Are you someone who is interested in flashy and exciting weddings? Are you planning a wedding and would like it to be extravagant and memorable? You might want to check into a “Madonna” wedding. With a style that has always been brazen, glittering, and often controversial, the famous singer and actress Madonna has been married twice, and her weddings have reflected her style and reputation.

Madonna’s first wedding was to actor Sean Penn in 1985. Though it was a relatively short marriage – they were divorced in 1989 – the wedding itself was quite an event. Madonna’s singing career was at a very high peak at the time, and her celebrity status was such that anything she did garnered a lot of attention from the media. Madonna and Sean’s wedding was very public, since at the time drawing attention to herself was one of the things that the singing star was best known for. At this wedding, the helicopters that hovered overhead trying to get in the best position to film the event made so much noise that they literally drowned out the wedding vows.

It was Madonna’s second wedding to British filmmaker Guy Ritchie in 2000 that really got the most attention. Older and wiser at the age of 42, Madonna planned her second wedding to be even more extravagant than the first, but at the same time much more traditional. True to the usual nature of celebrity weddings, the event was one that was befitting a royal wedding. The wedding was held in a Scottish castle and the groom wore a suit that included a kilt in reference to his Scottish heritage.

Madonna’s wedding dress, which was reported to cost somewhere in the area of $50,000, was designed by Stella McCartney, daughter of famous musician Paul McCartney. Stella McCartney was also Madonna’s maid of honor. On her head, Madonna wore a diamond tiara as well as an antique wedding veil, and she also wore diamond and pearl bracelets and a diamond necklace. No shortage of extravagance here! Madonna’s four year old daughter headed the wedding procession down the aisle, and she and Ritchie’s four month old son sat in the audience, wearing a tiny replica of his father’s wedding outfit. The wedding music was provided by Scottish bagpipes. Though the media did know about the wedding, Madonna and her fiancé were determined that the wedding not be the loud and obnoxious event that her first wedding turned out to be. Nobody from the media was allowed anywhere on the 7000 acre Scottish estate, and the acoustics inside the castle were such that the noise of helicopters could be drowned out effectively, ensuring that the wedding vows and ceremony would be peaceful and uninterrupted.

The wedding reception was also held at the castle – after all, what better place to hold a wedding reception? Traditional Scottish food as well as other types of cuisine was served to the guests, and there was music and dancing – both western style and Scottish style. The guest list at Madonna and Guy’s wedding included such notable celebrities as Gwenneth Paltrow, Donatella Versace, Brad Pitt, Sting, and Robin Williams, among many others.

This was a wedding that will definitely stay in the history for quite a long time; it got enough publicity at the media to classify it as one of the year’s spotlights. Madonna certainly wanted to make this special day, a really special one – she definitely achieved that.

Okay, there are very few people who can hope to emulate the type of wedding that Madonna had, but it certainly doesn’t hurt to dream!

There are some couples who keep their weddings fairly traditional, but add just a little touch that is funny. Many times they will do this with their wedding vows. Adding a little personal twist to the wedding vows that makes people laugh can be a great way to make your wedding memorable, but still keep it the important and loving occasion that it is. For example, if a man loves his dog and spoils it to death, while reciting her wedding vows his wife can put in something like “I promise to love, honor, cherish, and not yell at your dog when he jumps on the bed”. This can provide a hearty laugh for the guests, but it still has an affectionate tone that doesn’t detract from the message that the vows impart. As another example, if the bride isn’t a very good cook (and has a sense of humor about it), the groom can say something like “in sickness and in health, in burnt dinners and last-minute take-out meals”.

Many times a couple will go all out and plan for their wedding to be a funny occasion from beginning to end. One good example of this is the Las Vegas “Elvis” wedding, where the couple is married by an Elvis impersonator (one who is authorized to perform wedding ceremonies, of course), while Elvis music plays in the background. After the ceremony, one or more Elvis impersonators will sing some love songs (while dancing like Elvis, of course). Or, sometimes a couple will pack their guests into a large limousine or van and have a “drive-thru” wedding – which, of course, is also available in Las Vegas.

Often a wedding, or at least part of a wedding, will turn out to be funny without anyone planning it that way. The addition of children can often make this happen – since little tykes can be so unpredictable. That cute little flower girl may decide - as she is walking down the aisle during the ceremony - that she has to use the bathroom, and may decide to announce this to her parents without waiting for a more discreet time. The young ring bearer may get a little antsy as he is waiting for the bride and groom to recite their vows, and may decide to entertain himself by making funny faces at the guests. It isn’t always children, however, that can turn a wedding into a funny occasion. People trip while going down the aisle, nervous brides or grooms recite their vows wrong, and of course, receptions are always great places for unexpected funny events, especially when the champagne is flowing.

Whether a wedding is funny because it was planned that way, or funny because of something that happens, the key is for everyone to try to keep a sense of humor about it. The bottom line is that two people who love each other are joining together, and whether there is laughter or tears, it is the love that really counts.