16 Facts About Kim and Kanye's Wedding That Will Leave You Dumbfounded

By Quinn Keaney

Updated on 5/24/2019 at 1:51 PM

From the moment they first started dating in 2012, power couple Kim Kardashian and Kanye West have had a relationship unlike any other. Sometimes it seems like everything they do is over the top, from the gifts Kanye's given Kim, to the way they talk about each other. Of all the things the pair has shocked us with, though, few outrank their lavish May 2014 wedding. From the flower wall to the cake to the guest list, read on to see why we're still obsessing over every detail five years later.

  1. The Surprise Proposal: To get an idea of how extravagant the couple's wedding was going to be, fans only needed to look at how Kanye proposed to his future wife. About a year before they got hitched, the "Famous" rapper rented out San Francisco's AT&T Park to propose to Kim with a ring coincidentally the size of a baseball stadium (a 15-carat diamond ring from jeweler Lorraine Schwartz). The big surprise was done under the guise of a 33rd birthday celebration for Kim, so Kanye invited 100 of their closest friends and family to attend. Once she heard the 90-piece orchestra playing Lana Del Rey's "Young and Beautiful," noticed the pyrotechnics, and saw the words "PLEEEASE MARRY MEEE!!!!" on the Jumbotron, it didn't take long for her to realize what was up.
  1. The Unique Venue: After doing a typical Hollywood wedding in 2011 when she wed Kris Humphries, Kim was intent on making her and Kanye's nuptials more meaningful, which is why they decided to have their official ceremony at 16th-century-era fortress in Florence, Italy (because it's the city where they conceived their daughter, North).
  2. The Amount of SkyMiles They Racked Up: Ultimately their whirlwind wedding weekend spanned a total of 552 miles and two countries, since the couple kicked off the party in Paris before flying all of their guests to Italy. Although they originally wanted their wedding to be held in the Palace of Versailles, their permission was denied. Fortunately they were able to host a party there the night before the ceremony (which they arrived to in a horse-drawn carriage, naturally).
  3. The Intimate Ceremony: They exchanged vows with a beautiful flower wall serving as a dramatic backdrop, and had their close friend Rich Wilkerson Jr. serve as pastor. A wedding guest told People that "it went off without a hitch," and the pastor "acted like he does celebrity weddings every day."
  4. The Gorgeous Walk Down the Aisle: As the bride walked down the aisle on the arm of Caitlyn Jenner, Andrea Bocelli serenaded everyone with a number of beautiful songs, including "Con te Partiré."
  5. The Lack of Cameras: In a surprising move, there were a grand total of zero E! cameras recording the actual wedding ceremony. Kim noted the wedding itself would not be featured on Keeping Up With the Kardashians, but that they'd show "everything leading up to and after," and later share photos from the ceremony. "As much as we would love to share these memories, privacy is our main priority," she wrote.
  6. The No-Phone Zone: The Queen of Selfies without a cell phone? Say WHAT?! Kim and Kanye not only banned guests from using cell phones during the ceremony, but also made them sign a non-disclosure agreement to keep the wedding's details under wraps.
  1. The A-List Guests: Despite Beyoncé and Jay Z's infamous decision not to attend of Kim and Kanye's wedding (though Bey did share an Instagram dedicated to the couple later on), most of their famous friends turned out for the celebration. Chrissy Teigen, John Legend, Jaden Smith (dressed in a white Batman suit), Joe Francis, 12 Years a Slave director Steve McQueen, David Blaine, Serena Williams, LaLa and Carmelo Anthony, André Leon Talley, Rachel Roy, and many others danced the night away with the couple.
  2. The Bridesmaids and Groomsmen: For her third wedding, only Kim's sisters served as bridesmaids. Like her wedding to Kris, they all wore white dresses. As for Kanye, his initial choice of Jay Z as his Best Man fell through when Beyoncé nixed their attendance, so his longtime manager Don C stepped in instead.
  3. The Multiple Dresses: Kim made four total dress changes to celebrate getting married to Kanye. While in Paris, she wore three different dresses for the pre-wedding lunch, their rehearsal dinner, and her bachelorette party. Once in Italy, she donned the long-sleeved, lacy Givenchy gown for the main event, which was designed by close friend Riccardo Tisci (aka the man behind her infamous 2013 Met Gala look).
  4. The Understated (Well, Kind of) Jewelry: On top of the Lorraine Schwartz 15-carat engagement ring Kanye gifted her with, Kim wore a simple pair of earrings that held a very special meaning. At Kanye's 2013 New Year's concert, when he announced they were expecting their first child, she was wearing Martin Katz's Tobey diamond studs (also a gift from 'Ye). She rocked the exact same pair on their special day, which feature two large diamonds surrounded by 100 smaller diamonds, all set in 18k white gold.
    1. The Minor Reception Meltdown: You might say Kanye approached designing their reception with planner Sharon Sacks with an eye for detail. You might also say that the event drove him maybe, sort of, kind of insane. An hour before the wedding started, he decided that the wooden bar that had been installed "looked like a bar from Texas," and sawed it in half. He had two pieces of wood nailed to the front of it and was finally satisfied, declaring, "Now it's art."
    2. The Instagram-Worthy Dinner Table: In lieu of place cards for guests, Kanye hired a team of Italian stone masons to engrave each guest's name into a marble table. Once the party actually started, he gave a 20-minute-long speech praising Kim and everyone in attendance, all of whom sat at the 224-foot marble table that was hoisted in by a crane and put on a special platform so they could properly see the breathtaking Florence skyline.
    3. The Cake Fit For a King and Queen: While dining at the 16th-century-era fortress, wedding guests consumed a Shaq-sized dessert. The seven-foot-tall confection was made up of seven tiers of white cake with white icing and fruit layers crafted by Galateo Ricevimenti, who also catered the rest of their reception. Although photos from their reception are scarce, the late Vogue Italia Editor-in-Chief Franca Sozzani shared a photo from the big day on Instagram, and you can see the staggering cake towering in the background.
    1. The Insanely Talented Wedding Singers: Since Lana Del Rey sang at their pre-wedding festivities in Paris (free of charge, supposedly), the couple had close pal and Grammy winner John Legend perform a live rendition of "All of You" for their first dance. Afterwards, "These Arms of Mine" and "Try a Little Tenderness" by Otis Redding were played, followed by Kanye and Jay Z's "Otis" and Michael Jackson's "Rock With You."
    2. The Even More Insane Wedding Gift: Although an official wedding registry for the two was never disclosed, Kanye's wedding present to Kim was a five-figure painting he commissioned of her wearing only a g-string and a pair of Louboutins, with the phrase "My Queen Kim" down the left side of the canvas, and "Perfect Bitch" on the right. It was done by the artist Bambi, whose manager revealed Kanye asked for "something regal but typically Kim."