All the different ways to say 'I do'
Micro-weddings, elopements, and anti-weddings are some of the hottest wedding trends of 2022, so here's a bit of inspiration and how to finance your own wedding, no matter which direction you go.
If you’ve been on the internet this last week, chances are you’ve heard that Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck eloped in Vegas. You may also know that Lopez and Affleck had previously been engaged in 2003 but the pressure of the media attention led to the couple calling off their engagement.
It seems the pair didn’t want history to repeat itself, and instead opted for a midnight ceremony in Vegas this time around. What Lopez described in her newsletter as the “best night of our lives” certainly came as a surprise to fans, however, it’s not the first time a celebrity couple tied the knot with an ‘anti-wedding’.
In fact, micro-weddings and elopements have been popular in Hollywood for years with some of the more notable including:
Tom Brady and Giselle Bundchen’s double anti-wedding in 2009. The pair’s first ceremony was planned in just 10 days and the reception was a simple backyard BBQ with their parents and kids. Later in the year, they had a second, very private ceremony in Costa Rica with 40 close family members.
In 2011, film stars Daniel Craig & Rachel Weisz had a secret wedding in New York with just four witnesses, two of whom were their kids.
The famously low-key couple Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard were married in a Beverly Hills courthouse in 2013 and they’ve never looked back - despite what the photo says.
Like ‘Bennifer’, Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner tried to secretly elope in Vegas hours after the 2019 Billboard Music Awards. But things didn't exactly go as planned when their DJ live-streamed the ceremony on Instagram. The pair had initially planned to elope in Vegas to secure their American marriage licence and to celebrate with friends and family in France a few months later. They did a better job of keeping the details of their French wedding a secret, and only an Instagram post from Jonas told the world they were officially married.
Joe’s brother, Nick Jonas, and Priyanka Chopra went for a different and perhaps more traditional celebrity approach with an extravagant, 200+ person wedding. The celebrations took place over a number of days and honoured Hindu and Christian traditions. In true celebrity fashion, the wedding was held at Umaid Bhawan Palace and the extensive guest list even included royalty.
Jonas and Chopra weren’t the only celebrity couple to host an extended destination wedding. Idris Elba and Sabrina Dhowre also held a 3-day wedding in Morrocco, and the event featured camels, celebrity musical performances and fireworks. Yet another detail that set this wedding apart - designer Christian Louboutin personally delivered custom-made shoes to the bridal suite.
Other stars who took a similarly lavish approach to their wedding were David and Victoria Beckham whose Irish castle blowout included thrones, matching purple outfits, and a sword to cut their cake.
And how could we forget the jaw-dropping weddings of the British royal family with Will and Kate and Harry and Megan’s televised weddings reportedly costing $30+ million each.
More recently, Paris Hilton’s wedding to venture capitalist Carter Rheum was also filmed and can be streamed on Amazon Prime. The wedding weekend featured a 6 ft tall cake, 7 wedding dresses and a private carnival at the Santa Monica pier. And yes, the ceremony featured a rendition of Hilton’s 2006 song, 'Stars are Blind'.
However, most of us have wedding dreams that fall somewhere in between a midnight ceremony in Vegas and a 7-dresses affair, and it seems like we’re not the only ones. Some of our favourite Australian celebrities have opted for a more down-to-earth and relatable wedding day.
Margot Robbie and film producer Tom Ackerley had a very secretive but seemingly low-key wedding in the Byron Bay Hinterland. The couple swapped the usual celebrity guest list for an intimate evening with 50 of their closest friends and family. While not many of the wedding details are public knowledge, we do know that the couple also opted for an unconventional wedding menu of pizza and Coco Pops.
Same, same but different: Australia’s funniest couple, Zoe Foster Blake and Hamish Blake were also married in front of just 22 loved ones. Their small ceremony in Wolgan, NSW had a rustic, outdoorsy charm and their long table feast took place under a decked-out marquee.
Elopements and anti-weddings might be all the rage in Hollywood, but celebrities aren’t the only ones ditching traditional-style weddings these days. Since the coronavirus pandemic and restriction began in 2020, the elopement and micro-wedding trends have grown significantly in Australia. With so many cancelled or postponed weddings, many couples opted to elope or have a no-fuss civil ceremony and celebrated with their friends and family later.
Australia’s wedding planners, photographers, officiants and vendors have noticed a marked increase in elopements and micro weddings in the last few years. In fact, in 2020, Victoria’s Births Deaths and Marriages office began offering a legal-only package for the happy couple and two witnesses. If Craig and Weisz’s wedding sounds appealing, this might be the option for you.
Whether you’re taking inspiration from the Beckhams or Margot Robbie, a Plenti personal loan can help you plan the wedding of your dreams. Or if you think the courthouse and a luxe honeymoon sounds more appealing, we’ve still got you covered.
