The 20 Most Expensive Celebrity Wedding Dresses of All Time

These ensembles are at once iconic and history-making.

kate middleton in her wedding dress

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When it comes to wedding dresses, the choices can be pretty endless. Whether a bride-to-be wants to add hundreds of embellishments, or even have the gown custom-designed, it's easy for anyone to quickly rack up the costs when it comes to their wedding day attire. And luckily for some, budget isn't a constraint when it comes to shopping for their day-of look. With limitless wedding budgets, affluent and celebrity brides have been known to drop a lot of money on their gowns for the big day.

Starting from price tags in the thousands and working our way up to the millions, we rounded up the most expensive celebrity and royal wedding dresses of all time. These sumptuous gowns are at once gorgeous, opulent, and truly celeb-worthy. Keep reading below to see if your favorite bride made the list, plus details on Serena Williams's Alexander McQueen gown which takes the number one spot.

Serena Williams: $3.5 million

<p>Serena Williams and Alexis Ohanian's Wedding Ceremony</p>

Photo by Mel Barlow & Co. & Allan Zepeda

The tennis pro takes the cake with her 2017 wedding ball gown. Her Alexander McQueen dress designed by Sarah Burton—complete with a cascading cape and sweetheart neckline—makes history as the most expensive wedding dress at a whopping $3.5 million price tag. What's more, this wasn’t even Williams’s only look. She made two other changes over the course of the night. 

Queen Elizabeth: $1.6 million

queen elizabeth wedding portait

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For her nuptials to Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth wore a Duchesse satin, long-sleeve wedding gown, with allover floral embroidery and crystal and pearl appliqués. Norman Hartnell, the designer behind the look, was said to have been inspired by Botticelli's painting "Primavera". At the time, the Queen paid $42,000 for her royal ensemble in 1947, which is an estimated cost today of about $1.6 million. Thus, slotting the Queen into the number two spot.

Victoria Swarovski: $1 million

<p>Bride and Groom Exit Ceremony</p>

Photo by Chris Singer & Johannes Kernmayer

Victoria Swarovski's Michael Cinco custom gown lands at an estimated price tag of more than $1 million. Her wedding dress featured 500,000 crystals, which weighed approximately 100 pounds. The Swarovski jewelry heiress also wore a 26-foot-long veil to complete the princess-worthy look.

Kim Kardashian: $500,000

It's no surprise that Kim Kardashian would land on our list for the most expensive wedding dress of all time. When Kim and Kayne tied the knot in 2014, she walked down the aisle in a $500,000 custom couture Givenchy gown, featuring long sleeves and a trumpet silhouette. Following the ceremony, the Skims mogul later changed into a mini dress designed by Olivier Rousteing, creative director for Balmain.

Salma Hayek: $434,000

The actress wed Francois-Henri Pinault, CEO of the Kering group, in April 2009 in Venice, Italy. Hayek’s Balenciaga gown, designed by Nicolas Ghesquière, featured an intricately detailed deep V-neck bodice that flowed into a full-body skirt. The dress cost a large chunk of change at $434,000, along with the lavish, A-list reception—assuming it isn’t cheap to rent out the oldest opera house in all of Europe.

Kate Middleton: $434,000

Kate Middleton in her wedding dress
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Kate Middleton's wedding gown is a beloved look everyone still speaks about today. The Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen design was truly fit for a royal, with a price tag of $434,000. The Princess of Wales's dress was constructed with handmade lace, and featured a full skirt and dramatic eight-foot train.

Meghan Markle: $422,000

meghan markle and prince harry

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Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's 2018 royal wedding made an international splash and is known to be one of the most iconic royal weddings of all time. For the big day, Markle wore a custom Givenchy gown, designed by Clare Waight Keller, which featured an elegant boat neck and minimalist design. She then later slipped into a halter-neck Stella McCarthy sheath dress for the reception. It's reported that her Givenchy gown was estimated to be $265,000, while her Stella McCarthy dress landed at $157, 000, a total of $422,000.

Chiara Ferragni: $420,000

chiara wedding dress

PHOTO BY DAVID BASTIANONI

In 2018, the Italian blogger and designer married rapper Federico Leonardo Lucia in a multi-day celebration in Sicily. To match the couple’s grandiose nuptials, Ferragni worked with Dior's creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri to design two couture dresses during a six-month process. She kept it simple for the ceremony, donning a look with a lace bodice and tulle skirt. For the reception, Ferragni changed into a cream tulle gown with a corset top, embroidered with images of lions and hearts, and lyrics to Leonardo’s song written about her called ‘Favorisca i Sentimenti.’ In total, both looks come in at a price tag of $420,000.

