Celebrity wedding planners reveal AMAZING secrets

From dead butterflies to gardens full of cake, we spoke to industry experts about the maddest celebrity wedding requests

kim kardashian kanye west wedding day

by Kelly Allen, Laura Martin and Emmeline Saunders |
Published on

Every bride thinks their wedding day is the most important day of their lives. But imagine getting married and being famous – it's not just your school friends dissecting your dress on Facebook, but the whole country.

With the pressure on, it's no wonder celebrity weddings can end up costing six (or even seven) figures, which is why most stars employ a wedding planner to give them their dream affair.

From the dress to the A-list guest list, there's no demand too OTT, no idea too extreme, so we spoke to three celebrity wedding planners to find out just how crazy their world gets as they plan a picture perfect day to remember.

Celebrity wedding dresses

Forget the vows – any bride knows it's all about the wedding dress. And not only does the wedding planner have to help choose the perfect look, they must ensure no-one gets a look at what it's like before the big day.

Mark Niemierko – who planned James and Julia Corden's wedding and Rochelle and Marvin Humes's nuptials – says: "I get my brides the VIP treatment everywhere when it comes to the dress. The shops generally will close so there's not another bride in the shop, just them.

kim kardashian kanye west wedding day

"Rochelle originally wanted her dress custom-made. I said, 'Look, let's just go shopping and get an idea'. She got married at Blenheim Palace and Vera Wang is just opposite. She settled on a dress from there. But we made them agree if she bought it, nobody else could have the same style dress. Then she did all of her fittings in the Royal Suite in Claridges. We'd meet in there and try the dress on. We never arrived together because people would work it out, so it stayed top secret."

The art of blagging

They say the richer you get, the less you have to pay for. Celebrities are flooded with freebie holidays, cars and clothes so it's no surprise they expect the same for their big day.

Mark explains: "Most of the celebrities would like their whole wedding for free. They expect to get things complimentary, but that's something we don't really do. I make the clients pay even if they've got a magazine deal because there is added value. But I have to say to my client, 'Look, all the kitchens have to hire their equipment, it doesn't matter how famous you are, it's not going to pay for that equipment'."

stevi ritchie chloe jasmine whichello wedding

Liz Taylor – no, not that one – is a powerhouse when it comes to organising celebrity weddings and has been responsible for everyone from Mark Wright and Michelle Keegan's wedding to Howard Donald's big day.

She says: "Celebrities do often expect something for free, but some things can be sponsored [by brands]. If one of [the couple] tweet and they've got 2.7 million followers, then that's worth a lot of money to a lot of people."

How much do celebrities spend on weddings?

Despite their love of freebies, celebs do end up splashing out. Mark explains: "On average my weddings cost £250,000, without a honeymoon. That includes the dress. Regardless of if you are famous of not, you will go over your budget. Everybody does.

"I met a couple once who wanted to spend £35,000 and they ended up spending £300,000. People don't realise what things cost."

wedding pictures, wedding dress, billion dollar wedding dress, Khadija Uzhakhovs
This is what a billion dollar dress looks like... ©Instagram _wedding_world

Liz says she can work with any budget, starting at £5,000, but most weddings tend to clock in at a much higher figure. "The most expensive wedding I've worked on was probably close to a million pounds but our average spend is about £80-100,000."

Extreme celebrity wedding requests

When brides have been told it's their day to be a princess, it can lead to some pretty outrageous demands.

Liz says that the Beckhams set the bar for extravagant weddings when they got hitched back in 1999 in Luttrellstown Castle in Dublin, "And for five years afterwards, everyone wanted the throne, everyone wanted the flowers, everyone wanted a castle. It was huge."

Peter Andre and Emily MacDonagh wedding
Peter Andre and Emily MacDonagh's wedding ©High Head Productions

Now, she says, a lot of engaged couples are looking to the Kim Kardashian / Kanye West wedding extravaganza of 2014 for inspiration for their own weddings – including that flower wall, which will set people back a cool £10,000.

Mark says: "I've had brides that say, 'I am so rich, I want Beyonce to perform and I want Cirque du Soleil to appear from the ceiling'."

