It’s easy to be swept up into fairytale wedding fantasies when we see rich, famous and fabulous people throw elaborate weddings in exotic places around the world. What a dream to tie the knot with a no-expense-spared ceremony in a glamorous global venue with guests from the Hollywood A-list. Well, that dream can quickly turn into a nightmare, as we see all too frequently in celebrity circles. It almost seems that the more divine the destination wedding the faster the break-up and the nastier the divorce. It’s a cautionary tale that goes to show that the quality of the relationship does not correlate to the extravagance of the wedding. Here are 10 lavish destination weddings of the stars who, sadly though not surprisingly, did not live happily ever after.
1. Madonna and Guy Ritchie, Scotland
Skibo Castle in the Scottish Highlands was the romantic setting that joined these two powerful paramours in matrimonial bliss in December of 2000. Kilt clad guests, bagpipe refrains, smoked salmon, haggis and champagne added flair to the scene. The ceremony was followed by a traditional ceilidh, a Scottish party with singing, dancing and music. This was one of the first big celebrity castle weddings to hit the tabloids and kick-off the trend. Paparazzi had a field day trying to snap photos of the American megastar singer, the British movie director and their who’s who guest list. However, eight years later the marriage was over. Apparently it takes more than haggis to keep Madonna happy.
2. Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren, Barbados
Back in October of 2004 when the golfing legend married the Swedish beauty, everyone thought this was an masterful match. The luxurious Sandy Lane golf resort in Barbados was the perfect private venue for the sunset ceremony and reception, where the guests dined on Bajan specialties like macaroni pie and flying fish overlooking the Caribbean Sea. Flash forward five years and we all saw that Tiger was as wild as his namesake behind that cool, classy facade. The serial cheating scandal that knocked him out of some lucrative endorsement deals, tarnished his reputation and ultimately led to a $750 million divorce was in stark contrast to the smiling image portrayed on that beautiful $1.5 million Barbadian wedding day.
