Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez’s opulent Venice wedding on Friday has sparked global buzz—not just for its star power, but for possibly joining the ranks of the world’s most extravagant weddings ever, blending love, luxury, and unmatched spectacle.
But could Bezos and Sánchez’s lavish Venice celebration rank among the most expensive weddings of all time?
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez
The wedding and its parts are expected to cost 40-48 million euros ($46.5 - $55.6 million), Luca Zaia, president of the Veneto regional government that comprises Venice, told reporters on Tuesday.
Bezos will make sizeable charity donations, including 1 million euros for Corila, an academic consortium that studies Venice's lagoon ecosystem, ANSA news agency reported on Sunday.
The day and the venue for the wedding ceremony are still confidential, but the main party is slated for Saturday at the Arsenale (the Arsenal), a historical site in the eastern part of the city.
Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant
Anant Ambani, the youngest son of Asia’s wealthiest man, Mukesh Ambani, married Radhika Merchant on July, 12, 2024 in Mumbai. The ceremony was estimated at $600 million, making it one of the most expensive in history, according to reports.
The wedding celebrations started in January 2024. It included a European cruise in May with Backstreet Boys and Katy Perry concerts, and a traditional sangeet night in Mumbai with a Justin Bieber performance.
The final ceremony featured Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates, as well as numerous international dignitaries.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and Princess Salama
The wedding of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and Princess Salama in 1979 reportedly cost $137 million, making it one of the most expensive weddings in history, according to Deccan Herald.
The celebrations lasted for five days and were declared national holidays in Dubai. The event included a stadium built for 20,000 guests, bejeweled camels delivering gifts, and a public flying display by the Dubai Police Air Wing.
Isha Ambani and Anand Piramal
Spanning India’s most spectacular venues, Isha Ambani—daughter of Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries—and Anand Piramal’s 2018 wedding cost $100 million.
Pre-wedding celebrations took over Udaipur’s lakeside palaces, where Beyoncé delivered a private concert, before the main ceremony at Antilia, the Ambani family’s 27-story Mumbai residence and the world’s second most expensive private home.
The wedding included gold-foiled invitations, over 100 chartered flights, and guests like Hillary Clinton.
Diana Spencer and Prince Charles
Held on July 29, 1981, at the St Paul’s Cathedral in London, Diana and Prince Charles’ wedding cost $48 million, which would be an average of $164 million today adjusted to inflation, according to Business Insider.
Dubbed the “wedding of the century,” the ceremony was attended by 3,500 guests and watched by an estimated 750 million people worldwide on television.
Diana wore a wedding dress with a 25-foot train, considered the longest in royal wedding history. David and Elizabeth Emanuel, also known as the Emanuels, designed the dress.
The dress later fetched $381,000 at auction.
Vanisha Mittal and Amit Bhatia
Steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal redefined wedding extravagance when his daughter Vanisha married investment banker Amit Bhatia in 2004, spending $60 million on architectural splendour across France.
The wedding outfits were created by a team of Indian designers, including Tarun Tahiliani, Suneet Varma and the duo Abu Jani-Sandeep Khosla, according to India Today.
More than 1,000 high-profile guests were flown in on private jets, including celebrities, businesspeople and global dignitaries. The wedding celebration featured a performance by Kylie Minogue.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry
The wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, which took place on May 19, 2018, is estimated to have cost around $45 million.
Security reportedly was the largest expense, costing some $40 million.
Kate Middleton and Prince William
Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding took place on April 29, 2011, at Westminster Abbey in London. The ceremony reportedly cost an average of $34 million, or $48 million after inflation, according to CBS.
Broadcast to 180 countries with over 23 million viewers, the celebrations continued at Buckingham Palace, where an eight-tier wedding cake was so massive that it required removing a palace door, cementing the event as the definitive royal wedding of a generation.