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Sarah Keenlyside

Those who remember J.Lo’s 2001 film The Wedding Planner will be able to conjure the image of the A-lister as a harried event organiser in charge of planning other people’s weddings.
In reality, these sharply dressed, headset-wearing organisers have the tough job of making someone else’s big day perfect – often at the expense of their own sanity. But what are celebrity wedding planners really like? And who exactly is the best in the business? These are the names you need to know.
Mindy Weiss

Mindy Weiss is the go-to wedding planner for those ready to blow their budget on something special – from Justin and Hailey Bieber’s big day and Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi’s intimate celebration, to Ciara and Russell Wilson’s fairy tale nuptials.

The 65-year-old got her big break when she worked on Brooke Shields and tennis star Andre Agassi’s wedding in 1997, according to her interview with The Cut. But her time in the industry goes back far longer. She designed the invitations for Kris and Robert Kardashian’s wedding in 1978, and the birth announcements for the couple’s four children, according to People. Years later, she went back to work for the Kardashians, planning all their legendary bashes, from Kris’ 60th birthday in 2015 and Kylie Jenner’s 21st, to the family’s 2018 holiday party.
These days, Weiss charges a percentage of the total cost of any event she plans, which Event Planning Blueprint estimates can run from US$20,000 to US$1 million per event.
Marcy Blum

Remember LeBron and Savannah James’ spectacular, three-day-long wedding in San Diego in 2013? Marcy Blum organised it. Jennifer Gates and Nayel Nassar’s stunning nuptials on Gates’ Westchester farm? Blum.

Her clients know her for being one of the most creative and fun in the business, and as a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, Blum says she’s able to “blend the tenets of theatre, cuisine, decor and atmosphere into every event she creates”, per her website. Even Bill Gates described Blum’s wedding planning as “pitch perfect”.
Preston Bailey

Preston Bailey might just be one of the most talked-about wedding planners in the world. Most recently, he was responsible for the 60 floral animal sculptures at the blingy wedding of Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant last year – he also planned the weddings of the other Ambani siblings, Isha and Akash, according to Town & Country.

He planned Donald and Melania Trump’s wedding, as well as that of Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner.
But Bailey was also the wedding planner who walked away from Brooklyn Beckham and Nicola Peltz’s nuptials 11 months into the job because he was “overcommitted” and “couldn’t deliver to the quality I was used to”, as told to Page Six.
Colin Cowie

Born in Zambia and raised in South Africa, 62-year-old luxury wedding planner and lifestyle guru Colin Cowie has overseen many a celebrity wedding – including Bennifer’s ill-fated nuptials in 2022, as well as parties for the likes of Oprah and Jennifer Aniston, per Vogue.

For Cowie, nothing is too difficult to pull off for someone’s big day. He explained to People that, at a Cannes wedding last year, he and his team emptied a swimming pool to achieve a dramatic look: “We went inside and built a platform for a runway for the full length of the swimming pool, added moss to the sides, then filled the pool up with water again. So the bride literally was walking on water.”
Sharon Sacks

Sharon Sacks has two mottos she lives by – “imagination without limits” and “flawless execution”. The philosophies clearly served her well when she was asked to oversee two of Kim Kardashian’s weddings (to both Kris Humphries and Kanye West) as well as the nuptials of Michael Jordan, Meghan Trainor and Nick Lachey.

“I never say ‘no’ to my clients,” she told BizBash in 2014. “If a client wants something that may not be possible due to venue restrictions or budget restraints … offer them another idea, or a solution that will please them just as much.”
Lisa Vorce

Vorce has made a name for herself as the woman who can plan a destination wedding anywhere in the world. “Put me in the highlands of Vietnam, a remote Caribbean island, a hacienda in Mexico, or a charming villa along the Amalfi Coast … and ask me to create. New destinations, new cultures, new design challenges feed my soul,” she says on her website.

Her first celebrity event was a birthday party for George Clooney’s mum, and she’s since gone on to plan John Legend and Chrissy Teigen’s fabulous Lake Como nuptials and Kate Upton and Justin Verlander’s wedding weekend in Tuscany, per Vogue.


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Fame and celebrity

6 of the most sought-after celebrity wedding planners ever: from Sharon Sacks, who did 2 of Kim Kardashian’s weddings, to Preston Bailey, who created OTT florals for the Ambanis

Marcy Blum, Mindy Weiss and Colin Cowie are highly sought-after wedding planners. Photos: @marcyblum, @mindyweiss, @colincowie/Instagram 

Mindy Weiss. Photo: @mindyweiss/Instagram

Justin and Hailey Bieber’s wedding. Photo: @weddedwonderland/Instagram

Marcy Blum. Photo: @marcyblum/Instagram

Jennifer Gates and Nayel Nassar walk down the aisle at their wedding, which was coordinated by Marcy Blum. Photo: @jenngatesnassar/Instagram

Preston Bailey. Photo: @prestonrbailey/Instagram

One of 60 floral sculptures Preston Bailey created for the Ambanis. Photos: @anchorcommunications; @radhika.anantambani/Instagram

