Wedding Trends That Take The Cake

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Ivanka Trump wed Jared Kushner, publisher of the New York Observer, in a ceremony at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J., on Sunday, October 25, 2009. Ivanka walked down the aisle in a Vera Wang gown inspired by Grace Kelly. At the reception, more than 500 guests, including Regis Philbin, helped the bride and groom celebrate.

The My So-Called Life star, Claire Danes, married Hugh Dancy early September in France. Claire, 30, and Hugh, 34, were married in a low-key ceremony with just their families and a few close friends, a source told Life & Style magazine. The Romeo and Juliet star met Hugh while the pair were shooting the film Evening two years ago and only announced their engagement in February.

The showbiz-savvy couple, Jaime Pressly and Simran Singh (she’s an Emmy winner and and he’s an entertainment lawyer) swapped vows in Malibu September 26, 2009. Guests including Pressly’s 2-year-old son Dezi James attended the 6 p.m. ceremony on a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The bride wore a dress by British designer Jenny Packham. The ceremony was held at the Dick Clark estate, the site of Adam Sandler’s wedding in 2003. Last November Pressly, 32, split with longtime fiancé Eric Cubiche, the father of her son.

The popular first-season American Idol contestant, Justin Guarini, wed his biggest fan, Reina Capodici, on September 26, 2009 near the couple’s home in Pennsylvania. According to People, Guarini, 30, the runner-up to Kelly Clarkson in the first season of American Idol, and his new bride, 27, attended high school together but only started dating after reconnecting in the past few years. The intimate wedding was presided over by a female minister from the Universalist Church. The couple said vows that they wrote.

Mad Men’s Christina Hendricks married actor Geoffrey Arend at Il Buco restaurant in New York on October 11, 2009. They were engaged earlier this year after being introduced by Mad Men costar Vincent Kartheiser. The bride wore a Carolina Herrera ivory gown.

The Nine Inch Nails star, Trent Reznor, broke Goth hearts everywhere when he married, Mariqueen Maandig, the former West Indian Girl singer on October 17, 2009. The couple, who officially announced their engagement on Nine Inch Nails website back in May, have not made a statement yet. Trent’s bandmate, Danny Lohner, though, made it public by tweeting: “Goths the world over will mourn this day–off to a wedding. ” He later posted a photo of the newlyweds dancing with the caption, “CONGRATS my nagguh!”

Mad Men’s Elisabeth Moss married Saturday Night Live funnyman Fred Armisen. Engaged since January, the two were wed on October 25, 2009 in front of friends and family at The Foundry in Long Island City, New York. Whoopi Goldberg first broke news of their nuptials on The View Monday morning.

To find items for your celebrity-style wedding, visit Best Little Wedding Shop!

Lisa Bakewell

Photo: Jeffrey Mayer/ Getty Images

Engagements

Melissa Rycroft has had quite a year! Engaged. Not engaged. And now engaged again. After dating on and off for two years, she has agreed to marry Dallas insurance agent Tye Strickland. No wedding date has been set yet. Melissa, who filled in at the last minute on Dancing with the Stars came in third place and has been reporting for Good Morning America.

Rumor has is that Derek Jeter and actress Minka Kelly are engaged. Supposedly, the wedding is going to take place in the fall, when baseball season is done.

On July 1, Kevin Jonas (of the Jonas Brothers) proposed to his girlfriend, Danielle Deleasa. Lots of young women around the world are in mourning!

“American Idol” contestant, Katharine McPhee, is engaged to Nick Cokas–and has been for quite awhile! She hesitated to let anyone know because she didn’t want rumors about her love life to overshadow her career.

Weddings

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Mark Wahlberg & Rhea Durham
After years of indecision (and three children later), Mark and Rhea decided that “they will.” The pair was married on August first in a small Catholic ceremony at Good Shepherd Church in Beverly Hills. The couple’s children, Ella, 5, Michael, 3, and Brendan, 10 months, all watched their parents tie the knot, along with 20 other guests.

