Wedding is something that is considered a very significant affair in all the cultures and religions. Every community has its own way to deal with wedding commodities. But there is one thing that is common in every culture and that is an expensive wedding. People tend to expend more than expected on weddings and there is no doubt in there. There is always a price limitation on commoners. But there are people in this world who splurge on weddings and take the word ‘expensive’ to a whole another level.
These kinds of weddings are noted down and talked about around the globe. We will see some of those expensive weddings in this article.
Top 12 Most Expensive Weddings Of All The Time
- Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank’s Wedding
There is no official statement on the expenditure of Princess Eugenie’s wedding. But, it has been estimated that it was a conservative affair i.e., according to royal standards it was a plain wedding. But what about the commoners? Obviously, for people like us, this wedding was out of the world. $4.9 million was the estimated amount spent for all the flowers, catering, security, entertainment, and other variants. Princess Eugenie’s dress was also very expensive and cost approximately $135,000. The views of the wedding were indeed breathtaking as well as beautiful.
- Prince Charles and Lady Diana’s wedding
It cost around $48 million in the year 1981 i.e., $137 million today. No doubt why this wedding was termed as the ‘wedding of the century.’ The wedding of Princess Diana and Prince Charles took place at St. Paul’s Cathedral, London. The wedding was on the date 29 July 1981. It was one of the most iconic weddings in history, attended by around 3,500 guests, and was watched by 750 million people on television. Lady Diana’s dress was a sight to behold and designed by David and Elizabeth McQueen. The dress featured a 25-foot train, a veil of 153 yards, and around 10,000 pearls.
If you think this is it, then, let us tell you the details have merely started! For completing the look complementing silk wedding shoes were made and accessorized with 132 pearls and 542 sequins. Royal weddings are never cheap. And in this wedding, an extra $60,000 was spent on the security measures and there was a potential death threat by the Irish Republican guerillas.
- Isha Ambani and Anand Piramal’s Wedding
A ‘big fat Indian wedding’ might be too little for what was seen in the wedding of Isha Ambai, daughter of Mukesh Ambani, and Anand Piramal, son of Ajay Piramal. This wedding took place in 2018 and was no doubt talk of the year as it was one of the high profile weddings in the country and maybe in the world as well. Many celebrities flew down to attend this wedding including Hillary Clinton, Nick Jonas, Priyanka Chopra, Ariana Huffington, and even the former president of India, Pranab Mukherjee.
Rumors are such that this wedding cost $100 million and it is not even unbelievable as it was the wedding of two children of such high-class rich people. It was a one-week-long event where even Beyonce performed! Yes, you read it right. And like many Indians, some good deeds were performed as well. The Ambanis donated enough food to feed at least 5,100 people for a total of four days.
- Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Wedding
Not to be surprised that this wedding cost around $45.8 million. Most of the money for Prince Harry and Meghan Markel’s wedding was spent on security. Around $54 million was spent on the security measures alone. The venue of this wedding was St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle. Meghan’s beautiful and elegant gown from Givenchy was about $549,939. Other than these things, the view of the wedding was simple yet spectacular and certainly gave dreamy vibes to many viewers. The wedding took place in 2018.
- Crown Prince AL-Muhtadee Billah of Brunei and Sarah Salleh’s wedding
Both hail from very wealthy families around the world. The heir to the throne of Brunei Al-Muhtadee and Sarah Salleh’s wedding expenses were about $5 million, which is very modest according to their standard. But we can only dream of that kind of money, let alone a wedding of that kind. The wedding was in 2004 and held at the Nurul Iman Palace in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei. All the royal families and leaders around the globe attended this wedding. After the wedding, the prince did an eight-kilometer-long parade across Brunei’s capital in a Gold Rolls Royce, followed by 103 limousines with a band leading the parade.
