Asia's Most High-Profile Weddings

All eyes turn to London this week, as the world awaits what’s being hailed as “the royal wedding of the century.”

Prince William and Kate Middleton are tying the knot on April 29. The Royal wedding will be celebrated as a public holiday that will reportedly cost the British economy over $8 billion.

In anticipation of the pending nuptials, we’ve put together a list of Asia's most high-profile weddings.

We chose the celebrations with big budgets and big celebrity names that drew headlines across the world.

From exotic locations to lavish extravagance and some very famous guests, click ahead to view the weddings of Asia’s rich and famous.

By Rajeshni Naidu-Ghelani
Created April 26, 2011

Actress Liz Hurley’s glamorous eight-day wedding to Indian textile heir Arun Nayar captured the imagination of millions in 2007.

The couple wed in a Christian ceremony at an English castle, followed by Hindu rituals at a Rajasthan palace in India.

Elton John walked Hurley down the aisle and other guests included celebrities such as Elle Macpherson, and Donatella Versace. The wedding reportedly cost $2.5 million.

The couple divorced this year after four years of marriage.

She’s known as the world’s most beautiful woman, and he’s considered Bollywood royalty. Billions in India and around the world were drawn to the April 2007 wedding of Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan.

Despite offers from Indian and International media for wedding exclusives, the couple opted for a strictly private affair with tight security at the Bachchan home in Mumbai.

Their guests were asked to leave their mobile phones at the entrance, and refrain from speaking to the press, as hoards of fans and media gathered outside to try and get a glimpse of the festivities.

Rai has acted in over 40 movies, and shot to stardom in 1994 after winning the Miss World title. Abhishek is the son of Bollywood acting legend Amitabh Bachchan, and has been acting for over a decade.

The pair are two of Bollywood’s highest paid actors, and ambassadors for several luxury brands.

Taking the plunge last month, Taiwanese actress Barbie Hsu’s married Chinese millionaire Wang Xiao Fei at the tropical Chinese island of Hainan.

Hsu drew negative publicity for not inviting media to the “low profile” reception, which reportedly cost $4.5 million.

The couple flew in 300 guests to the lavish event, but later said they would donate all monetary gifts to Japan’s earthquake victims.

Wang is the heir to a chain of Chinese restaurants in mainland China.

Steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal’s daughter Vanisha’s wedding to Amit Bhatia is considered the third most expensive wedding in modern times at $60 million.

The wedding took place at the Palace of Versailles in 2004 and Mittal paid for 1,000 guests to stay one week at five-star hotels in Paris. The wedding invitations were 20 pages long and encased in silver.

Mittal is the sixth richest man in the world, and Europe’s richest resident, according to Forbes magazine.

Malaysia’s richest artist Siti Nurhaliza marriage to businessman Datuk Khalid was the first in the country’s history to be televised live.

The couple’s first reception was attended by royal families and country leaders. A second reception, one month later in Nurhaliza’s hometown of Kuala Lipis, Pahang, was reportedly attended by 10,000 people.

The pop star came under fire for marrying 47-year-old Khalid in 2006, who was 20 years her senior, and the father of four sons. The media speculated that Nurhaliza may have been behind Khalid’s divorce from his former wife. Those claims were denied by the singer.

Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty grabbed the world’s attention in 2007 after winning the controversial U.K. reality show — Celebrity Big Brother.

Adorned in diamonds, rubies and emeralds, Shetty’s wedding jewelry was estimated to cost over $675,000. Her Swarovski crystal–embellished wedding sari reportedly cost more than $110,000. 

The actress met jewelry business millionaire Raj Kundra after appearing on the reality show, and the pair married in 2009 at a resort near Mumbai, followed by a lavish reception in the city.

Hong Kong movie stars Tony Leung and Carina Lau got married in 2008 in Bhutan after being together for 19 years.

The wedding — attended by several celebrities from the Hong Kong film industry — reportedly cost over $1 million. Lau’s 12-carat Cartier diamond ring was worth an estimated $250,000.

In 1990, Lau made headlines when she was abducted and forcibly held after refusing to act in a movie financed by a businessman. Twelve years later, nude photos from the incident surfaced in the media. Lau spoke publicly about the ordeal after marriage.

The marriage between Indian tennis star Sania Mirza and Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik drew international headlines last year.

Touted as “bringing together two hostile nations,” the union of these sports stars had some dramatic twists leading up to the nuptials.

After the couple announced their engagement, another Indian woman claimed Malik had married her over the telephone in 2002. Ayeesha Siddiqui lodged a fraud and deception case against the cricketer.

Malik later divorced Siddiqui, and married Mirza in India, followed by a reception in Pakistan. The two now live in neutral territory in Dubai.

The Sultan of Brunei’s daughter’s wedding in 2007 was a two-week celebration in the oil-rich country.

Over 2,000 guests witnessed the marriage of Princess Majeedah Nuurual Bulgiah and Khairal Khalil at the royal palace.

Cannon shots were fired and the couple drove in a gold-colored Rolls Royce through streets lined with thousands of well-wishers.

The bride's father, the Sultan of Brunei, is one of the world’s richest men and one of the longest reigning monarchs.

South Korean superstars Jang Dong-gun and Ko So-young’s lavish wedding captured the hearts of the nation in May last year.

Ko, who was four months pregnant at the time, walked down the aisle in a white Oscar de la Renta gown in front of 500 guests.

The pair — dubbed South Korea’s Brangelina — met in 1998 while playing lovers in a movie, but started dating in 2008.

The wedding is estimated to have cost $1 million.