Kendra Wilkinson & Hank Baskett
The former Playboy Bunny (and ex-girlfriend of Hugh Hefner), Kendra Wilkinson, married football star, Hank Baskett, on June 27th at the Playboy Mansion. Since the couple has a reality show on E! (Kendra), the entire affair was caught on film. The couple is expecting their first child together in December 25th.

Kara DioGuardi & Mike McCuddy
The newest American Idol judge, Kara DioGuardi wed general contractor Mike McCuddy in Prospect Harbor, Maine, on July 5th as about 30 friends and family members looked on. The hit songwriter wore a mermaid-style Vera Wang gown and says that her special day was perfect.

Robert Redford & Sibylle Szaggars
After nearly 20 years, big-screen legend Robert Redford wed German artist Sibylle Szaggars on July 11th. Redford speaks fluent German, so the pair said their “I do’s” in Hamburg, Germany–in German! The intimate wedding was held at the Louis C. Jacob Hotel on the Elbe River in front of 30 guests.

Eddie Van Halen & Janie Liszewski
It was a family affair when Eddie Van Halen married his girlfriend of three years, Janie Liszewski, at a Studio City ceremony in June. His brother (and Van Halen drummer), Alex Van Halen officiated the ceremony while Wolfgang Van Halen (Eddie’s son), acted as Dad’s best man. Ex-wife, friend and Jenny Craig spokeswoman, Valerie Bertinelli, was also there to help celebrate the big day.

Lisa Bakewell

Is your favorite celebrity getting engaged, married or walking in the opposite direction from the altar? Celebrity weddings –- to be or not to be? That’s definitely the question!

Ok, for you kids who are interested in celebrity gossip but haven’t had a chance to catch up on who’s who and who’s doing what in the “Holy Matrimony” department, let us enlighten you.

Let’s start with David Letterman. He just wed his long time girlfriend, Regina Lasko, on March 19th of this year. In case you didn’t know, they’ve been together for 23 years and never saw the need to marry, but finally decided to tie the knot.

Ironically, Letterman was given one more chance to back out. His truck actually broke down on the way to the courthouse. Yes, it’s true, but the poor sap went ahead and did the deed anyway!

On the flip side of that coin, Bruce Willis married his model girlfriend, Emma Heming, on March 21st–also Willis’ 54th b-day (for anyone who cares). The wedding was out of the country, but nevertheless, his ex, Demi, and her hubby, Ashton, were present and accounted for.

Just curious. Could there be a scenario, possibly, sometime down the road where Ashton gets with Bruce’s (younger) wife, Bruce and Demi get back together, and they all live happily ever after? We say, never say never!

Next we have, not a marriage, but a proposal worthy of mention. After about seven years of dating, Harrison Ford finally popped the question to Calista Flockhart this past Valentine’s Day. A lovely couple, indeed. Hey, if they’re interested, we know a great place they can find affordable wedding invitations!

We also received word that Christina Ricci is engaged to her comedian boyfriend, Owen Benjamin. Owen who? Well, anyway, we don’t have any details on the wedding yet but were sure it will be lovely. Nice work Owen–whoever you are.

Did you know, too, that there’s a wild rumor floating around that on-again, off-again couple Kate Hudson and Owen Wilson are engaged? Yep, and rumor has it that they’re planning to wed in June. They can’t decide whether to hold the wedding at Kate’s mom’s house (Goldie Hawn) in Aspen or Owen’s home in Hawaii, though. Well, if you want our opinion, Kate and Owen, we’d opt for Hawaii.

In the “aw shucks, ain’t that a shame” department, we’ve been told that Lindsay Lohan and Samantha Ronson have FINALLY called it quits.

Seriously, are we the only ones that think this break-up was long overdue? And let’s just hope that it’s for good, shall we?

