Top 10 most expensive weddings

Do you ever believe that only one event could be necessarily enough for a human being to be widely familiar? Yes, it happened in real life. The person is none but a woman – Vanisha Mittal. Just one event made her to be known globally. And the event is her wedding ceremony, an exceptional marriage indeed. The wedding function holds a history in terms of spending money that has never been seen still today. Around 1,000 guests from all over the world received 20-page-thick, silver-encased invitation cards to the lavish event, which included feasts at the world’s best hotels, partying at fancy nightclubs, top-of-the-line Kristal champagne, exclusive performances by Bollywood heartthrob Shah Rukh Khan and pop kitten Kylie Minogue, and a splendid fairytale wedding at 17th century Vaux le Vicomte, described as the “finest chateau and garden” in France.

The glittering wedding ceremony of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum the ruler of Dubai and Princess Salama in 1981 at a whopping cost of $ 44.5 million earned a place in the Forbes list of “Billionaire Weddings”. A sprawling stadium was built to entertain 20,000 invitees for the seven-day long celebration amidst luxuries.

September 2005, the famed Russian billionaire Andrei Melnichenko became the happiest man when he married model Aleksandra Kokotovich at Cote d’Azur of France. The union of the billionaire and the former Miss Yugoslavia was lavish and grand in its own rights and had a star-studded guest list to grace the luxury occasion. The luxury ceremony was cheered by the live performances of singers Christina Aguilera and Whitney Houston. Aguilera came down to Cannes in a special private jet with her boyfriend Jordan Bratman at her side and arranged to stay at a posh suite.

It was far from a simple wedding. In fact, the ceremonies of Vikram Chatwal, a jet-setting hotelier and actor, and Priya Sachdev, a model and actress and former investment banker, lasted 10 days and was spread across three cities in India. It was a multimillion-dollar celebration, during which 600 guests from 26 countries were ferried around on chartered jets.

Rooney and McLoughlin’s wedding ceremony took place on June 12, 2008, in Villa Durazzo, which has breathtaking views over the Italian Rivera. The festivities turned into a four-day celebration on a yacht, with 64 guests flown in on five private jets. What’s really odd about this wedding is that the couple had a simple civil ceremony and served pizza at the reception…but all the accoutrements (like the dress, designed by Georgia Chapman’s Marchesa label which cost a reported £3 million itself) added up.

Delphine Arnault, the daughter of French businessman Bernard Arnault, married Alessandro Vallarino Gancia, of the Gancia wine dynasty, in 2005 at the Cote d’Azur, France. This affair is said to have cost over $7 million. Her gown wasn’t bought off the rack at David’s Bridal – it was created by famed fashion designer John Galliano. The wedding venue was decorated with 5000 white roses. (Imagine the expense of that alone!) Famous wedding guests included Elizabeth Hurley and Karl Lagerfeld. Harper’s Bazaar called this spectacular wedding 2005's “Wedding of the Year.”

This extravagant affair took place in County Monaghan, Ireland. The ceremony was held in St. Salvador’s Church, followed by a reception at Castle Leslie for 300 guests. The bride’s gown was actually her own design, made up by London’s Eavis & Brown and she carried a bouquet of roses named after McCartney. After a stunning fireworks display the couple escaped for a honeymoon break to a private island in the Seychelles.

One of the most top rated celebrity wedding of the decade. The high powered and star-studded party was backed by a 60-piece orchestra, Tony Bennett entertained VIPs, who feasted on a 12-tier wedding cake and received personalized favors encased in satin candy boxes embossed “Liza and David 4 Ever.” (The pair divorced the next year.)

Actress and model Elizabeth Hurley wed business tycoon Arun Nayar in 2007 in a $2.5 million, eight-day celebration spanning Europe and India. The couple were married in Sudeley Castle in Gloucestershire, Britain for Hurley’s family and friends, then again in Umaid Bhawan Palace, Jodhpur, India for Nayar’s people. Elton John gave Hurley away. Other guests at these lavish ceremonies included Elle Macpherson, Donatella Versace, and Evelyn Lauder. Guess Hurley put some of that Estee Lauder money to good use!

With the age difference of 16 years, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes were tied in the knot in Italy on 18th November, 2006 (Tom Cruise proposed to Katie Holmes on the top of Eiffel Tower before 19 months of the wedding date). The lavishing wedding was attended by 150 guests including the top guns of celebrity world. The bride’s gown was personally designed by Giorgio Armani of Valenciennes lace, and the groom wore Armani as well. Next morning, the couple jetted off to the gorgeous Maldives for some much needed rest and relaxation.