The 10 Most Expensive Weddings of All-Time

Weddings are more-often-than-not large and somewhat extravagant events, as you (hopefully) only get married just once. As many also know, weddings can get quite expensive. Even a small and low-key wedding attended by a few close friends and family members can cost thousands of dollars, at the very least. If you’re a major celebrity or a royal family member, then your wedding will be even more expensive, naturally. So who spent the most to tie the knot?

Here are ten of the most expensive weddings of all time. We have organized the weddings by the overall price that has been adjusted for inflation, as a few weddings on the list are from a number of years ago.

10. Paul McCartney and Heather Mills – $3.95 Million ($3 Million in 2002)

In 2002 Paul McCartney and Heather Mills dropped a reported $3 million on their wedding, which works out to around $3.95 million today. The former Beatles second marriage was fairly extravagant and was held within Castle Leslie that they rented out in Ireland. The wedding was Indian themed and all of McCartney’s and Mills’s closest friends and families were there. However the two would divorce in 2008.

9. Elizabeth Taylor and Larry Fortensky –  $4.35 Million ($2.5 million in 1991)

Larry Fortensky and Elizabeth Taylor spent a lot of money on their extravagant weddings back in 1991. The couple dropped around $2.5 million which works out to over $4.3 million today. It was a massive wedding held at Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch and was attended by a host of celebrities. Still despite the extravagant wedding, their marriage only lasted some five years.

8. Liza Minnelli and David Gest – $4.61 Million (3.5 Million in 2002)

Another one of the most expensive weddings of all-time was the marriage between Liza Minnelli and David Gest in 2002. The two spend around $3.5 million on their wedding back then, and it was a massive event. Some 850 different guests showed up, including many celebrities, and it was held at the Regent Hotel in New York. However they would sustain their marriage for only 16 months.

7. Chelsea Clinton and Marc Mezvinsky – $5.44 million ($5 Million in 2010)

When Chelsea Clinton and Marc Mezvinsky tied the knot in 2010, their entire wedding cost $5 million dollars. The event was held in the quaint town of Rhinebeck, New York and it was attended be over 400 friends and family members. Obviously Bill and Hilary were there, and given the parties involved in the wedding, a lot of money was spent on security as well.

6. Wayne Rooney and Coleen McLoughlin – $8.82 Million ($8 Million in 2008)

Legendary soccer player Wayne Rooney spent $8 million dollars in 2008 on his wedding with Coleen McLoughlin. The couple were high-school sweethearts and spent all of the money to fly 65 friends and family members out to Genoa where they had the event over a few days, spending their time between a superyacht and in a five-star hotel.s

5. Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries – $10.88 Million ($10 million in 2011)

One of the most expensive weddings of all time produced one of the shortest celebrity marriages of all time. Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries dropped $10 million dollars in 2011 on their extravagant wedding. The event was a luxurious and over-the-top ordeal, in typical celebrity fashion. Apparently the cake cost $20,000 dollars alone. But despite the expensive wedding, their marriage only lasted 72 days.

4. Prince William and Kate Middleton – $35.87 Million ($34 Million in 2011)

Jumping up greatly in price is the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. Their wedding in 2011 costed $34 million dollars (about $35.8 million today), and it was a very important event. The wedding was held at Westminster Abby and the ceremony was even televised where around 2 billion people around the world tuned in. While their wedding was very expensive, it is believed that $32 million was spent on just security alone.

3. Vanisha Mittal and Amit Bhatia – $75.38 Million ($60 million in 2004)

The third most expensive wedding of recent memory was the wedding between Amit Bhatia and Vanisha Mittal. Amit was a prominent banker who owned Swordfish Investments while Vanisha was the daughter of a billionaire steel-magnate. Their wedding was about as over-the-top as you could possible imagine. Invitations were sent out in silver boxes and they flew their 1,000 guest

2. Prince Charles and Lady Diana – $125.3 Million ($48 million in 1981)

The wedding between Prince Charles and Lady Diana was not only one of the most iconic weddings of recent times, but also one of the most expensive. Taking place at St. Paul’s Cathedral which is located in London, thousands of guests were invited to the event and hundreds of millions of people watched from around the world. The two spent $48 million dollars in 1981 which works out to be about $125.3 million today.

1. Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Princess Salama – $261.1 Million ($100 million in 1981)

Eclipsing Prince Charles’s and Lady Diana’s weddings in 1981 was the wedding of Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Princess Salama. Al Nahyan is the Crown Prince Abu Dhabi and was the son to the first president of the United Arab Emirates. Their wedding lasted an entire week and they constructed a stadium that could seat 20,000 people for the ceremony, in addition to all the other luxuries that you can imagine. Back in 1981 they spend $100 million which would be worth $261.1 million dollars to day.

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