When you think of movie star weddings you think of over-the-top celebrations where no expense is spared and everything is done to the extreme. Some might choose to have a three-day banquet for hundreds of guests, beautiful ice sculptures on display at the church or over-the-top locations for tying the knot. Regardless of whether or not you are famous, you won the lottery or have earned your dough the hard way, the following are a few examples of how movie stars and everyday people alike can splurge on their wedding and make it a full-blown extravaganza.
When choosing to splurge on your wedding, you can spend your money on one of three different areas: people, places or things. Or, if your budget allows, you can splurge on all three. Try to stay within a budget or you may have to spend the first years of your marriage living in a cardboard box.
PEOPLE:
For devout Catholics, hiring the Pope to officiate at your wedding ceremony might be something to consider. This would probably cost about $50,000. You would need to to have some close connections in the Catholic community to make this happen.
Another idea is to hire The Rolling Stones or Harry Connick Junior to perform at your reception and this would set you back around $500,000. It might be worth the price just to be able to see your Aunt Gertrude cut a rug.
Hire a top notch photographer and videographer to capture the memories of your special day. This will cost you between $3,000 and $4,000.
PLACES:
If both you and your partner are not scared of heights, then bungee jumping off the Grand Canyon after exchanging vows might be the most memorable way of saying "I do." You should set aside approximately $3,000 if you choose to splurge on a venue like this.
Having the wedding in a far-away tropical location and paying for the plane tickets and accommodations for your guests is one of the more expensive ways to get married. If you only invite 20 people to your wedding, this would cost approximately $20,000 for the airfare and accommodations alone.
Renting the Sistine chapel is another extravagant way to tie the knot and would probably cost you about $15,000.
Getting married in a helicopter thousands of feet above the ground and then skydiving down to your guests is another over-the-top option. This stunt would probably cost about $1,000 for the bride and groom to jump.
If you love the water, then getting married while submerged in one of the ocean's beautiful coral reefs wearing scuba gear may be just the thing for you. It would cost about $3,000 dollars to pull this off.
An increasingly large number of horse enthusiasts are choosing to tie the knot while on horseback. If you don't mind a bit of manure, this could be a memorable way to celebrate your special day and would cost you around $1,000. Just be careful to watch where you step.
THINGS:
Purchase small, starter trees to give as gifts to each of your wedding guests so that they can plant them in their yards and remember your special day. This would cost approximately $2,000 if you have 50 guests at your wedding.
Frozen ice sculptures at your wedding would cost you approximately $500 per sculpture. These look positively stunning placed next to a buffet table for your guests to admire as they serve themselves dinner.
An extravagant way to get married is to have a wedding celebration that lasts three full days and that includes five course meals for all of the guests. This kind of a shindig would set you back a grand total of $30,000.
Having ten bridesmaids and ten groomsmen and paying for all of the dresses, tuxedos and hairstyles would set you back approximately $5,000.
Releasing doves into the air after the ceremony makes a beautiful statement about the sanctity of marriage since doves mate for life. This wedding splurge would cost between $1,000 and $2,000. Just make sure you rent doves that haven't eaten in awhile and keep your eyes on the skies.
If you choose to splurge on an over-the-top wedding, you will want to make sure that you paid or delegated someone to take plenty of pictures of your extravagant affair because you to will want to remember exactly how you managed to spend your life savings in a single day. If nothing else, you can use your pictures to wallpaper the cardboard box that you are now living in.