Celebrity Wedding Ideas, Good and Bad

Celebrity weddings can be a great source of ideas for the average bride. Although their multi-million dollar budgets are out of reach for most couples, many of their general ideas can be used as inspiration for weddings in any price range. However, just because someone famous does something at their wedding does not necessarily mean that it is a terrific idea. Here is a look at some celebrity wedding ideas, both the good and the bad.

Good idea: Decorating your ceremony with a flower laden canopy, arch, or chuppah. When Jennifer Anniston married Brad Pitt, they had 50,000 flowers trucked in for their Malibu wedding. While this would break the bank for most brides, the idea is a good one. When you are decorating a large space like the wedding canopy that will be seen mostly from a distance, choose a large quantity of inexpensive flowers over fewer more costly blooms. Save those for the centerpieces, which guests will be seeing at close range, and for the ceremony site, simply go for maximum impact.

Bad idea: Imposing your views on others. At Paul McCartney's wedding to Heather Mills, he dictated that because he is a vegetarian, no meat was to be eaten on the premises of the wedding. He was not just referring to the vegetarian meal served at the reception, either. It took hundreds of people a full week to set up for McCartney's wedding, and he said that any vendor caught eating meat would be fired! Really, telling the lighting crew what they can have for lunch is taking things too far - talk about a groomzilla!

Good idea: Including children in your wedding ceremony. When model/actress Elizabeth Hurley got married, she was escorted down the aisle by a bevy of white clad children. The innocence and exuberant spirit of children make them a wonderful addition to a wedding, and the more the merrier. One (non-celebrity) bride I knew had a dozen flower girls instead of bridesmaids, and they each walked down the aisle carrying a single rose. When the bride arrived at the altar, the flower girls came to her and gave her their single roses which she held as a loose bouquet. It was a very touching moment in the wedding ceremony.

Bad idea: Asking women you barely know to be in your bridal party, or choosing your bridesmaids for any other reason than friendship or sisterhood. Do you really want to emulate the example of Liza Minnelli when she wed David Gest (in any way at all, for that matter?); she had the singer Mya as one of her bridesmaids even though she had only met her twice before! Um, isn't the point of bridesmaids to be surrounded by your dearest friends on your wedding day? Do not choose your attendants based on who they know or what they look like; it is phony and unbecoming.

Good idea: Arranging transportation for your guests. One thing that Paul McCartney got right was that he made it easy for his wedding guests to get to his destination wedding in an Irish castle. Now most of us do not have the resources to charter private planes, but arranging for a shuttle bus between the hotel and the reception venue is a gracious gesture, and a smart one, in that it avoids the issue of intoxicated guests driving home.

Bad idea: Spending millions of dollars on bridal jewelry sets. Donald Trump's $1 million wedding to Melania Knauss may sound like a lot until you realize that he spent 1.5xs that much on her engagement ring! Beautiful jewelry can certainly be had for a lot less, and if you want a glamorous look with a down-to-earth price tag, sets of crystal bridal jewelry will make you feel fabulous but not bankrupt.

So you see, while not all celebrity wedding ideas are great, there are plenty that a regular couple can borrow for their own wedding. Whatever your budget, you can take the high style elements favored by the rich and famous and adapt them to suit your own wedding.