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Where celebrities tie the knot
Outrageous places the stars go to say ‘I do’
 | Most people aren't fortunate enough to call Bruce Willis a friend. Even fewer have the luxury of using his private villa in Parrot Cay as the setting for their nuptials. Most people aren't Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck. When the big-screen duo said "I do" in the summer of 2005, the scene couldn't have been more picturesque: Affleck and Garner exchanged rings at sunset on the white sandy beach of the 1,000-acre property. |
Parrot Cay Resort |
Their actual marriages may last no longer than they take to consummate. Yet, living in a world where Brangelina, Bennifer and TomKat have become staples in the general population’s lexicon, it’s no surprise that we look to celebrities for tips on everything — beauty, fashion, and particularly weddings — especially since, when it comes to a bash, the rich and famous spare no expense. And although our notable idols could have their pick of wedding locales — from Scottish castles to private islands in the Mediterranean — many of them opt for hotel soirees for a number of reasons, first and foremost convenience.
“The opulence of a hotel is already there. The bride and groom don’t have much setting up to do in terms of having a reception,” says Laura Schreffler, senior writer at celebrity weekly OK! Magazine. “It’s all laid out, and the hotel workers will generally take care of everything for them so they don’t have to do much planning.”
Picking a location is just the first step in the wedding planning process, and celebrities go about it in many different ways, whether they leave it all in a professional’s hands or decide on somewhere that’s close to their hearts.
“A lot of times people will choose destinations because they’ve never been there before — that’s one way to do it,” Rosie Amodio, editor of InStyle Weddings, reveals. “Other times it’s a place that they just absolutely love, or another experience might be just because certain places are great at pulling off weddings. It’s more about personal taste and what specifically [the bride and groom] are looking for.”
But with hundreds, often thousands, of hotels to choose from in any given country, not to mention access to all the extravagant accoutrements one could desire, how are celebrities to even begin to choose where to say their vows? Many factors play a part, the experts say, yet the prime ingredient is elemental: privacy. Whereas lesser-known stars trying to work their way up the hierarchy of fame may revel in the thought of hosting a wedding covered by every media outlet known under the sun, those who have already reached the top tend to value low-key affairs.
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Adds Schreffler, “Most of the bigger stars tend to go for remote location — somewhere incredibly beautiful that is sort of untouched, as if you were the first to discover it.”
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© Hotel Bel-Air With the beauty and class of one of Southern California's most famed hotels easily accessible for Hollywood residents, it's not uncommon for stars to get hitched at the sophisticated, cream-of-the-crop Hotel Bel-Air. Acting duo Jay Mohr and Nikki Cox tied the knot there in 2006, as did Kate Beckinsale and her filmmaker hubby Len Wiseman in 2004. |
“People like Angelina Jolie, if she were ever to get married, travel so much and explore parts of the world that are not really touched,” Schreffler explains. “That’s her thing — to go where people need help. She had her last baby, Shiloh, in Namibia, so she might get married in Africa, for example — somewhere unspoiled that’s very hard to get to.”
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