Date: Nov. 18, 2006
Where held: Odescalchi Castle, Lake Bracciano, Italy
Number of guests: 150
Cost: $2 million
How does an A-list celebrity like Tom Cruise walk down the aisle in peace? Simple: a destination wedding far from the maddening crowd.
Cruise made no secret of his loopy romance with budding star Katie Holmes (who can forget his famous Oprah couch dance?) But when it came to actually tying the knot, the couple chose a faraway, 15th-century Italian castle, flew in a who's who of guests that included Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony, Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, John Travolta and Kelly Preston, and Steven Spielberg and Kate Capshaw, and took their vows Scientology style.
Holmes wore an off-the-shoulder Armani gown with ivory silk train adorned with Valenciennes lace and Swarovski beaded crystal embroidery. The castle perimeter was lined with candles, the five-tiered white chocolate wedding cake was decorated with marzipan roses and, oh yeah, some guy from Pisa named Andrea Bocelli dropped by to sing a few numbers.
"I thought what they did was brilliant," says Souza. "They did it small, their way and completely away from any eyes. With a celebrity like Tom Cruise, the lack of control over your own life is immense. This is the perfect place to exert control -- I can be a celebrity tomorrow, but today I'm a husband."