5 celebrity weddings which cost millions

SINGAPORE - Lavish celebrity weddings were a rarity during the pandemic, as stars got hitched in small, intimate gatherings without much fanfare.

But as things slowly return to normal, the nuptials of the rich and famous are once again becoming extravagant affairs.

Last month, all eyes were on the big day of K-drama darlings Hyun Bin and Son Ye-jin, which had a constellation of South Korean stars in attendance.

And on April 9, actress Nicola Peltz wed chef Brooklyn Beckham, eldest son of Victoria and David Beckham, in a million-dollar wedding on her family's estate in Florida.

Everyone loves a wedding and every detail - from the gorgeous gowns to the stunning venues - is scrutinised.

With price tags which are out of reach of mere mortals, celebrity weddings are pure escapism, offering a fairy-tale happily-ever-after and much gossip fodder.

Here are five lavish star weddings which cost millions.

1. Song Hye-kyo and Song Joong-ki

One of the most hotly anticipated celebrity weddings in 2017, the nuptials of K-drama couple Song Hye-kyo, 40, and Song Joong-ki, 36, was attended by stars such as Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi and South Korean actors Choi Ji-woo, Park Bo-gum and Yoo Ah-in.

Popularly known as the Song-Song couple, the Descendants Of The Sun leads went from reel to real love in 2016.

A year later, they held their wedding in October at The Shilla Seoul in an intimate banquet hall adorned with a profusion of flowers. The venue reportedly cost 70 million won (S$78,000) and the floral decoration, between 50 million and 80 million won.

Both the bride and groom wore outfits from French house Christian Dior for their fairy-tale wedding.

Sadly, the marriage ended in divorce after 20 months due to what Song Hye-kyo described as a "difference in personality".

2. Victoria and David Beckham

The 1999 wedding of former footballer David Beckham, 46, and former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham, 47, was such an extravaganza that it reportedly cost more than US$1 million.

The poshest show-business wedding of the year saw the bride and groom wearing matching purple outfits, together with their then four-month-old son, Brooklyn Beckham.

Held in a castle in Ireland, the star-studded event had guests such as the other Spice Girls and Manchester United and England teammates. Former football player Gary Neville was the best man.

A dove was set free, fireworks were lit and balloons were released. The Beckingham Palace newlyweds sat on gold thrones, the bride wore a crown and they cut their cake with an actual sword.

3. Fann Wong and Christopher Lee

Singapore's very own celebrity power couple, Fann Wong, 51, and Christopher Lee, 50, had all eyes on them when they tied the knot in September 2009.

Costing a cool $5 million, the wedding was televised to the nation on Channel 8. A smaller do was held in Lee's hometown of Melaka the following month.

For the Singapore leg of the wedding, Fann donned a Bollywood-inspired gown worth $300,000 and Lee wore an Ermenegildo Zegna suit as they celebrated with more than 900 guests at the Shangri-La Singapore.

At the hotel entrance, it was a media circus when their celebrity friends arrived.

These included actresses Patricia Mok, Huang Biren and Jacelyn Tay, actors Rayson Tan and Chew Chor Meng, celebrity hairstylist David Gan and aesthetics doctor Georgia Lee.

Naturally, their show-business pals, actress Irene Ang and DJ Dennis Chew, were the hosts for the night, leading some people to joke that it felt like a Mediacorp dinner and dance.

4. Liu Shishi and Nicky Wu

The wedding of Chinese actress Liu Shishi, 35, and Taiwanese actor Nicky Wu, 51, was the talk of the town in March 2016 when they wed in a $4.3-million seaside wedding in Bali's Ayana Resort and Spa.

The wedding officiant was none other than veteran Hong Kong actor Damian Lau, who had played Emperor Kangxi in Scarlet Heart (2011), the hit drama which had brought the couple together.

They had played star-crossed lovers in the time-travel tale which spawned a sequel in 2013. The two began dating after that. Fans were thrilled by the wedding and called it a "special episode" of the series.

The climax of the night was when Wu - a former member of Taiwanese boy band Little Tigers which had disbanded in the 1990s - reunited with Alec Su and Julian Chen.

They took the stage to perform their hit song Love, much to the delight of guests such as veteran hosts Chang Hsiao-yen and Matilda Tao, and actor Wallace Huo.

5. Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas

It was a Hollywood-meets-Bollywood wedding when actress Priyanka Chopra, 39, and singer Nick Jonas, 29, of the Jonas Brothers tied the knot.

The three-day wedding extravaganza kicked off in a palace in Jodhpur, a city in the north-west Indian state of Rajasthan, in December 2018 and combined both Christian and Hindu traditions.

The bride wore a stunning red Sabyasachi lehenga (full ankle-length skirt), which took 110 embroiderers from Kolkata a total of 3,720 hours to create. To honour her culture, Jonas wore a gold, hand-quilted silk sherwani (knee-length coat) with a safa (Rajasthani turban for special occasions).

She also wore a couture Ralph Lauren bridal gown to walk down the aisle. The traditional white gown incorporated words with special meaning, such as the Hindu mantra "Om Namaha Shivay" and the groom's name as well as the names of her parents.

In the following months, the newlyweds would go on to hold wedding receptions in Delhi and Mumbai in India, and North Carolina in the United States.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.