Celebrity weddings

Swag Bride
When the rich and famous get hitched, they're showered with freebies and discounts. PR mavens call it product placement-the rest of us call it bad taste. "There are only three things that should not be commercialized," says etiquette doyenne Letitia Baldridge. "When you are born, when you get married and when you die."

Melania Knauss
In a surprising break with tradition, Donald Trump's third bride revealed her Dior wedding gown on the cover of Vogue a week before the big day. The magazine's fashion pasha, Andre Leon Talley, helped Knauss select the Galliano-designed pearl- and rhinestone-encrusted confection, worth an estimated US$200,000, in Paris. Vogue then ran a 14-page feature, shot by Mario Testino, on the boondoggle. (A double-page ad for Donald Trump The Fragrance coincidentally ran in the same issue.) Ten days after the ceremony, the 50-pound gown was suspended from scaffolding and lowered over the Slovenian model for an InStyle Celebrity Weddings cover shoot -- taking care not to snag it on her half-price US$1.5-million emerald-cut D-flawless diamond engagement ring.

Star Jones
Zaftig host of The View, Star Jones married Wall Street banker Al Reynolds a year to the day they first met. Her white silk taffeta Reem Acra gown featured a 27-foot train, and her tulle veil-embroidered with Swarovski crystals and seed pearls-was topped with a 19th-century 100-carat diamond choker borrowed from Fred Leighton. An expert in celebrity graft, the Payless spokesperson managed to get "complimentary" tuxedos, invitations and bridesmaids gowns -- she even had an official airline for the wedding weekend (Continental). Reprimanded by producers for trying to promote suppliers on the show, Jones' wedding website thanked more than 30 corporate sponsors. Guest gift bags included Fendi sunglasses, Victoria's Secret lingerie, a Harlequin romance, a Nintendo Gameboy console-and a slimline copy of the Bible.

Princess Bride
"Marriage is a wonderful institution," joked Groucho Marx, "but who wants to live in an institution?" Certainly not Princess Diana, who blamed her bulimia on the frigid air of the British royal household. They may get to wear the crown jewels, but -- as Princess Grace warned Lady Diana Spencer in the run-up to her wedding -- the life of a princess is no fairy tale.

Princess Grace
Oscar-winning actress Grace Kelly met Prince Rainier III at the Cannes Film Festival in May 1955 and -- in a unique May-December twist -- was engaged by year-end. Princess Grace was strongly encouraged to give up her acting career to sire heirs for the Monegasque throne -- a move she later regretted, feeling lonely and trapped in her gilded cage. In return for breaking her seven-year contract, she let MGM film the "wedding of the century" for movie release in America, and the lavish event in April 1956 attracted some 30 million viewers. Grace Kelly's gown -- a wedding gift from MGM Studios -- was created by head costume designer Helen Rose from 450 yards of Brussels rose-point lace and silk taffeta. Her veil was embroidered with pearls and orange blossoms.

Princess Diana
Rumour has it that when Prince Charles was instructed by his mater to take a bride, his former girlfriend Camilla Parker Bowles recommended Lady Diana Spencer. Her suitable lineage and blemish-free past made the 19-year-old virgin a catch -- or pawn -- in the eyes of the British royal family. In 1981, Lady Diana wed Prince Charles in front of 3,500 guests and an estimated one billion TV viewers. Her ivory silk gown with 25-foot long train -- designed by David and Elizabeth Emanuel -- was decorated with 10,000 pearls and sequins, and her silk slippers had heels of hand-painted gold. Diana wore the Spencer family diamond tiara and a sapphire and pearl choker, a wedding gift from her husband-to-be. Fifteen years later -- after admitting infidelity on both sides -- the couple divorced. The following year, Princess Diana died in a car accident in Paris, the paparazzi in full pursuit. Prince Charles and his long-standing mistress Camilla Parker Bowles finally tied the knot in April 2005.

Photography courtesy of Jeffrey Langlois/PB Daily News/Zuma Press/Keystone Press