8 Over-The-Top Celeb Weddings And 8 That Were Low-Key

Danielle Broadway
wedding guests with sparkling lights
Unsplash | Jordan Arnold

While many people may assume that celebrity weddings are outrageously lavish, that's not always true. Some of our favorite famous couples go for grandiose ceremonies that far exceed being decadent. Others opt for something private and away from the limelight. We've compiled 16 of the most interesting celeb weddings that have a little crazy and a lot of calm.

1. Over the top: Meghan Markle and Prince Harry

Okay, so it's basically a requirement for a royal wedding to be over the top, right? It would kind of kill the happily ever after princess vibe---not that it's always been walk in the park for this couple. This $42-million wedding ceremony included 600 people and 200 at the reception. Markle wore a gorgeous wedding dress and even got to sport Queen Mary's diamond bandeau tiara. Later, she changed into another wedding gown, her Stella McCartney gown to be exact, for a fancy reception that included famous guests, including George and Amal Clooney and Elton John.

2. Over the top: Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas

Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra's three-day destination wedding was quite the occasion, indeed! The couple invited 200 family members and friends for a ceremony that was both very A-list Hollywood and reflective of traditional Indian culture. They had a stunning haldi ceremony, which is a ritual holy bath that serves as a pre-wedding ceremony in India. Haldi oil, made from turmeric, is placed on the faces of the bride and groom the morning of the wedding. However, they made sure to add some celeb glam to the occasion with Chopra's white anarkali by Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla, Golecha Jewels and extravagant Mehndi (body art).

Before the actual palace wedding in Jodhpur, they also had the sangeet, which is a party that lasts for days leading up to the wedding. They wed in traditional pheras to honor Chopra's Hindi roots, then with a tradition white wedding dress and ceremony. Every part of the wedding included custom clothing, jewelry, extravagant food and much more.

3. Over the top: Sir Elton John and David Furnish

Even though same-sex marriage wasn't legalized in the UK at the time, Sir Elton John and David Furnish were ready to make a big deal out of their 2005 $1.5-million civil union at the same place Prince Charles was married, Windsor Guildhall. They had 700 guests with crowds of fans, press and police surrounding the venue during their big day. John even performed the love song called, "Your Song" for Furnish to make the day even more special.

4. Over the top: Beyoncé and Jay-Z

In 2008, the music icon couple tied the knot at Jay-Z's huge Tribeca penthouse, that's approximately 13,500 square feet. The penthouse was adorned with 70,000 orchids that were imported from Thailand. They even shared some never-before-seen pictures of them together with their 40 guests. While the list of attendees was low, the other celebs present for the day was hight, including Destiny’s Child members Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams, Gwyneth Paltrow, Chris Martin, and others.

5. Over the top: Salma Hayek and François-Henri Pinault

This is truly on for all of the hopeless romantics out there. The couple not only got married on Valentine's day, but the ceremony was in Paris. While they kept it low-key at City Hall in Paris to begin with, later it was all about their lavish $3.5-million wedding celebration at a famous opera house in Venice called Teatro La Fenice.

6. Over the top: Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel

Biel decided to ditch the tradition white dress and sport a $100,000 pink Giambattista Valli Haute Couture dress customized just for her. Of course, that was just a bit of the couple's $6.5-million which took them and their guests to Italy's Borgo Egnazia resort in Puglia.

7. Over the top: Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton

Their 2021 wedding may have been at Shelton's Oklahoma ranch, there was nothing simple about it. Stefani wore two custom-made Vera Wang wedding dresses with embroidery that paid homage to both her new husband and her children. She had stiletto cowboy boots embodied the ceremony's mixture of country and glam. They also had some celeb guests, including NBC host, Carson Daly, who officiated the wedding.

8. Over the top: Chrissy Teigen and John Legend

Another destination wedding, coming up. This 2013 Villa Pizzo wedding at Lake Cuomo, Italy was nothing short of gorgeous. Teigen made three Vera Wang dress changes to mark the occasion for their 125 guests to see. This was one celebrity packed wedding, with stars like Brooklyn Decker and Kanye West. Possibly the most romantic parts were John Legend serenading Teigen and the ceremony including performances from Stevie Wonder.

1. Low-Key: Ed Sheeran and Cherry Seaborn

We're pretty sure low-key is an understatement when it comes to a wedding that virtually no one knows about. That's right, Ed Sheeran and Cherry Seaborn had a secret wedding — it doesn't get more off-the-grid than that. Their 2019 nuptials weren't revealed until months later when Sheeran casually mentioned his "wife" when discussing lyrics in one of his songs. On a random evening in the middle of January Sheeran and Seaborn tied the knot and then went out for curry.

2. Low-key: Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi

It's no secret, wedding planning can be stressful — it certainly was for this couple. That's why they went from planning an over the top ceremony to something much more low-key. In fact, they stayed extra cozy in their Zac Posen outfits at their home with 19 of their loved ones and a professional chef. There was a performance from Joshua Radin and that's all she wrote.

3. Low-key: Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher

Here's yet another couple trying to keep things under wraps for a bit. However, people still had questions and Kunis was big on dropping a lot of "maybe" replies — until she decided to show her wedding band off. While they were already engaged and with a child, Kunis and Kutcher wanted their wedding to be a bit more private. Their 2015 wedding was at the Secret Garden at Parrish Ranch in Oak Glen, California on fourth of July weekend with only a few guests.

4. Low-key: Amy Schumer and Chris Fischer

Amy and Chris held a small ceremony for less than 100 people, with a casual reception that followed. The entire wedding was planned in about four days and Amy reportedly invited people via text message.

5. Low-key: Uzo Aduba and Robert Sweeting

With all the limelight, it makes sense for some celebs to opt for secret weddings, like this one. Aduba and Sweeting had a secret ceremony in 2020, and eventually shared the news in an Instagram post — almost one year later. As the two approached their one-year anniversary, they figured it was about time they told everyone the news. Their quiet pandemic wedding worked just right for them.

6. Low-key: Hilary Duff and Matthew Koma

While some couples drag their wedding out, others rather just cut to the chase. Duff and Koma were done with their ceremony in only 20 minutes. We can't say for sure, but that sounds like some kind of celebrity wedding record. It was at their LA home with family and friends. While Duff and her daughter did both wear Jenny Packham dress's, it was definitely a low-key day.

7. Low-key: Mandy Moore and Taylor Goldsmith

Nothing like a comfy backyard wedding with 40 of your closest loved ones. It looks like Moore and Goldsmith enjoyed their ceremony and reception at an event space in Highland Park. They not only opted out of doing something lavish, Moore also decided to go with a pink tulle Rodarte dress instead of a white one.

8. Low-key: Raven Symoné and Miranda Pearman-Maday

As yet another pandemic ceremony, Symoné and Pearman-Maday decided it was best to have a a small intimate backyard wedding. They broke convention by wearing jumpsuits on their special day. When they finally shared the good news on social media, fans were eager to celebrate.

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