Kim Kardashian and Kanye West wedding on a budget
FROM what we’ve seen of Kim Kardashian’s wedding to Kanye West, it was as lavish as we expected. Here’s what it cost them - and how to get the look at a fraction of the price.
THE pictures might be grainy, but from what we’ve seen of Kim Kardashian’s wedding to Kanye West, it was just as exquisite as we expected.
From a wall adorned with flowers to a dress so intricate it took our breath away, Kimye’s marriage at the historic Forte Di Belvedere in Florence, Italy, has presented itself as an early contender for Wedding Of The Year.
Here’s how you can get the look for a fraction of the price:
THE DRESS
Kim looked divine in her lace, long-sleeved Givenchy gown, which had a sheer back and some divine embroidery.
“The designers I’ve spoken to say Kim’s Givenchy gown could be worth around $200,000,” bridal coach Rachael Bentick from Inlighten told news.com.au. So how can you get it on a fraction of the price?
“Look for a gown that has a beautiful portrait backline,” Ms Bentick said. “Karen Willis Holmes does a lovely off the rack dress with a similar back line to Kim’s for around the $2,000 mark. Also, Karen Willis Holmes actually recreated the royal wedding dress worn by Kate Middleton two days after the royal wedding. So, she could definitely recreate Kim’s dress for any brides, once more details become known.”
Nicky Apostolopoulos, designer at Velany by Nicky, says it all comes down to the lace that you choose. The price of the dress will vary depending of the quality of lace, and Ms Apostolopoulos pegs a couture Kardashian inspired gown at the seven to 12 thousand dollar mark.
Another thing to consider is the veil. Kim had a cathedral length veil, but “she removed it completely after the ceremony, so you can see the back of her dress, which is a great idea,” says Ms Bentick.
More: See pictures from the wedding here | and here
THE SUIT
Kanye wore a custom made Givenchy suit, and while the pricepoint is unknown, you can rest assured that you’ll be able to get a tailor-made suit from somewhere like Alex Goodman at a fraction of the cost, Ms Bentick suggests.
BRIDESMAID DRESSES
Kim’s sisters doubled as her bridesmaids, and looked elegant dressed in floor-length white dresses thought to be designed by Givenchy. To get a similar look, Ms Bentick recommends jumping online to Whiterunway.com.au — an e-boutique which lets you order dresses, have them sent to your home so your bridesmaids can try them on, and then you simply send back the ones you don’t like. “They have literally every colour, shade and style imaginable,” she says.
“On the other hand, Khloe and Kendall both wore Australian designers for the wedding rehearsal dinner in Versailles, so why not adapt something like that for a Kardashian look? Kendall’s designer of choice for the evening, Johanna Johnson, has dresses available from $450.”
NORTH’S DRESS
Little North West also wore Givenchy, and similar dresses can be found everywhere from Myer to Collette Dinnigan for kids.
THE FLORAL WALL
“That was FABULOUS,” gushes Ms Bentick of the wall of blooms Kim and Kanye said ‘I Do’ in front of, “but oh so pricey! It would have cost upwards of $100,000, without a doubt.”
Florist Vezna Grasso says one way to get the look yourself is to use hanging blooms so you’re not using as many flowers but you’re still covering a large area. “Have a white background as well, so if there are holes, you can’t really see them,” says Ms Bentick. Something like this would set you back around $3,000.
THE POSY
“When the dresses are so simple, you want to keep the flowers small and simple too,” says Ms Bentick of Kardashian’s relatively modest bouquet. “Baby’s breath is a great way to achieve this look — they’re cheap, provide a nice colour scheme, and add a light, soft, romantic feel.”
ENTERTAINMENT
Kim walked down the aisle to Andrea Bocelli, and John Legend performed at the reception. While you might not be able to draw on friends like these, you can still have a little bit of star power in your own wedding.
“We had a wedding recently where we were entertained by past contestants from The Voice — Samantha Jade and Nathaniel performed for us,” Ms Bentick says. “You could potentially hire someone like Robbie Barmer from this year’s The Voice as your very own John Legend. The thing with these contestants is that, while they might be past reality show contestants, they still have amazing voices, and are often willing and available to sing for you and bring a little bit of star power.”
And, *bonus* - if you want a piano player like Kimye, get married in a church: they often supply you with a piano player at the cost of a donation to their ministry.
TABLE DECORATIONS
Ms Bentick pits the cost of the crystal and flower adorned tables “in the hundreds of thousands of dollar range again. Even the fact that the flowers have to be fresh adds cost — the florists can’t start doing the tables up until the morning, and they’ll be putting the flowers in place literally minutes before guests walk through the door! The team would be enormous, and that will cost you.
