Throwing an elaborate wedding is expensive, unless there’s a way to parlay that into a money-making venture. Hotel heiress Paris Hilton and Poosh founder Kourtney Kardashian did just that via their reality TV shows.
The Peacock TV series Paris in Love (2021-2022) follows Ms. Hilton and her fiancé financier Carter Reum from a private island proposal to their Bel Air wedding reception — with an “Alice in Wonderland”-themed bridal shower in between.
Viewers learn that although money is hardly an obstacle for the $2 million affair, planning the socialite’s dream wedding isn’t without challenges. Mother-of-the-bride Kathy Hilton amusingly struggles with the “groomzilla” for control over the event while Paris drags her feet to the altar. Per her This Is Paris (2020) documentary, the bride-to-be realizes she must resolve her personal issues before she can successfully take the leap into matrimony.
As such, the show’s content ranges from lighthearted to serious, while also immortalizing Paris’s late chihuahuas Diamond Baby and Harajuku Bitch. Unfortunately, it takes too long to unfold. The stretched-out series could have conveyed its message in a more concise and entertaining way had it been done in 7 or 8 episodes rather than 13. But a family worth $14.2 billion may not realize that sometimes less is more.
By contrast, Hulu’s ’Til Death Do Us Part (2023) takes a mere 50-minutes to cover the three weddings of Ms. Kardashian and Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker. After building up to the Kravis union during the first two seasons of The Kardashians (2022), the stand-alone special was able to jump right into the action.
It opens with the couple’s post-Grammys elopement on April 4, 2022 in Las Vegas. There, an Elvis impersonator (who refers to Kourtney as Khloé) presides over the impromptu ceremony sans marriage license. Consequently, Kourtney and Travis invite her grandmother and his father (both of whom remain off camera) to witness their legal vows at a Santa Barbara courthouse on May 15, 2022.
But the bulk of the show is rightly devoted to the nuptials at Stefano Dolce and Domenico Gabbana’s villa in Portofino, where Kris Jenner walked her daughter down the aisle (or rather, steps) in a lavish, outdoor ceremony. The bride’s children Mason, Penelope and Reign Disick; the groom’s children Landon and Alabama Barker; Kourtney’s sisters Kim and Khloé Kardashian; her half-sisters Kendall and Kylie Jenner; nieces North West and Stormi Webster; and friends Machine Gun Kelly, Megan Fox, and Stephanie Shepard were in attendance.
Kim Kardashian could also be seen at the Hilton/Reum wedding, along with Paris’s sister and maid of honor Nicky Hilton Rothschild; the bride’s aunts Kim and Kyle Richards; and celeb guests Billy Idol, Demi Lovato, Emma Roberts, Nicole Richie, and Paula Abdul, among others.
With the help of event planner Mindy Weiss, the three-day celebration included a carnival-themed party on the Santa Monica Pier and a ceremony at the former estate of the bride’s late grandfather Barron Hilton.
On November 11, 2021, the 11:11 Media founder walked down the aisle in an Oscar De La Renta gown with her father Richard Hilton while Kim Petras sang the Elvis Presley classic “Can’t Help Falling in Love With You.” The same ballad was performed by Andrea Bocelli while Kravis enjoyed their first dance at their Castello Brown reception in Italy on May 22, 2022.
As wedding sponsors, Dolce & Gabbana dressed the bride (including a hand-embroidered veil inspired by Barker’s head tattoo), groom and the couple’s family members during the three-day festivities. The Kar-Jenners have an established appreciation for the designers, dating back to E!’s Keeping Up with the Kardashians (2007-2021) hit, on which their pet pups Dolce and Gabbana appeared.
It’s difficult to determine how much of the wedding’s estimated $3.5 million cost was covered by D&G. But whatever the expense, the investment paid off with a reported $25.4 million worth of brand exposure in return.
Of course, the priceless part of any wedding is finding a worthy partner. At 40 and 43, respectively, Paris and Kourtney put in the work of self-betterment and learned from past relationships. Whether choosing a mate with one’s head as Paris seems to have done or with Kourtney’s heart (among other parts of her anatomy), it’s nice to see these brides being greeted by tearful grooms unable to hide their adoration.
Season 3 of The Kardashians, which was named Best Docu-Reality Show by the MTV Movie & TV Awards last month, premieres today. Paris in Love will return for a second season with coverage of the couple’s baby Phoenix Barron Hilton Reum.