‘Wedding ceremony’ is a once-in-a-lifetime event where two souls unite for marriage in a bid to start new innings together. Of all the grand ceremonies we have ever seen, wedding is the most amazing thing in the world.
Wedding practices vary greatly between cultures, religions and countries. Each family will be on their hectic schedule for their son or daughter’s wedding as it takes a lot of time, money.
The activities include shopping, calling photographers, arranging caterers, sending invites and so on. Here’s the list of ten world’s most expensive weddings of all time.
Elizabeth Hurley & Arun Nayar – $2.6 million
British model-actress Elizabeth Hurley and Indian businessman Arun Nayar got hitched twice. The first was in the year 2007 which was held at the Sudeley Castle in England. The second time was organised at Umaid Bhawan Palace in Jodhpur, which was done as per Nayar’s Hindu tradition.
Four years later, the couple split right after pictures of Elizabeth Hurley kissing Australian cricketer Shane Warne circulated. It is said that the subsequent divorce is probably one of the fastest. The judge just took 92 seconds to find out that their marriage had broken down in a way that cannot be retrieved.
Paul McCartney & Heather Mills – $3.6 million
Music legend Paul McCartney and entrepreneur Heather Mills got married in the year 2002 at the castle in Ireland. As many as 300 guests attended the marriage ceremony. Unfortunately, the marriage did not last long as the couple split four years later and they ended their marriage in the year 2008.
The worst thing was that the divorce was expensive than the wedding itself, with McCartney ordered by the court to pay Mills around a staggering $27 million as a one-off payment and another $13million in assets.
Elizabeth Taylor and Larry Fortensky ($4 million)
Hollywood legend Elizabeth Taylor stumbled upon construction worker Larry Fortensky in a rehab facility where both of them checked in for their drug problems. In a unique love story that drew people’s attention, the couple got hitched in the year 1991 at Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch.
The great ceremony was a star-studded event with famous celebrities like Liza Minnelli, Eddie Murphy, and Macaulay Culkin marked their presence. Ahead of the wedding, Fortensky signed a premarital agreement where he would only get $1 million just in case if the couple split, provided the marriage lasted 5 years.
After five years passed, they both got divorced but remained good friends until Taylor’s death in the year 2011. Hollywood legendary actress left Fortensky $800,000 as indicated in her will.
Liza Minnelli and David Gest ($4.2 million)
Liza Minnelli and David Gest got featured in the all-time list of expensive weddings. The grand wedding happened at New York’s Fifth Avenue in 2002. King of Pop, Michael Jackson marked his presence at the wedding.
Chelsea Clinton and Marc Mezvinsky ($5 million)
Chelsea Clinton and Marc Mezvinsky are ranked fifth on the list of world’s most expensive weddings of all time. Former United States President Bill Clinton’s daughter Chelsea had her memorable wedding at Astor Courts in 2010
Wayne Rooney and Coleen McLoughlin ($8 million)
Wayne Rooney is the only footballer who has added enough rich colours at his wedding. The former Manchester United midfielder hired private jets for 64 of their guests. The great grand wedding took place at the Abbey of Cervara in Italy in 2008.
Prince William and Kate Middleton ($34 million)
The first of the two royal weddings in the list- Prince William and Kate Middleton married together in 2011 and it was labelled as “The Wedding of The Century”. The ceremony was held at the Westminster Abbey.
Vanisha Mittal & Amit Bhatia ($66 million)
Vanisha Mittal and Amit Bhatia’s wedding is rated third on the list. The wedding happened in the 17th century Chateau Veaux Le Vicomte located in Paris in 2004
Isha Ambani & Anand Piramal ($100 million)
Who else? Isha Ambani, the only richest daughter of the richest man of India and world’s ten richest person- Mukesh Ambani tied the nuptial knot with her childhood friend Anand Piramal.
With special guests like Hilary Clinton and Henry Travis and star performers like Beyonce, the grand wedding was estimated to be around Rs 724 crore.
Prince Charles & Lady Diana ($110 million)
Prince Charles and Lady Diana are placed second on the list of the world’s most expensive wedding. The grand wedding happened a very long time ago in the year 1981. It still managed to outsmart other expensive weddings.
(With inputs from Marketing Mind, Finances Online and Straitstimes)