The Most Expensive Celebrity Wedding Dresses of All Time

When it comes to wedding dresses, the choices can be pretty well endless. And whether a bride-to-be wants to add hundreds of embellishments, or even have the gown custom-designed, it’s pretty easy for anyone to quickly rack up wedding dress costs. Some brides like to go big or go home in the dress department, even going so far as to land spots on the list of the most expensive celebrity wedding dresses of all time.

With limitless wedding budgets, affluent 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 wedding dresses worn by celebrities and royals of all time. While we continue to gush over all things The Crown-related, including Princess Diana’s wedding dress featured in the latest season, it’s interesting to note that arguably the greatest athlete of our time, Serena Williams, beat out multiple royals for the no. 1 spot.

Below see her full designer ball gown that exceeded our wildest expectations (and budgets!), as well as other gowns going down in history.

Serena Williams – $3.5 million

The tennis pro takes the cake with her 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 of all time at a whopping $3.5 million price tag. And this wasn’t even Williams’s only dress. She made two other changes over the course of the night. 

Victoria Swarovski – $1 million

Ranking as runner-up for the most expensive wedding dress of all time, the Swarovski jewelry heiress’s custom-made gown has an estimated price tag of over $1 million. Naturally, the dress was decked out with over 500,000 crystals.

Kim Kardashian – $500,000

It’s no surprise that Kim K. would land on the list for most expensive wedding dresses of all time. When Kim and Kayne tied the knot in 2014, she walked down the aisle in a $500,000 custom-made couture Givenchy gown with long sleeves and a trumpet silhouette. And, one dress wouldn’t suffice—Kim later changed into a minidress designed by Olivier Rousteing, creative director for Balmain.

Salma Hayek – $434,000

The actress wed CEO of the PPR group Francois-Henri Pinault in 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 filled reception—assuming it isn’t cheap to rent out the oldest opera house in all of Europe.

Kate Middleton – $434,000

Duchess Kate’s dress from her 2011 wedding to Prince William was truly fit for a royal, with a price tag of $434,000. Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen designed the classic gown, complete with long lace sleeves and a full skirt.

Chiara Ferragni – $420,000

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 Creative Director Maria Grazia Chiuri to design two couture dresses during a six-month process. The white ceremony dress had a lace bodice and tulle skirt. For the reception, she changed into a cream tulle gown with a corset top and embroidered images of lions, hearts, and lyrics to Leonardo’s song written about Ferragni called, ‘Favorisca i Sentimenti.’ The long skirt was detachable so that the influencer could change into a mini-skirt after dinner. Her two (and a half) designs had a hefty price tag of $420,000.Chiara Ferragni’s Epic Wedding in Italy

Coleen Rooney – $392,000

The author and professional soccer player Wayne Rooney’s 2008 wedding in Italy was a small affair with close family and friends, but her over-the-top gown certainly compensated for the quiet reception. Rooney’s billowing and tiered Marchesa dress set her back $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, for that matter. Amal said “I do” while wearing an off-the-shoulder lace Oscar de la Renta number 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 astronomical 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 the would-have-been gown by Valentino cost $250,000. This shouldn’t come as much of a 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

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

Despite marrying eight times, Taylor showed that the first time was the charm in terms of wedding dresses. Her now-famous gown 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 debuted a stunning gown designed by former husband-and-wife designer duo David and Elizabeth Emanuel at her wedding in 1981 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

Jessica Biel took a unique approach to her wedding day look with a blush Giambattista Valli Haute Couture number when she married Justin Timberlake in 2012. The spunky colored 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 it probably 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 their reception.

Melania Trump – $100,000

Naturally, the Trumps went big for their 2005 wedding, including Melania’s $100,000 dress. Melania sported a custom Dior frock with 1500 embellishments, and the grandiose gown required quite a bit of heavy lifting. It took 500 hours to make and weighed a whopping 60 pounds.

Madonna – $80,000

This pop star definitely lived in a material world while wearing quite the pricey wedding dress to 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. 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 iconic style go hand in hand, and her classic 1956 wedding dress was no exception. While she tied the knot with Monaco’s Prince Rainier III, Kelly made history in a high-neck long-sleeve gown with a full skirt. 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.