Colin Cowie. Photo: @colincowielifestyle/Instagram

The table setting at Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck’s 2022 wedding, courtesy of Colin Cowie. Photo: @colincowie/Instagram

Sharon Sacks. Photo: @sacks_productions/Instagram

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West married in Florence in 2014 with the help of Sharon Sacks. Photo: @fknkanye/Instagram

Lisa Vorce. Photo: @lisavorce/Instagram

Chrissy Teigen and John Legend’s wedding in Italy. Photo: @lisavorce/Instagram

Meet Michelin star chef Daniel Boulud’s wife, Katherine Boulud: from organising a Henry Kissinger fundraiser to working at her husband’s New York restaurant Daniel, and her passion for French cuisine

Katherine Boulud, wife of Michelin star chef Daniel Boulud, initially opted for a career in politics. Photo: @katherinegageboulud/Instagram

Katherine Boulud grew up in New York. Photo: @katherinegageboulud/Instagram

Katherine Boulud once organised a fundraiser for Henry Kissinger. Photo: @katherinegageboulud/Instagram

Katherine Boulud and Daniel Boulud married in 2013. Photo: @katherinegageboulud/Instagram

Katherine Boulud is brand ambassador for her husband Daniel Boulud’s The Dinex Group. Photo: @danielboulud/Instagram

Katherine Boulud and hubby Daniel Boulud have two children together. Photo: @danielboulud/Instagram

Who is Georgia Groome, Rupert Grint’s long-term partner? The Nottingham native, from an acting family, just had her second child with the Harry Potter star – but why does she hate posing for photos?

Actor Rupert Grint has just welcomed his second child with partner Georgia Groome. Photos: TNS

Georgia Groome hails from Nottingham, England. Photo: @Georgia_Groome/X

Georgia Groome was a child actor, like partner Rupert Grint. Photo: @Georgia_Groome/X 

Georgia Groome has often spoken about being comfortable in her own skin. Photo: @Georgia_Groome/X 

Animal-lover Georgia Groome, who has been with partner Rupert Grint for more than a decade. Photo: @Georgia_Groome/X 

6 of the most expensive weddings ever, ranked – Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant are getting married, so will their nuptials top Isha Ambani and Anand Piramal, or Prince Charles and Princess Diana?

Prince Charles and Princess Diana on their wedding day; Isha Ambani and Anand Piramal during their wedding ceremony. Photos: @WforWoman/X, AFP

Radhika Merchant poses in a traditional Indian outfit with fiancé Anant Ambani. Photo: @radhikamerchant_/Instagram

Vanisha Mittal and Amit Bhatia pose with guests at their engagement ceremony in December 2018. Photo: Handout

Brahmani Reddy and Rajeev Reddy smile during their 2016 Hindu wedding ceremony in Bengaluru. Photo: AFP 

Anand Piramal and Isha Ambani at their 2018 wedding ceremony. Photo: @WforWoman/Twitter

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum with a horse. Photo: Handout

Princess Diana and Prince Charles at their 1981 wedding at London’s St Paul’s Cathedral. Photo: AP Photo 

How Seth Meyers’ lawyer wife, Alexi Ashe, beat Jennifer Lawrence to claim the talk show host and comedian’s hand – and then beat food poisoning so she could marry him

Seth Meyers’ lawyer wife Alexi Ashe: the woman who beat Jennifer Lawrence to claim his hand. Photo: @sethmeyers/Instagram

Adam Sandler (left) and Seth Meyers at the Golden Globe Awards in January, in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles. Photo: Getty Images

Seth Meyers and his wife Alexi Ashe, a human rights lawyer. Photo: @sethmeyers/Instagram

Seth Meyers has been married to Alexi Ashe for more than a decade. Photo: @sethmeyers/Instagram

Seth Meyers and Alexi Ashe have three children. Photo: @sethmeyers/Instagram

Who is Jalen Brunson’s physiotherapist wife, Ali Marks? The New York Knicks star began dating his high school sweetheart in 2013, and Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo attended their Chicago nuptials

Jalen Brunson and his wife, Ali Marks. Photos: @alibrunson11/Instagram

Jalen Brunson is one of the best players on the court today. Photo: Imagn Images

From prom to a proposal: Jalen Brunson and his wife Ali Marks celebrated several milestones at their high school. Photo: @jalenbrunson1/Instagram

Ali Marks is a physical therapist. Photo: @alibrunson11/Instagram

Jalen Brunson and Ali Marks had a lavish wedding in Chicago. Photo: @alibrunson11/Instagram

Magazines

Style

Entertainment

Preston Bailey organised Donald and Melania Trump’s nuptials but pulled out of Brooklyn Beckham and Nicola Peltz’s big day, while Lisa Vorce is known for her celeb destination weddings


Preston Bailey organised Donald and Melania Trump’s nuptials but pulled out of Brooklyn Beckham and Nicola Peltz’s big day, while Lisa Vorce is known for her celeb destination weddings.
