The tell-tale hierarchy of celebrity wedding publicity
The way stars announce their marriage plans says a lot about their ranking
When celebrities get married, they have an important choice to make: How do they get the word out about their nuptials? The people want to know!
Similar to baby announcements, how stars display a marriage to the world says a lot about the celebrities themselves and where they are in the famous-people universe. Looking back at some of the couples who married in 2018, here’s the range of popular wedding PR strategies, from most “private” to most exposed. Hold the wedding during a holiday week with no warning. Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth pulled off a secret ceremony during Christmas week with a few sly Instagram photos afterward, but Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski had the strategy locked down on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. The MSNBC couple’s relation- ship has been the source of much gossip, especially when it was revealed that the two Morning Joe hosts were engaged. Perhaps to avoid more of the rumour mill, they quietly tied the knot in a small ceremony.
The couple granted one interview to Vanity Fair and confirmed they didn’t even send formal invitations. “We wanted it to be really small and simple and not what you expected from Mika and Joe. Everything we do is exposed, and everything felt exposed every step of the way, so we want this to be private until it’s over,” Brzezinski said. Hold the wedding on a weekday with no warning. Karlie Kloss and Joshua Kushner pulled off that rare surprise Thursday ceremony with little fanfare — though they did share the details with People a few days later.
Enlist sponsors for your bachelor party or your registry.
The Jonas family has long been savvy enough to realize that when you’re famous, you can tie major life events togeth- er with paid partnerships. Similar to how his brother Kevin got that sweet Dreft laundry detergent money when his daughter was born, Nick Jonas gave a generous plug to Elit Vodka the weekend of his bachelor party (#lightupthenight #topshelfspirits #makeitelit). The leadup to his and Priyanka Chopra’s nuptials received almost as much coverage as the wedding itself, given how many photos they both posted. Afterward, the sponsorship continued: Chopra posted about the couple’s gift registry with an ad for Amazon.
Share photos on your lifestyle website. The moment we realized Gwyneth Paltrow, multimillionaire owner of absurdly expensive lifestyle brand Goop, might be a little bit basic? When she unleashed a slew of suspiciously normal, slightly repetitive wedding photos on her website, a couple of months after she married producer Brad Falchuk. Still, she’s powerful enough to have a website like Goop, and guests in attendance included Jerry Seinfeld, Cameron Diaz and Rob Lowe (al- though Steven Spielberg was rocking a hand-held video camera, just like your typical embarrassing dad/family friend).
Give exclusive rights to a magazine.
This is a very popular option among everyone from A-listers to reality TV stars. This year alone, couples who gave wedding photos to magazines include Kaley Cuoco and Karl Cook (People); Miguel and Nazanin Mandi (Vogue); and Lauren Pesce (Us Weekly). While some stars sell the photo rights and pocket the cash, others give the money to charity.
In a palace with millions watching on television and Oprah in attendance.
Who else but the world’s- most-talked-about-couple of 2018?
Prince Harry and former Suits star Meghan Markle tried their best to break the internet in May with the most thrilling royal wedding of the year (sorry, Princess Eugenie).
Not only was there the excitement about a biracial American actress becoming part of the Royal Family, but the entire spectacle was riveting, from Markle’s gown to the star-studded guest list. (Oprah! George Clooney!) If Markle was marrying an ordinary celebrity, she might have been compelled to give an interview or behindthe-scenes look at the nuptials, but when you’re a duchess the images speak for themselves.