But he's more concerned with the vision of the day than spending excessive money. "I could think 'I'm going to make some money out of this', but actually I say, 'Why? Why are we having Beyonce?' Every wedding should have a story and a personal meaning and that's the charm of a beautiful wedding. At the end of the day, people fall in love and want to declare that. I think sometimes people lose sight of that."

That's not to say that Mark and Liz haven't had their fair share of crazy demands from stars.

sarah-jessica-parker-wedding-dress
getty

"One bride wanted a cake that cost £25,000. Another bride said: 'Ooh I hear you're friends with a famous cake maker in New York. Let's get her to make the cake, I don't care what it costs, let's get it on a private jet!'," says Mark.

"But in that instance, I said, 'No, that is ridiculous, I'm not doing that, wasting money on a private jet'. So instead I built a whole cake garden where you walked behind these hidden doors to a secret garden where I'd dressed all my male model waiters as gardeners. They were serving espresso martinis and loads of pudding. That cost something like £40,000."

David Tutera – who has organised weddings and events for Jennifer Lopez and Elton John – says: "I once had a client who wanted to make her big entrance into the reception on a trapeze. She wanted to be lowered down from the ceiling like singer Pink at the Grammys. After a lot of rehearsals, I was luckily able to convince her to go in a different direction.

"Another client wanted hundreds of live butterflies released from above to fly around them at their ceremony. Their wedding was taking place in a location with a climate not conducive for butterflies and I strongly advised them against doing this. They went against my advice and when the butterflies were released during the ceremony… well, let's just say they definitely made quite the entrance and literally FELL right to the ground from above."

first dance wedding
©Getty Images

Diva wedding guests

It's not just the bride making outrageous demands. Most celebrity weddings also boast a pretty impressive A-list guest list too with their own set of expectations.

Mark says, "At James Corden's wedding, there were certain celebrities phoning up and asking for the best room at Babington House. I'm quite a direct person, and I said, 'I'm really sorry, the best room is obviously going to the bride and groom then the next best is probably going to go to their parents. You will be allocated a room and it will be fabulous.' Considering James and Julia were paying for it as well, it was a bit cheeky."

eva longoria wedding dress victoria beckham

Another responsibility is reminding the celebrities that it's all about the bride and groom's day, not the individual star.

Mark says: "There was one particular celebrity, who was coming to the evening party at James' wedding, who I now can't listen any of her songs because she was such a diva. She kept phoning up about the taxi situation, and I said, 'Look, it's absolutely fine'. I remember saying to her: 'This isn't the BRIT Awards, it's a wedding!' She didn't take very kindly to me."

##Security

With celebrity weddings, the planners have to not only concentrate on making their day perfect but fending off sneaky paparazzi or opportunistic wedding crashers.

"It depends on who it is, obviously," Mark says. "If there is a magazine deal, there's much more security. Surprisingly, the Royal security is way more relaxed than celebrity security, they're used to doing it all the time.

Kate Middleton Wedding Hair 2011
Kate Middleton Wedding Hair 2011 ©Rex Features

"I did a wedding at the Houses of Parliament where there's a little crypt and we had double decker buses outside to take the guests to Claridges. Prince Harry was a guest and he had his car in front of Parliament but he decided to get the bus! He said, 'I really want to get the bus, is it ok if I get on the bus with my family and friends? Is there room for me?' And I said: 'Of course sir, of course!' I contacted the security and they said: "It's the dream actually, because no one would imagine that he would go and get on a double decker bus outside Big Ben!"

Kate Moss' wedding
©Getty

Mark adds: "At James Corden's, we had a gatecrasher. At Babington, there's a pathway right by the chapel that's a public right of way. The paparazzi were all gathered there. There's actually a picture of me telling him about the gatecrasher. He's just playing football with all his groomsmen, about to get ready, and I'm in my suit and tie on the phone screaming at security!"

READ MORE

    Mark has teamed up with Barclays to help couples take control of their finances ahead of their big day. More information here.

    Just so you know, whilst we may receive a commission or other compensation from the links on this website, we never allow this to influence product selections - read why you should trust us