Most expensive weddings in the world

A wedding day is one of the biggest and most anticipated events in one's life. While different cultures have different wedding rituals and ceremonies, they all basically have one underlying theme-- of uniting two people together as a couple, and celebrating their love for each other.

Called the "wedding of the century" by various reports, Madeline Brockway and Jacob LaGrone's wedding in November 2023 costed a around $59 million (INR 489 crores). Their lavish wedding was hosted at the Palace of Versailles in Paris, were all guests were escorted to the venue in private jets. Music band Maroon 5 performed at the wedding, wherein both the bride and the groom wore expensive clothes. Madeline Brockway's family has a car dealership business, whereas Jacob LaGrone (29) is facing accusations of aggravated assault on three police officers, according to reports.

Photo: Lake Como Weddings/ Instagram

UK's Prince Charles (now King Charles III) and Lady Diana got married in July 29, 1981, however the lavishness and opulence of it is spoken about even today, decades after their wedding. The Royal wedding took place at St Paul's Cathedral in London, UK and it costed approximately US$48 million (roughly INR 398 crores) back then. The wedding was witnessed by 3,500 people in person, whereas roughly 750 million people from across the globe viewed it on TV. What is spoken about even today is Princess Diana’s beautiful wedding gown which had 10,000 pearls and a 25-foot long train.

While this is one of the most memorable and expensive royal weddings in the world, the marriage did not last for long. The couple got divorced in 1996, and a year later Diana died in a tragic car accident.

Photo: Flickr

Vanisha Mittal, daughter of one of the richest man in the world- Lakshmi Mittal, got married to Amit Bhatia in an extravagant wedding in 2004. While their engagement ceremony took place at the Palace of Versailles in Paris, their wedding was held at Chateau Veaux le Vicomte, near Paris. Actress Kylie Minogue performed at the wedding, and a firework display was done at the Eiffle Tower too. Though the marriage costed around $66 million (roughly INR 5,467,874,808), it did not last for long and the couple got divorced in 2013.

Photo: Reuters

India's richest man, Mukesh Ambani's daughter Isha Ambani got married to Anand Piramal on December 12, 2018. As per a report by Bloomberg, their wedding costed approximately $15 million (which is roughly INR 110 crores). The lavish wedding was attended by the whos who from Bollywood and India's political circles. On November 19, 2022, the couple was blessed with twins, Krishna and Aadiya.

The future King and Queen of England, Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding in 2011 costed around $34 million, which makes it one of the most expensive weddings till date. The couple was dating since 2003, and their wedding was held in 2011 at the Westminster Abbey in London, England. The couple now have the designation of the Prince and Princess of Wales and they have three children together.

Photo: The Royal Family/ YouTube

Manchester United's footballer Wayne Rooney and Coleen McLoughlin married in Italy in 2008. 64 guests were chartered in five private jets to their lavish wedding wherein the Irish boyband, Westlife, also performed. The wedding costed $8 million (roughly INR 663,724,080).

Photo: OK! Magazine

Investment banker-turned-model Priya Sachdev's wedding to hotelier Vikram Chatwal's was hosted in three cities for over 10 days. Over 600 guests from 26 countries not only invited but also privately flown in chartered flights, and escorted in 70 private cars to the venues. The wedding took on February 18, 2006. The guest list included Bill Clinton, model Naomi Campbell, then Indian-PM Manmohan Singh, Indian dignitaries, HRH Prince Nikolaos of Greece, Lakshmi Mittal, among others. The lavish wedding was Mughal-court styled, which was decorated with 50,000 kilos of flowers, 3,000 candles, among other things. The wedding costed a whopping US dollar 20 million! However, the couple divorced in 2011.

Former President of the USA and former Secretary of State of USA, Bill and Hillary Clinton's daughter Chelsea Clinton married Marc Mezvinsky, an investment banker, in a grand wedding. Their lavish wedding ceremony took place at the Astor Courts in 2010 and it costed $5 million (roughly INR 40 crores).

Photo: Flickr

Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas' wedding was a perfect tale of Bollywood meets Hollywood! The couple got married on December 1, 2018, and their wedding ceremonies were held over five days. They had a Hindu traditional wedding as per Priyanka's religion and also got married in a Christian ceremony according to Nick's religious upbringing. For their Hindu wedding, Priyanka wore a red Sabyasachi lehenga, whereas international fashion designer Ralph Lauren created the looks for the bride, groom, and their families for the Christian wedding. Their wedding was held at the Umaid Bhawan Palace in Rajasthan, and as per reports, the couple spent INR 3 crores just at the hotel. Their wedding was followed by a grand reception in Delhi.

Singing Liza Minnelli and concert promoter David Gest got married in a lavish wedding in 2002. Their wedding cost was roughly $4.2 million and their guest list included Elizabeth Taylor, Liam Neeson, and Mia Farrow, among others. Michael Jackson was the best man at their wedding. However, the couple's marriage didn't last long and they split a year later.

Photo: Weddingg Magazine