Destination Weddings

The recent passing of Oscar de la Renta brought to mind the slightly less recent, but equally as publicized wedding of George Clooney, twice named Hollywood’s Most Eligible Bachelor.  This was primarily because Amal Alamuddin, the bride, surprised most pundits, who suspected she would choose the same designer as Kate Winslet, by choosing de la Renta to design her gown.

A second reason for remembering the wedding and choosing the topic for this Post was that Mary’s Book Club, which met a week or so after the wedding seemed to spend as much time talking about the wedding as they did about the book.  It got me thinking about the subject of Destination weddings, those where the wedding site is neither the home of the bride or groom, and a select number of guests are either transported to the destination or, more likely in the case of the Clooney-Alamuddin ceremony, pay their own way to the occasion

There seems little doubt that the 150 celebrity guests were treated well once they got to Venice.  A fleet of water-taxis picked them up from the Resort, which Clooney had booked for the entire group, and transported them to the wedding site.  In the evening, and presumably during the day they were invited to help consume the 150 cases of Premium Tequila, that Clooney brought in on his private jet.  Seeming no concerns were expressed about bringing liquids on board.

Dancing went on all night with three top bands from the U.S. providing music.

A civil ceremony the next day allowed for some photographs, since the wedding and reception were closed events. Even guests were asked to leave their cell phones outside. Apparently right to the official pictures were sold by the couple for one-million dollars, which they donated to charity.

Which charity was not specified, but one can guess that with Clooney’s leanings toward the oppressed and Amal’s career as a Human Rights lawyer and her Lebanese heritage, it likely had something to do with the under-privileged in Africa, he mid-east, or maybe Cambodia where she recently won a Civil Rights case.

My first and only invitation to a Destination Wedding was in 2002, when nephew Matt Green invited our family to Key West where he and Teala, would tie the knot.  Since they met on an airplane, finding the trip compatible while occupying adjacent seats, neutral territory for the service seemed fitting.  We guests enjoyed the fact that we could be tourists as well as onlookers or participants, especially pleasing.  At the time there were several celebrity Destination Weddings, one from Hollywood, where the guests travelled to London on what was virtually a chartered Virgin Airlines flight.

 Most recent celebrity weddings, discounting the British Royals, are more private affairs.  The Brad Pitt/Angelina Jolie recent marriage being a case in point.  Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel being another.

The Clooney wedding purportedly cost $13 million, which must be some sort of record, again excepting the Royals.  There is speculation on where all the money came from.  Certainly George could afford it, but the best guess is a more traditional source:  the bride’s parents.  Maybe it was a sort of dowery.

Reverting back to de la Renta, I was surprised that among his accolades were episodes of Sex and the City where Carrie finds out a beau calls him Oscar.  “Oscar…You can call him Oscar?” she asks?  The character (Mikhail Baryshnikov) eventually gifts her with an Oscar de la Renta dress.  Really! Well Oscar gifted her.!

In my next Post I will share with you my discovery of a new genre in books:  Adult Graphic Novels.  I think you’ll find it interesting.  Please join me.