When it comes to choosing destinations for the weddings of your clients’ dreams, the world is their oyster. From sublime oceanfront spots to quaint European villages, soaring mountains to cultural hotspots and everything in between, there’s no shortage of ideas when it comes scenes to serve as the backdrops of their big days.
For some, celebrity couples who exchange vows in particular spots around the globe lend a sense of cachet to those destinations. Here, we take a look at our favorite celebrity wedding locations and the couples who were married there.
Venice, Italy
Let’s start with the long-confirmed bachelor George Clooney, who changed his tune after meeting Amal Alamuddin, a human rights lawyer. The two were introduced by a mutual friend at a dinner Clooney hosted at his Lake Como, Italy, home in July 2013. The couple’s whirlwind romance culminated just over a year later when the couple married in Venice, said to be one of his favorite places. The romantic city set the scene for a star-studded affair, complete with the groom and his friends and family traveling in a flotilla to the ceremony.
We suggest San Clemente Kempinski Palace Venice for couples to say their ‘I Dos.’ This exclusive resort sits on its own island in the Venice lagoon, with San Marco Square a quick 10-minute boat ride away.
Napa Valley, California
Longtime New York Yankee Derek Jeter hit a home run when he was introduced by a mutual friend to Hannah Davis, a swimsuit model who grew up in St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Shortly after their meeting in 2012, the couple started quietly dating and made their engagement public in late-2015. The following summer, they exchanged their vows and celebrated with fewer than 100 guests in Napa Valley, California. The destination appealed to the newlyweds not only because it's romantic, but they could keep their wedding quiet and private. At the time, one source told Page Six, “Derek and Hannah planned to marry in a beautiful location, surrounded by just close family and friends.”
Couples who find inspiration from the Jeter wedding can create their own memories at any of the fabulous properties found in California wine country, including Carneros Resort & Spa, The Meritage Resort and Spa, The Estate Yountville and Silverado Resort & Spa.
Bahamas
Everlasting love is in the air in the Bahamas, where super model Cindy Crawford married her longtime friend and businessman Rande Gerber in 1998. On Paradise Island and in true beach mode, Crawford walked down the aisle barefoot, and once the vows were sealed with a kiss the couple changed into bathing suits and took another plunge... right into a pool.
Actors Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem also married in the Bahamas when they tied the knot in 2010 in an intimate ceremony at a friend’s house, surrounded by family. Though the couple met on the set of the Spanish film Jamón Jamón in 1992, it wasn’t until they reconnected in 2007 that they realized that they were meant to be together and made it official three years later.
The Bahamas’ turquoise waters white sand beaches serve as idyllic backdrops for weddings held year-round, especially Atlantis, Paradise Island and The Cove at Atlantis.
Los Cabos, Mexico
Olympian swimmer Michael Phelps dove headfirst into marriage with former Miss USA contestant Nicole Johnson when they tied the knot in not one, not two, but three wedding ceremonies in 2016. The first was a private backyard ceremony in June, and the second was a small, intimate celebration with 50 of their close friends and family in Los Cabos, Mexico; a bigger fête was held New Year’s Eve in Arizona.
A few years earlier, Maroon 5 singer Adam Levine married his Victoria’s Secret Angel Behati Prinsloo in July 2014, after a two-year courtship. Their Mexican wedding fiesta included 300 guests.
Say “si!” to a Los Cabos fiesta at Grand Fiesta Americana Los Cabos All Inclusive, Nobu Hotel Los Cabos or One&Only Palmilla.
Savannah, Georgia
Southern charm and hospitality were part of Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez’s wedding celebration in Savannah, Ga., in August 2022, 20 years after they met when they co-starred in Gigli. The two first became a couple in 2003 and were the first to receive a blended couple name, Bennifer. After they ended their relationship in 2004, their lives moved on with other loves, but found themselves together again in early-2021. It was meant to be, and they married the following year.
Today’s couples can find that same sense of southern charm and hospitality in the Hostess City of the South at Hotel Bardo Savannah and The DeSoto.
Jamaica
The vibrant energy and laid-back charm of Jamaica likely lured actors Kirsten Dunst and Jessie Plemons when they were looking for a place to wed. After a five-year engagement, the co-stars of FX’s Fargo and Netflix’s The Power of the Dog, who keep their private lives very private, celebrated their love in a private ceremony on the Caribbean island.
Whether an intimate gathering or an all-out bash, couples can celebrate their love at Half Moon, Jamaica in Montego Bay.
Paris, France
Actors Sasha Baron Cohen and Isla Fisher said “oui” to spending their lives together when they wed in Paris in 2009, nine years after they met at a party in Sydney, Australia. After their six-year engagement, the couple married in a secret ceremony in Paris. To keep their nuptials under wraps, Sasha seated an elaborate scheme in which his father played the leading role as a famous chef in England celebrating his 70th birthday.
The City of Lights has to be one of the romantic destinations in which to marry, and wedding guests will certainly say “ooh la la” if the celebrations are held at L'Hotel Du Collectionneur or Les Jardins du Marais.
Austin, Texas
Though their love is as big as the Lone Star State, Matthew McConaughey met his bride-to-be, Camila Alvez, at a night club in Los Angeles in 2006. Since their meeting, the two have been inseparable and tied the knot six years later. The couple invited 120 guests to enjoy the three-day celebration at their home in Austin, Texas.
If couples don’t have their own place to wed in Austin, we suggest Austin Proper Hotel, Fairmont Austin, Hotel Viata, The Stephen F. Austin Royal Sonesta or Omni Barton Creek Resort & Spa.