- Vanisha Mittal and Amit Bhatia’s Wedding
This big and costly wedding took place in 2004 and around $55 million was spent on the wedding. The wedding was an extended affair of 6 days like any other Indian Wedding. Two well-off families spent wholeheartedly on the wedding. Vanisha is the daughter of billionaire Lakshmi Mittal and Amit Bhatia is an investment banker. Officially, this wedding still holds the title ‘most expensive wedding’, in the Guinness Book of World records. Do you want to know where the engagement ceremony took place? At the Palace of Versailles! Indeed a million-dollar wedding.
- Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece and Marie-Chantal Miller’s Wedding
This wedding took place in 1995 and $8 million was a big deal then and yes, that is the approximate cost spent on the wedding. The wedding took place at St. Sophia’s Cathedral In London and the reception was at the Hampton Court Palace. The pre-wedding events were as luxurious as the wedding day, featuring a champagne reception for 1,200 guests. This event featured 100,000 flowers flown in from Ecuador. The bride’s wedding gown was customized with a pearl-encrusted Valentino Gown, including a 13 foot Chantilly lace train costing around $225,000 in 1995. The dress literally took 25 seamstresses and four months to make!
- The Sahara Wedding
India is very well known for its culture and tradition. But there is something else that attracts a lot of eyes-Weddings. Weddings in India are always a big affair and people with big money make it extraordinary. In 2004, Subrata Roy, founder, and Chairman of Sahara Group hosted a grandiloquent affair for his two sons. It was a dual ceremony where Sushanto Roy and Seemanto Roy married Richa Ahuja and Chandani Toor respectively. This wedding cost around $128 million and many high-profile people including Aishwarya Roy, Anil Ambani, and Mulayam Singh Yadav acted as hosts of the wedding and literally welcomed the guests.
The Sahara Shaher was the venue of the ceremony and was lit up with marshals, torchlights, lamps, and even prism glasses. Subrata Roy also funded the marriage of 101 unprivileged girls and provided food to over 1000,000 homeless people on this occasion.
- Mohmmad and Salama Wedding
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum who is called Sheikh Mohammed is the crown prince of Abu Dhabi. In 1918, he was married to princess Salama in a very lavish seven-day ceremony. This wedding cost around $116 million. According to the tradition, Princess Salama spent this duration in her room and Sheikh Mohammed visited tows in the emirate by horseback and fed all the localities. Camels cloaked in jewels were used to deliver gifts to Salama. 20,000 guests were accommodated inside an amphitheater built especially for this purpose.
- Prince Albert II of Monaco and Charlene Wittstock’s wedding
Prince Albert II and Charlene Wittstock’s wedding took place just after that of Prince William and Kate Middleton at the premises of Monaco itself.
Charlene opted for an off-shoulder gown for her wedding day that had 40,000 Swarovski crystals. The multicourse dinner planned and arranged by Michelin-starred chef, Alain Ducasse was initiated with a majestic fireworks display at the venue itself.
- Spanish Prince Felipe and Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano’s wedding
The wedding of Prince Felipe of Spain and Letizia Ortiz, who was a journalist, took place at the Santa María la Real de La Almudena Cathedral with a lump sum amount of $36 million, where around 25 million people showed up to mark their presence. The feast of reception contained a cake of two-meter-high and approx. 1000 bottles of champagne by the side. The gown worn by the recent queen had real gold within it.
- Prince Rainier III of Monaco and Grace Kelly’s wedding
The wedding of Prince Rainier and Grace Kelly had an approximate count of around ten million and occurred majestically. Considered one of the most beautiful and look-up to weddings of that era it included a 6- tier wedding cake that depicted the pink palace of Monaco with numerous white lilacs and lilies plucked from the valleys. The wedding gown of Grace Kelly cost around $8,000 and consisted of 100 yards of pure silk. Refusing the dowry from the father of Kelly, they reportedly halved the total cost together of that grand wedding.
Conclusion
These high-class weddings are nothing less than a feast and festival. In these weddings, a lot of money is spent on hiring security to manage the crowd, creating a special guest list, planning and executing it in a perfect manner, and whatnot.