“If you want the floral look, use cascading flowers like you would in the wall, and mix flowers and lighting. You need to have the floral decorations to give the room feeling when you first walk in, and cascading blooms give you more coverage at a lesser cost. Then as the sun sets, the candlelight takes over, and you’ve got a romantic feel. Make sure you use see-through vases — they don’t have to be crystal — and make them tall, so your guests can see each other while they’re talking.
“One other thing to note is that no one uses chair covers anymore. It’s a very outdated look. A lot of venues will have the Tiffany chairs available like what Kim used, and it adds elegance to the room — and saves on cost.”
Kim was also gifted the 70-metre long reception tables from Gualtiero Vannelli, who crafted them from marble found in the Tuscan quarry in Carrara. While this sounds elaborate and impressive, let’s be honest — who is really going to see the tables when they’re covered in decorations, crockery and cutlery? This is definitely a cost you can skip — just use whatever tables the reception venue supplies you with.
THE VENUE
Kim and Kanye rented the Forte Belvedere for 300,000 euros. Obviously a castle in Italy is hard to beat, but if you look locally you’ll be surprised what you can find. “Curzon Hall in Sydney has the same grandeur and a beautiful external architecture, so it’s going to give you that grand feeling,” says Ms Bentick.
THE FOOD
Guests at the Kardashian-West wedding feasted on traditional Italian food with a twist thanks to Florence-based catering company Galateo, owned by Annie Feolde and Giorgio Pinchiorri. Their menu reportedly included chicken, salmon, steak, tortellini and strawberry gelato, washed down with both rose and gold Armand de Brignac champagne. To give you an idea of a price point, at Feolde and Pinchiorri’s Florence restaurant Enoteca Pinchiorri, a single serve of tortellini will set you back $100.
This theme, however, is certainly achievable yourself — most reception venues give you a choice of food, so you can opt for the options Kim and Kanye opted for — and with produce being so fresh and delicious in Australia, you can bet it will taste divine.
THE CAKE
Kim had a seven tier cake — not that we would expect anything less! The cost-cutting key here is to not have every tier edible, says Ms Bentick. “You can have it so that the bottom layers look structurally beautiful, but the top two layers are the only edible ones. This will definitely bring down the costs,” she says.
THE PHOTOGRAPHY
Videography and photography is key for any wedding, and Ms Bentick, whose company Inlighten Photography specilases in weddings, advises hiring seperate video and photography companies so you get the best of both worlds.
“You could see lots of video cameras set up around Kim and Kanye, and whether this was for their reality show or for their own use, one thing’s for sure, and that’s that their video is going to be a very candid, as-it-happens one.
“With the photography though, you want to make sure the photographer gets both the family and the artistic shots. That floral wall Kim had doubled as a sun shade — with an outdoor ceremony, one of the reasons that screen might have gone so high is to block sunlight, as it creates shadows on your face. You want to have flat lighting, so that you’ve got soft lighting on your face that will come through in the photos.
“If you do have an outdoor wedding, rather than having it in the middle of the beach or right on a cliff edge, have it under a canopy, or under a tree, for filtered lighting.”
THE HORSE AND CARRIAGE
Kim and Kanye left their ceremony in an ornate horse-drawn carriage, and it’s something you can have for yourself, too.
“Weddinghorseandcarriage.com.au have all kinds of Cinderella style pumpkin carriages, with prices starting at $1350,” says Ms Bentick. “The tip here is that if you are thinking about a dramatic horse and carriage exit, you need to make sure the distance isn’t too far for the horses. Between the church, the pictures, the reception, the horses can get too tired and physically aren’t able to pull your weight! My suggestion is to have the horse pick you up and drop you round the corner so you can switch to a car.”
THE PLANNER
“Most people only do a wedding once, but in this instance Kim has the benefit of experience, which most brides don’t have,” says Ms Bentick. Kim also employed the services of celebrity event planner Sharon Sacks.
“But rather than hiring a planner which can be expensive, why not get a bridal coach?” suggests Ms Bentick. “It’s cheaper than a wedding planner, and they can give you ideas and suggestion on everything from your dress, the bridesmaid dresses, entertainment ideas et cetera. As a bridal coach I offer a 1.5 hour consultation where I share my knowledge, but not at the cost of a full on wedding planner. The bride can then retain control by going and planning it herself.”
ANOTHER WAY..
“The thing that was great about this wedding was that it was a destination wedding,” notes Ms Bentick. “It means you can going from one extravagant event to another in the lead up, and there’s lots of opportunity to spend time together. So why not look into a destination wedding for yourself?”
More: Catch up on the wedding here
For more from Rachael Bentick, visit www.inlighten.com.au
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