Top 10 Celebrity Weddings That Defied Our Expectations

While their characters on the soap opera “All My Children” may have gone the traditional route when it came time to say their I do’s, the actors who played them did not. Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos met while filming the show in 1995, and just a year later eloped to Las Vegas. Ripa claims that their wedding only cost $179 and that they decided to forgo having it filmed, which would have been an extra $20. Talk about being frugal! It just goes to show that you don’t need a big wedding to have a lasting marriage.

Olivia Palermo is known for her socialite status and impeccable fashion sense, so when she got engaged everyone was anticipating her inevitably chic wedding with bated breath. But she and hubby to be Johannes Huebl decided to skip having an opulent affair in the bride’s native New York City in favor of heading upstate for a wedding in the town of Bedford. The civil ceremony was very intimate, consisting only of their families and a couple of friends. Eschewing the predictable bridal gown, Palermo wore a three piece ensemble by Carolina Herrera that consisted of a sweater, shorts and an overskirt.

When one of the world’s biggest supermodels is getting married, you’ve got to presume she’s going to do it up in style. And in Miranda Kerr’s case, she definitely did, but the wedding she planned was more quiet elegance than excessive luxury. She and Evan Spiegel – a co-creator of Snapchat – hosted their nuptials at home for a small guest list of about 40. Despite the understated atmosphere though, Kerr went all out with her wedding dress, commissioning a custom gown from Maria Grazia Chiuri of Dior, which was inspired by one worn by Grace Kelly when the actress wed Prince Rainier of Monaco.

Years later, those of us not in attendance still don’t know much about Jessica Alba’s 2008 wedding to fellow actor Cash Warren. The two were married in a Beverly Hills courthouse with little fanfare, and they must have given the paparazzi the slip because there isn’t any photographic evidence of the union taking place. Sources report that Alba wore a blue dress with her hair tied up in a ponytail, but even that could be speculation. Kudos to this couple for managing to stay out of the limelight on their big day, even if we'd really like to have seen it all go down!

If you were a famous lingerie model, wouldn't you want the world to see you in a spectacular wedding gown? These two mega-stars had not one but two weddings- both of which were pretty low key. Shortly after getting engaged, Gisele Bündchen and Tom Brady planned an intimate celebration with their families for February 26, 2009. It took place at the Santa Monica Catholic Church, and only twenty people were in attendance. Shortly after, the couple headed to Costa Rica for a second chance to say their I do's, in a similarly small ceremony of 25 guests.

Jennifer Aniston’s love life has been in the spotlight for years, so it came as a huge surprise that she was able to pull off a completely secret surprise wedding that actually had a significant guest list. Since it has been tough for Aniston and Theroux to escape media attention, they carefully planned their event but told everyone they were holding a birthday party for Justin instead. Once their guests had arrived however, it became clear that this was much more than just your average birthday bash. Even long after the wedding took place, we still have few details - or photos! - of the proceedings. Unfortunately, their marriage didn't stand the test of time, and the pair announced their separation in February 2018.

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On the third of December, 2003, these two A-listers surprised everyone when they announced their first pregnancy. Just two days later on December 5th, the two were married in a clandestine ceremony in Santa Barbara, California. Not even their families were in attendance so the event was seriously exclusive. And while they would have loved to, the media didn’t even find out about the union until days after it had taken place. The couple was married for ten years, and became parents to two children before announcing their conscious uncoupling in 2014.

This couple met and was married about six weeks later, shocking everyone who expected this notorious diva to have an extravagant wedding. Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon first met in 2008 while Carey was shooting the music video for “Bye Bye”. The two tied the knot in the Bahamas at Carey’s estate there and pulled the whole thing off as a surprise without alerting the press. If it seems out of character for Carey to have gone so low key with her wedding, don’t worry. She and Cannon have celebrated multiple vow renewals, including at Disneyland... but also rescinded them in 2016.

While these two are often compared to their friends Kim and Kanye, Beyoncé and Jay Z took a decidedly simpler approach to legalizing their union, forgoing over the top nuptials for a quiet ceremony at home. It took seven years for fans to even get a glimpse of the musical megastars’ big day, with the pair deciding to release a clip from their wedding on social media on their seventh anniversary. The event took place in 2008 at Jay Z’s apartment in New York and Bey wore a dress that her mom designed for her. How cute is that?

Like the union itself, this wedding has come and gone long ago and there's still so much we don't know. The two met in 1998 but both carried out serious relationships elsewhere before coming together and taking things into a new direction in 2004. They were together for only about half a year before making it official, getting hitched at Lopez’s Beverly Hills home and keeping the whole thing under wraps. They did come out wearing wedding rings, so the union didn’t stay a secret for long but we’re still dying to know what the bride wore for the occasion!