Although some of the most elaborately decorated pristine venues and beautiful white wedding gowns make up for the dreamiest weddings, celebrity couples in the past have opted for a rather unconventional route when it came to celebrating their big day. Not only have these famous couples said ‘I do’ in a non-traditional fashion, but they have also showcased their rebellious spirits at these ceremonies that are unique. A recent addition to such unconventional celebrity weddings is that of American socialite and model Kourtney Kardashian and musician Travis Barker.
The couple tied the knot in Portofino, Italy, on 22 May. It was their third ceremony, after the ‘practice wedding’ in Las Vegas, US, and the official one in Santa Barbara.
Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker go for a gothic theme
The two celebrities exchanged their vows in the presence of friends and family members in a lavish gothic-style wedding ceremony. Their ensembles were sponsored by the Italian fashion house Dolce & Gabbana.
During the wedding, Kardashian wore a Dolce & Gabbana Alta Moda lace and satin gown with tulle gloves and lace pumps. The veil had a depiction of the Virgin Mary and the words “family,” “loyalty” and “respect” were hand-embroidered on it, using the cross-stitch technique. Meanwhile, Barker wore a Dolce & Gabbana double-breasted black suit.
Before the wedding, Kardashian was spotted wearing a black mini-dress, which also had an image of the Virgin Mary. She completed the look with a black veil, which had a blue lace trim, elbow-length gloves and black strappy heels. She was photographed taking a walk with Barker, who, too, was dressed in all-black, and her son Reign.
Kardashian’s family members, including sister Kim and half-sister Kylie Jenner, also wore Dolce & Gabbana pieces during the ceremony.
Here are some other unconventional celebrity weddings
Mary-Kate Olsen and Olivier Sarkozy
Olsen married French banker Sarkozy in 2015 in the presence of just 50 guests in a private residence in Manhattan, US.
Quoting a source, Page Six reported that the décor of the party was uniquely done with “bowls and bowls filled with cigarettes.” Although the brand of cigarettes or the type of the bowls were not mentioned in the report, it added that “everyone smoked the whole night.”
Additionally, since the wedding was an intimate ceremony, all the guests had to turn in their cellphones.
Olivia Wilde and Tao Ruspoli
Wilde was just 19 years old when she married the Italian filmmaker in 2003. Ruspoli came from a royal family; he was the son of Prince Alessandro Ruspoli, Prince of Cerveteri.
However, his wedding to Olivia was shockingly ordinary. The young filmmaker lived on a bus in Washington, Virginia, and led a low-key life. The couple were engaged at the Burning Man music festival before saying ‘I do’ on the bus.
Later, Olivia’s parents organised a second wedding at their own farmhouse in Virginia. A third one followed at Ruspoli’s family castle, located outside Rome.
Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick
The Sex and the City (1998-2004) star, along with the acclaimed actor, pulled off a surprise on friends and family when they married in 1997. Around 100 guests were invited to what they thought was a cocktail party.
“Please join Sarah Jessica and Matthew for a party in New York City on Monday, May 19, 1997 at 6:30 pm,” read the invite, which was shared by Parker on Instagram on the occasion of the couple’s 25th wedding anniversary in 2022.
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Once the guests arrived at the venue and the party was in full swing, the couple announced that it was actually a wedding. The reception went on till 2 am.
To avoid drawing attention to the wedding, Parker wore a black, ruffled Morgane Le Fay dress bought off the shelf instead of a white gown.
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However, Parker regretted treating the wedding as a party. “I wore black on my wedding day, and I really regret that…We treated it like it was a big party on a Monday night, and I regret it,” she told Marie Claire in an interview in 2006.
Solange Knowles and Alan Ferguson
Singer-songwriter Knowles, who is the younger sister of the acclaimed singer and songwriter Beyoncé Knowles, got married to video director Alan Ferguson in 2014 in New Orleans, US.
The wedding was deemed unconventional because Solange Knowles did not arrive at the ceremony in a traditional stretch limousine. Instead, she opted for a white bicycle decked up with cream roses. Complementing it was her ivory-coloured jumpsuit by Stephane Rolland.
Before the wedding, Knowles changed into a dress with a cape designed by Humberto Leon for Kenzo.
Avril Lavigne and Chad Kroeger
The “Love It When You Hate Me” singer tied the knot with the Nickelback frontman in a gothic wedding ceremony in 2013.
The wedding was held in Chateau de la Napoule, a medieval castle close to Cannes in France. The décor included black roses, candlelight and red lights. Complementing the theme, Lavigne wore a black tulle Monique Lhuillier gown to exchange vows with Kroeger.
The event was held over three days, and 110 family members and friends attended it.
Pamela Anderson and Kid Rock
The 2006 marriage of Pamela Anderson and Kid Rock is considered one of the most unconventional celebrity weddings. Instead of a traditional church, the model-actress exchanged vows with the drummer on a yacht in Saint-Tropez in France.
“The best most romantic wedding of all time,” wrote Anderson on her website, following the wedding.
Interestingly, while Anderson was in a white string bikini, Rock went shirtless. “It was a real rock n’ roll wedding,” Elton John’s husband David Furnish told PEOPLE at the time.
However unique the ceremony was, the marriage was not considered legal as per French laws, and the couple had to opt for a courthouse chapel wedding soon after.
Carmen Electra and Dave Navarro
The 2003 marriage of Electra and Navarro is considered one of the most unconventional weddings of all time. And there is a reason.
The couple documented everything — from courtship to wedding planning and nuptials — for their MTV reality show ‘Til Death Do Us Part: Carmen and Dave (2004).
Through the show, audiences witnessed how eccentric the wedding was. For instance, the first of its seven episodes featured the two lying nude on an autopsy table for pictures of their wedding invitation.
At the time of the wedding, they read out their self-written vows, some of which said that while he fell in love with the sound of soda cans opening because of her, Electra revealed Navarro showed her how to appreciate frozen yoghurt.
(Main and Featured images: Kourtney/@kourtneykardash/Instagram)
Manas Sen Gupta writes at the intersection of tech, entertainment and history. His works have appeared in publications such as The Statesman, Myanmar Matters, Hindustan Times and News18/ETV. In his spare time, Manas loves studying interactive charts and topographic maps. When not doing either, he prefers reading detective fiction. Spring is his favourite season and he can happily eat a bowl of noodles any time of the day.
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