Coleen Rooney: $392,000

Wayne and Coleen Rooney kept their 2008 wedding a small affair, with only close family and friends in attendance. However, her over-the-top gown certainly compensated for the pared-back reception. Rooney’s billowing and tiered Marchesa dress is estimated to have cost $392,000.

Amal Clooney: $380,000

George Clooney and his bride spared no expense when it came to her wedding dress, or their entire $4.6 million wedding. Amal said "I do" while wearing an off-the-shoulder, lace Oscar de la Renta ensemble that cost $380,000. Her gown, the last wedding dress the late designer created before he passed away, gained so much notoriety that it was temporarily featured in an Oscar de la Renta exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts. Despite its high price tag, the gown's value is pretty priceless.

Mariah Carey: $250,000

Mariah Carey and James Packer broke off their engagement, so her wedding dress never got its time to shine on the big day. But, it's been reported that the would-have-been gown by Valentino cost $250,000. This should come as no surprise, considering Carey's lavish taste and her $10 million engagement ring (that she reportedly still wore post-breakup). In overtly dramatic fashion, the singer actually set her gown on fire in one of her music videos after splitting from Packer.

Marie-Chantal Miller: $225,000

he Wedding Of Crown Prince Pavlos Of Greece To Marie-chantal Miller

Tim Graham / Getty Images

Miller wed her husband, Prince Pavlos, in 1995 in true royal fashion—while sporting a stunning long-sleeve traditional dress, and an expensive one at that. The Crown Princess of Greece's pearl-encrusted Valentino number cost $225,000, 14-foot length Chantilly lace train and all.

Elizabeth Taylor: $187,931

Elizabeth Taylor and Conrad "Nicky" Hilton on their wedding day
 Getty Images

Despite marrying eight times, Taylor's first wedding gown takes the crown for most opulent. Her now-famous dress, from her 1950 wedding to Conrad "Nicky" Hilton (Paris and Nicky Hilton's great uncle), was designed by Helen Rose and sold for $187,931 at a London auction in 2013.

Catherine Zeta-Jones: $140,000

Catherine's marriage to Michael Douglas has stood the test of Hollywood time. The pair tied the knot in 1999, with the ever-gorgeous Catherine rocking a $140,000 Christian Lacroix wedding dress.

Princess Diana: $115,000

Princess Diana and Prince Charles on their wedding day

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Princess Diana debuted a stunning gown, designed by former husband-and-wife designer duo David and Elizabeth Emanuel, at her 1981 wedding to Prince Charles. The silk and taffeta gown—with a 25-foot train and an estimated 10,000 pearls—came in with a price tag of close to $115,000.

Jessica Biel: $100,000

For her 2012 nuptials to Justin Timberlake, Jessica Biel took a unique approach to her day-of look, with a blush pink Giambattista Valli Haute Couture number. The hued gown managed to build up quite the price tag—$100,000 to be exact.

Victoria Beckham: $100,000

Posh Spice's wedding dress certainly lived up to her former fashion-forward Spice Girls persona, which of course means that it cost a pretty penny. The bride wore a Vera Wang gown with a 20-foot train, estimated to be worth $100,000. To top their wedding off in true '90s fashion, the pair traded their costly tux and gown for matching purple outfits at the reception.

Madonna: $81,250

Madonna's dress for her wedding to Sean Penn is displayed at Julien's Auctions Media Preview for Icons & Idols: Rock N' Roll Event

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This pop star definitely lived in a material world while wearing quite the pricey wedding dress for her 1985 wedding. The Queen of Pop tied the knot with actor Sean Penn in a quintessential '80s tulle and mesh number, which sold at an auction for $81,250 in 2014. What's more, Madonna's second wedding dress for her marriage to Guy Ritchie is believed to have cost close to $80,000.

Nicky Hilton: $77,000

The hotel heiress wed James Rothschild in 2015, at Kensington Palace, no less. With a venue that exquisite, you definitely need a dress of equal caliber. Hilton's long-sleeve Valentino gown did just the trick, with a price tag of $77,000.

Grace Kelly: $60,000

Grace Kelly and Monaco's Prince Rainier III wedding

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Grace Kelly and "iconic style" go hand in hand, and her classic 1956 wedding dress was no exception. While her royal wedding was history-making, it was her high-neck, long-sleeve gown that completely stole the show. Designed by Helen Rose, the timeless dress featured thousands of hand-sewn pearls, 125-year-old lace from Brussels, and an estimated $60,000 price tag.

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