The World’s Top 10 Record Setting Marriages & Weddings

Introduction

Throughout history, marriage has been a part of almost every culture and has evolved into the modern version we’re most familiar with now. Traditionally, marriage is the union between two people who vow to care for one another. It is often considered one of the greatest expressions of love for couples.  

While in 2023, people are marrying for love, it hasn’t always been that way. Marriage was often used as a way to create ties between different groups of people for political and financial reasons. This meant that love was often not a part of the marriage and many couples were strangers to each other! Luckily, in our modern times, most couples are able to marry the partner they love. 

As a society, we love fancy weddings and hearing about long-lasting marriages. Plus, it’s always fun to learn unusual marriage facts from around the world! We’ve gathered some of the most record-setting marriages and weddings from around the world to inspire your own nuptials. 

1- Royalty and a Movie Star

Perhaps one of the most famous weddings in recent history, the marriage of Grace Kelly to Prince Rainier III of Monaco remains one of the most publicized weddings of all time. In 1956, the world watched as the American movie star married the Prince of Monaco in an opulent wedding that thousands of Monaco citizens attended! 

The wedding was watched by over 30 million people worldwide and its guests included fellow movie stars Cary Grant and Ava Gardner. Often called Alfred Hitchcock’s perfect heroine, Grace gave up acting once she married her husband and became Princess of Monaco. 

2- All Single Men Run to Vegas! 

While Las Vegas in Nevada is often regarded as the wedding capital of the world, it truly earned its name in 1965! When then-president Lyndon B. Johnson announced the draft for the Vietnam war was to go into effect the following day, 132 couples raced to Las Vegas. The draft stated that any single man between 19 and 25 years of age would be drafted, prompting many couples to get hitched as fast as they could. 

The lines from the city hall had to be contained by police and those who couldn’t get a civil marriage in the hall headed to the famous wedding chapels. Nothing like being drafted into war to jumpstart matrimony! 

3- 63 Football Fields of Veil, Please! 

In 2018, a young bride set the world record for the longest veil in recorded history. Luckily, a representative of Guinness World Records was at Maria Paraskeva’s wedding to officially record the veil’s length. Dreaming of breaking the record since she was a little girl, Maria created a veil that measured 22,843 feet. For those of us who are visual, that's 63 American football fields! 

It took six hours of rolling the tulle out from a pickup truck plus 30 volunteers to prepare the veil for Maria’s wedding day. The cost of all this fabric? A whopping 4,200 USD, plus the three month’s labor of the factory to make it. Maria’s wedding photos with the veil are stunning, but we’re left wondering, what do you do with it when the ceremony is over? 

4 - “I do” for 86 Years

Imagine being in love with the same person for 86 years! We’re swooning over the marriage between US citizens Herbert Fisher and Zelmyra Fisher. Married in 1924, the couple went through some of history’s most defining moments together. Herbert Fisher passed away in 2011 after 86 years of marriage to his wife, Zelmyra. They were given a commendation by President Barack Obama for their amazing commitment to one another.  

5- A Versailles Wedding 

Who wouldn’t want to get married at the arguably most famous castle in the world? That’s exactly what Vanisha Mittal & Amit Bhatia did, for a staggering 60 million USD. This over-the-top and luxurious wedding is one of the top three most expensive weddings ever recorded. This wedding ceremony lasted a week and included all-expenses paid for their guests. Guests enjoyed private transportation to France, five-star hotels, and private gatherings in famous locations, such as the Eiffel Tower Gardens. 

6- How Many Tons of Cake? 

Feeding guests at wedding receptions can be quite the feat! While many-layered cakes were the norm, cupcakes have taken over as the popular wedding dessert. However, in 2004, a team of American chefs decided that they needed to break the world record for biggest cake. 

Verified by Guinness World Records, a team of 58 chefs, from Connecticut casino Mohegan Sun, baked and frosted a 15,000 pound cake. This seven-layered confection, with 5,000 pounds of frosting, was on display at the New England bridal show. 

7- How Many Bridesmaids? 

While most brides will ask three to five special people to be their bridesmaids, one lady decided that she wanted a slightly larger number. In Ohio, US bride Jill Stapleton invited all 110 students from her gymnastics business to be her bridesmaids. Somehow, they managed to make all the dresses coordinate and Jill was able to enjoy her wedding day with the largest amount of bridesmaids on record! 

8- Holy Matrimony for Dogs? 

Many couples include their beloved four-legged companions into their weddings, either as ring bearers or to carry flowers. While this is awe-inducing and shows the couple’s love for their pets, the residents of Littleton, Colorado decided to do something a bit different. 

While unions between animals are not recognized by the state, the town of Littleton held a mass ceremony for 178 canine couples. How absolutely adorable it must have been to watch the happy tail wags as each dog married their best canine friend. We would’ve loved to see what the happy couples wore to their big day! 

9 - How Many Weddings in the Garden? 

Easily the largest wedding ceremony to take place, in 1982, Madison Square garden was host to the marriages of 4,000 people. Reverend Moon of the Unification Church simultaneously married 2,000 couples, many who had never met before or even spoke the same language! 

Each woman wore the exact same dress while their future partners arrived in dark suits. What’s even more astonishing about this story is that almost 75% of the couples married that day, remained married. To carry on this tradition, some children of the original couples have married in their own mass ceremonies! 

10 -  How Much for that Slice? 

England is home to some of the most famous weddings in history. The Duke and Duchess of Windsor’s 1937 marriage was controversial and remains an intriguing piece of British history. However, like most couples, the Duke and Duchess had a grand wedding cake. Somehow, in 1998, a piece of this cake made its way to the famous Sotheby’s Auction House in New York. 

Once there, it was sold for an astonishing 29,000 USD. A couple from California purchased the piece of cake and have stated they don’t intend to eat it. The proceeds from this sale were donated to British charities. 

Conclusion

The world is full of unusual and record-setting weddings. From expensive cakes to staggering amounts of bridesmaids, each wedding will always be unique to the couple. Marriage is a time of celebration and often the wedding is an all-night, or even week, of celebrating the couple. We hope you can celebrate your own wedding in a unique way and maybe even break some of the world’s marriage records!