Everything Kim Kardashian Taught Me About Weddings
Love her or hate her, the world was watching when Kim Kardashian married Kanye West in Italy on Saturday. (Literally. CNN even covered it.) And as a bride-to-be myself, deep in the trenches of planning a wedding, I was curious to see what choices she would make. Would it be an indoor or outdoor ceremony? Buffet or family-style meals? If only it were that simple. She took weddings to the next level. If you thought having two wedding dresses was excessive, try throwing a wedding in two countries! (Their rehearsal dinner was in France, and the ceremony and reception was in Italy.) Still, strip away this millions of dollars, the fanfare and the ostentation, and you’ve got (some) relatable lessons. From my research on all the hype and gossip, here’s what I’ve learned from Kim Kardashian about planning a wedding: (And also what I’ve learned about crazy celebrity wedding planning!)
1. The little details are what make your wedding so special and so “you.” Fascinated by royalty and Marie Antoinette? Host your rehearsal dinner at the Palace of Versailles! Love the show FRIENDS? Hire the stylist who created “The Rachel,” Chris McMillan, to do your hair for your wedding! You fiance constructed a “flower wall” covered in gardenias, peonies and roses for you on Mother’s Day? Build a $100,000 replica of it to say your “I do’s” in front of! Heck, throw in some fireworks because who doesn’t love fireworks?!
2. Spend as much time with loved ones, who traveled so far for your big day, as you can. See if a friend, like maybe Valentino, will host a brunch at his castle before your rehearsal dinner!
3. Invite your nearest and dearest, but don’t take it personally if everyone can’t come. You’ll have so much fun with Chrissy Teigen, Valentino, David Blaine, Common, Joe Francis, Alexander Wang, Andre Leon Talley and Rachel Roy, you won’t even remember that Beyonce and Jay Z replied “No” on the RSVP card!
4. Don’t be afraid of coming across as cheesy. Your wedding is about the only time you can wear coordinating outfits with the groom and get an “awww!” instead of “ewww!”
5. Don’t compare yourself to other brides. Just because Elizabeth Taylor had a 69.42-carat engagement ring, doesn’t make your 15-carat ring any less special!
6. Enlist a fashionable friend to design your wedding dress. Ricky (also known as Riccardo Tisci, the genius behind Givenchy) can whip you up a one-of-a-kind original!
7. Choose a venue that’s personal and special to you as a couple. Like Florence, Italy, where your daughter “North was conceived among Renaissance masterpieces,” as daddy/groom Kanye likes to tell the press!
8. Don’t freak if things don’t go exactly according to plan Like, say, if your sister who is going to be in so many wedding photos dyes her hair blue.
9. Consider working live music into your wedding. You could have Lana del Rey perform at your rehearsal dinner, or Andrea Bocelli serenade you and your guests as you walk down the aisle, or John Legend perform at the reception!
10. If you have a child, give them an important role in the wedding. If you have a daughter, you could have Givenchy also design a mini-version of your wedding gown, and have your mom walk her down the aisle!
11. Don’t be a bridezilla, let your groom weigh in on decisions. If your groom is a real fashionisto like Kanye West, just let him plan the whole thing!
12. Wear a dress you can dance in. And if you can’t dance in your dress, buy a second one! Who says a girl can’t wear Givenchy down the aisle and Balmain to the party? A little couture never hurt a bride, and neither did a wardrobe change!
13. Work within your budget. If you can’t afford to go over $400,000 for the venue site fee or $2 million for your wedding gown, then don’t! Weddings aren’t worth going into debt over. Just because you want to feel like a queen on your big day doesn’t mean you actually are one!
14. Create a wedding hashtag, so guests can share their photos with you. If you can’t think of one, ask a friend for help brainstorming —like the editors over at Vogue, who came up with #theworldsmosttalkedaboutcouple!
15. Throw the “only the bride can wear white” tradition out the window. Why not put your bridesmaids/sisters, mom and daughter all in white?
16. Incorporate the tradition of donning “something borrowed.” Like millions of dollars worth of jewelry from your bestie jeweler, Lorraine Schwartz!
17. Have fun with your color scheme. Why stick to bridesmaids’ gowns and tablecloths, when you could require all your guests to wear specific colors, like blue, black, purple and metallic! (“Metallic” is a color, yes?)
18. Don’t give up on marriage, just because it didn’t work out the first time. Third time’s a charm for Kim! (She previously wed basketball player Kris Humphries and music producer Damon Thomas.)
19.Splurge on a photo booth. Give your celebrity and supermodel wedding guests a chance to let loose and goof off in front of the camera… You never know if one of these moments, like Jaden Smith photobombing your mom in a white Batman suit, will become one of your most treasured wedding photos!
20. Marry the person of your dreams, the love of your life, someone you can’t picture your future without. Kanye has said of Kim: “It’s really just about dopeness at the end of the day,” “Our love story’s a love story for the ages. I felt like when we first got together, it was like a Romeo and Juliet kinda thing where it’s like she’s a reality star and I’m a rapper,” and “Michelle Obama cannot Instagram a [bikini] pic like what my girl Instagrammed the other day.” True love!
All jokes and lavishness aside, at the end of the day Kim is just a woman who wanted to look beautiful and make her wedding special, like any other gal who dreams of getting married. And from what I’ve seen so far, she killed it. What say you, fellow wedding-obsessed Gigglers? What will you (or did you) do to make your Big Day special besides, you know, marrying your favorite person in the whole world?
(Photos courtesy of E Online and Instragram)
