The inclination is natural. After Prince Harry and Meghan Markle wed
in unforgettable fashion May 19, the comparisons began in earnest. Just
how did their multimillion-dollar vows stack up against his brother Prince William's 2011 wedding to Kate Middleton?
But their beautifully extravagant nuptials may have more in common with those of another American princess: One Kim Kardashian.
Hear me out.Four years ago today, on a sunny May Saturday in Europe, reality TV's reigning queen wed her prince: 21-time Grammy winner Kanye West. There was an impressive array of flowers, a standout Givenchy gown, a gilded carriage and a heaping dollop of speculation about whether a certain family member might attend. Sound a little familiar?
While
an insider told E! News that Kim understood, she was no less
heartbroken. "It makes me so sad for him," she explained. "And I don't
even want to think about it. I don't want to talk about it. Today is my
wedding and I don't want to cry. I just want to, you know, have it be a
happy day with amazing memories."
Because make no mistake, this was the main event. The bachelorette party at the Eiffel Tower, brunch at Valentino Garavani's 17th century Château de Wideville and a pre-wedding dinner at the Palace of Versailles, complete with a performance by Lana Del Ray, guides
dressed in Marie Antoinette-inspired garb and an arrival via
horse-drawn carriage—those were all nice. (So nice, actually, that one
insider told E! News, "Everyone was crying because they had never
experienced such a party" and Kim would later reveal that everyone got
so drunk, including sister Khloe Kardashian!)
And
yet all of those were trumped the moment the duo's 200 guests were told
(surprise!) they'd actually be flying to Italy for the vows.
The
couple purportedly chose the site because of a quiet getaway they
enjoyed for Kim's birthday when they upped their relationship status
from friends to more in 2012. Really enjoyed. To hear West tell it, they "conceived" the first of their three children, now 4-year-old daughter North, "among the Renaissance masterpieces," he shared with Florence's La Nazione newspaper.
"It was our first honeymoon. It is one of the most beautiful cities in
the world—for me the most beautiful in Europe."
Offering sweeping views of the city below and hills in the distance, the 16th century Forte di Belvedere
(its roughly $400,000 rental fee just a fraction of the estimated total
$2.8 million budget) was a stunning spot for a ceremony.
Kim just had to get through a little drama first. First there was Khloe's hangover,
so intense that she slept as a glam squad handled her hair and makeup,
then the revelation that Rob had split and, finally, Kim's fears her
cathedral-length Givenchy veil—matching her custom lace mermaid gown
with illusion cutouts—was so heavy it might "make me trip and fall right
on my face."
But when she made her way down to a waiting West she didn't stumble once. Even as she caught sight of famed Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli belting out "Con te Partiro." The singer-songwriter is a favorite of both Kim and her late father Robert Kardashian so
he was an appropriate choice for the processional, Kim just assumed
they'd use a recorded version. "I thought I was walking to the aisle to
his CD playing," she told E! News. "But when I got to the altar, I did a double take and screamed. I couldn't believe he was there himself."
The surprise, arranged by West, left her feeling "like I was walking down the aisle with my dad."
And it
was just the first of several breathtaking moments. Standing in front of
a staggering wall of white blooms, pastor Rich Wilkerson Jr. led a ceremony as Kim's siblings Khloe, Kourtney Kardashian, Kendall Jenner and Kylie Jenner looked on alongside celeb guests such as John Legend, Chrissy Teigen, Rachel Roy and LaLa Anthony. (Fresh off their Met Gala fight and reportedly fearing a run-in with Roy, Beyoncé and Jay-Z begged off.)
After confessing to one pal
he'd practiced his self-penned vows in the mirror to commit them to
memory, West delivered his heartfelt words without a hitch and the
parents to then 11-month-old North (watching in her own custom haute
couture Givenchy) sealed their marriage with a kiss.
"The whole wedding was just filled with so much love," Kylie would later confess on Good Morning America. "It
was just really amazing to watch that." Echoed sister
Kendall, "Everything was amazing. And to see two people so happy. I
think that that was probably my favorite part."
Some
may have chosen the décor at the reception that followed. In addition to
the bright red lights that dotted the fort's perimeter, contemporary
American artist Vanessa Beecroft installed several pieces around the sprawling grounds.
And
then there were the more than $100,000 worth of floral arrangements
courtesy of one of Florence's oldest flower shops, Thierry Boutemy and
the 224-foot imperial marble table so large it they needed a crane to
hoist it in. And because escort cards are so passé the custom piece was
etched with the name of each guest at their assigned spot.
Others may have named the four-course dinner
of homemade pasta stuffed with ricotta, monkfish filet and beef filet
with potato tarts washed down with glasses of Armand de Brignac
champagne and Brunello di Montalcino san Filippo red wine.
But for most, really, the highlight was the entertainment. And we're not just talking about pal Legend's performance of his beloved wedding favorite "All of Me." Or even the fireworks show that soon followed.
Because at some point amongst the cutting of the seven-tier Galateo Ricevimenti cake and dancing to classics such as Etta James' "At Last" (reportedly performed by Legend), Otis Redding' "A Little Tenderness" and Michael Jackson's "Rock With You", the groom took the mic for a 20-minute speech
that can only be described as pure Kanye. Along with rambling about
being in the limelight and brushing off tabloid covers, a source reports
he announced to a cheering room, "I am defined by being a
celebrity...the world is our altar."
And he worships at his
bride's feet. Calling her famed family an "industry" and "the most
remarkable people of our time" who can "make the world a better place,"
he gushed even further when it came to Kim. The reality star, who
presented him a book of selfies as a wedding day gift, was the "ideal
celebrity" and the "ideal art."
And
the inspiration behind the ideal day. Because for all the extravagant
touches, one insider insisted to E! News that the "entire wedding felt
very normal. It might appear like it was something over the top, but it
was very much focused on the important things that mattered most."
With just a touch of excessive revelry. A few months after the bash, Kim shared some details on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen.
"There was actually one guy and one girl that were completely
wasted—actually, there was a couple," she dished, adding that one of her
hairdressers "split his pants dancing to Beyoncé's 'Single Ladies' and
he had to run out."
Hey, even the royal wedding got a little rowdy. And as Kim summed up, "It was crazy, but it was so much fun."
via E! online
