Hotmail
Where celebrities tie the knot
International locations have always been fashionable: David Bowie and Iman jetted off to Italy more than a decade ago for their wedding. As one might expect, California is another focal point for weddings of all tastes: From vineyards in Napa to elegantly restored five-stars in West Hollywood, the Golden State has every option one could dream up. In particular, L.A.’s Hotel Bel-Air remains a constant draw for those like Kate Beckinsale and Len Wiseman who are in a hurry to head to the altar.
Not far north of L.A., ritzy Santa Barbara continues to be a hotbed of wedding activity, as does California’s neighbor Mexico, which has become increasingly popular as a wedding destination.
“For people who live in California, Mexico is just a hop, skip and jump away. It’s like Martha’s Vineyard is to New Yorkers,” Amodio says.
Holding a wedding at a single-resort island or, more broadly, hotels in tropical locales is another growing trend — whether it’s somewhere far off the radar, like the South Pacific, or as nearby as Barbados, where Tiger Woods and his wife, Swedish model Elin Nordegren, celebrated their 2004 nuptials.
Other laid-back duos like Kenny Chesney and Renee Zellweger, whose short-lived marriage was made official in St. John, and Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner, who fended off the paparazzi in the Turks and Caicos, took to the Caribbean when the time came to say “I do.”
|
“The most important things [in a celebrity affair] are privacy and security,” says Mindy Weiss, L.A.-based celebrity wedding planner. “It’s crucial that the hotel has dealt with high-end and celebrity clients and has the highest regard for client confidentiality.”
After the first two requirements — finding a remote location and booking a private venue — are met, the final step is to ensure that couple and location are a good match.
“In general, whether you’re a celebrity or not, you just want to find a place that’s really compatible with your personality. I think the hotel route is a really nice one because hotels can afford any type of experience,” Amodio says. “You can have a more regal experience, like holding it in a castle hotel, or it can be a more secluded island in Fiji where you get married. Hotels are very equipped for destination weddings and have systems to bring in whatever you want. They’re just sort of all-in-one in a lot of ways.”
- Discuss Story On Newsvine
-
Rate Story:
View popularLowHigh - Instant Message
MORE FROM LUXURY |
 Luxury Section Front |
| Add Luxury headlines to your news reader: |
Resource guide