cakes.
Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier (total costs never revealed)
When Oscar winning-actress Grace Kelly married Monaco’s Prince Rainier in April 1956 there was no doubt that it was the most romantic and iconic match of its day. The guestlist of 600 included Cary Grant, Aristotle Onassis, Ava Gardner, Gloria Swanson and Conrad Hilton.
Eight days of parties
Grace’s arrival in Monaco followed her father paying $2 million (£1.5m) towards the wedding and set off an eight-day long round of parties, dinners and galas. The marriage ceremonies began on 17 April with a palace reception for 40 foreign delegations and outdoor evening entertainment, culminating in a massive fireworks display where 3,000 of Monaco's citizens were invited.
Decadent details
There were thousands of white lilies and lilies of the valley, a six-tiered wedding cake that replicated Monaco’s pink palace and scenes depicting Monaco’s history in sugar. As for her dress, Grace wore one of the most famous wedding gowns of all time: it cost $68,000 (£52k) in today's money and was a creation of 300 yards of antique Belgian lace and 150 yards of silk, taffeta and tulle.
Nicky Hilton and James Rothschild (costs incalculable)
The union of an American heiress and a member of one of Britain’s oldest financial dynasties was bound to result in one of the most lavish weddings ever. The Hilton fortune is estimated at $900 million (£690m) while the Rothschild family still have billions between them. Nicky Hilton and James Rothschild’s 2015 wedding took place over three days and featured a ceremony at the Orangery at Kensington Palace, giving the whole affair a royal flavour.
Fusion food
The wedding combined the best of both worlds as Nicky and James worked in both British and American elements in their reception. The evening's menu kicked off with canapes, caviar and foie gras, while the night was capped off with a late-night meal that included mini sliders, French fries, mac and cheese and milkshakes.
Looking the part
Nicky wore a long lace $70,000 (£54k) Valentino bridal gown for the ceremony but swapped in the evening for a short sequined number, a pair of sparkly Christian Louboutins and a Dior handbag.
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