Bold Black and White

In other celebrity break-up news, it seems that Jimmy Kimmel and Sarah Silverman have ended their relationship for the last time. We guess that the second time’s the charm. According to US Weekly reports, the reunited comedians–who first broke up in July 2008 (after five years of dating and heated up again last fall)–likely won’t be getting back together.

And, finally, in April Mel Gibson and his wife, Robyn, filed for divorce after being separated for almost three years. We’re just wondering, “What took them so long?”

Fuchsia and Black Pocket

Seems that Gibson works fast, though. Immediately following the filing, reports surfaced that he has a new woman–Russian beauty, Oksana.

We want to wish Oksana good luck. After all, Mel’s been a little quirky (shall we say?) the past few years, and, frankly, we’re a little worried about her.

Lisa Bakewell

Photo by: Joe Buissink/WireImage

Celebrity weddings definitely pique our interest, and there are several blogs, websites, magazines and television shows that are dedicated to keeping our obsession alive. We want to know who got married to whom, how much it cost, who came to the wedding and what they wore. Heck, there’s not a detail that we don’t want to know! 

Celebrity Weddings: What they Cost

• Christina Aguilera & Jordan Bratman-$2 million
• Catherine Zeta-Jones & Michael Douglas-$1.5 million
• Liza Minnelli & David Guest-$3.5 million
• Jennifer Aniston & Brad Pitt-$1 million
• Katie Holmes & Tom Cruise-$2 million
• Salma Hayek- Francois-Henri Pinault- Was supposed to cost $3.5 million but they married in a civil ceremony in Paris instead.
• Beyonce Knowles & Jay-z-$3 million
• Paul McCartney & Heather Mills- $3.2 million
• Vanisha Mittal & Amit Bhatia- $60 million (no, it’s not a typo) 

Let’s just assume that you don’t have this much money to spend on your wedding day. You can still have the classy wedding day of your dreams–and make it look like a million bucks. 

Why not start with stylish pocket-fold wedding invitations or an elegant invitation such as Royal Doulton? You’ll be on your way to projecting the super-star, upscale wedding image that you dream of.

Next, check out these two articles from WeddingChannel.com to find out what the current celebrity trends are and how to create your own celebrity wedding on a budget.

Here are a few great ideas from the articles: 

Jewelry:Celebrity brides love wearing vintage jewelry with character. While buying (or borrowing) million-dollar pieces from Neil Lane is a luxury the non-famous can not afford, you can get a vintage look by scouring estate sales, wearing a family heirloom, or purchasing new, costume jewelry with a vintage feel. And although stars love to flaunt diamonds, Swarovski crystals offer an affordable alternative that looks extremely elegant.
Unique Attendants:It seems that more is better when it comes to celebrity wedding attendants. Marcia Cross and Mariska Hargitay both opted to employ a swarm of little girls for aisle duty rather than select a single flower girl. Other celebrities with pets in their lives worked their furry family members into their wedding celebrations. Adam Sandler included his two bulldogs in his wedding party, and Gavin Rossdale was escorted down the aisle by his sheepdog Winston. Pets can carry the rings, hold a basket of flowers, or serve as a sentry outside the ceremony site. If you want your precious pet to be part of your celebration, just make sure your venue is pet-friendly and that your pet is comfortable as well as appropriately trained.
The Flowers:Flowers can be a very pricey wedding detail, especially when it comes to the-sky-is-the-limit celebrity weddings. The key in this case is to match colors with your favorite celebrity wedding. Nicole Kidman utilized masses of white flowers for her wedding, and you can do the same–but substitute white dahlias, daisies, or tulips for roses, peonies, and hydrangea for an enormous savings. You can also take a cue from celebrity brides who went without bridal bouquets altogether: Christina Aguilera carried a single crimson rose down the aisle, and Gwen Stefani held an antique, family Bible in place of blooms.

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Lisa Bakewell