Every culture has been obsessed with partnerships and relationships over the years, as well as defining boundaries and exploring them. We are all constantly obsessed with our relationships with others. This is how we focus on our world and how we define ourselves in it. Marriage as an official union between two people helps determine what we consider a social unit. Previously, men “took” a woman, or even several women, as a wife together with a dowry. The girl’s life was determined by relations with other people, especially who her father was and who her husband would be. Men were also determined by birthright, but still, they had more opportunities to choose what they would do and come up with adventurous date ideas. And even though women have become much more independent and able to define themselves apart from relationships, this trend is still popular in many countries. Besides, for both men and women, one of the most important decisions in life is who they intend to marry. Some men attach such great importance to it that they try to express their happiness in the form of a wedding gift to their beloved brides. Here are the top 5 most expensive wedding gifts in history.
$22 Million Stadium
Some princes happen to be not only handsome and rich but also very generous. The sheiks are well-known for their great love of luxury, and they are considered to be unprecedented spenders. The rulers of the oil deserts build flowering cities for citizens and never forget about their well-being and comfort. Thus, when Crown Prince Abu Dhabi got married 39 years ago, the king of Abu Dhabi presented his son a private stadium for $22 million, where the wedding took place.
$11 Million Pearl Necklace “La Peregrina”
The fiery union of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton was known for their difficult relationships, which resembled a cocktail of love and hatred. She was a temperamental Hollywood film start, and he was an attractive Welsh actor. They got married, then got divorced and got back together again. Fans cried, and tabloids called the couple “two pieces of dynamite.” Putting aside all quarrels, in the 1960s, Burton gave his wife a wedding gift in the form of an incredible emerald necklace worth about $41,000 (now it would be about $203,000). Later, Cartier changed the design of the gift upon request of Taylor, adding diamonds and more pearls. After the death of the star, the necklace was auctioned off for $11 million.
$5 Million House in the English Countryside
Only the lazy one did not discuss the romantic relationship of Hollywood womanizer George Clooney and lawyer Amal Alamuddin. When they got married, people started talking about their honeymoon on some unique island. Then a new version appeared according to which George had purchased a luxurious mansion in a quiet English outback, in Berkshire as a gift for his beloved wife, and their honeymoon took place there. According to some versions, Clooney opted for this mansion just because it is close to the railway station, so it is comfortable for his wife to reach London.
$3 Million Watch
Until 2016, “Brangelina” was considered the best star couple in Hollywood. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie everywhere appeared as Siamese twins, and they got several adopted children almost at once. Their love story was rich in generous gifts. Thus, Jolie bought her man Ernest Hemingway’s typewriter for $11,000, but Brad refused her gift and returned it. However, Jolie is a stubborn lady, and instead of a typewriter, she presented him with a platinum watch for $3 million.
$1 Million Boat
Princess Diana, undoubtedly, was the most beloved and cherished representative of the British royal family, who achieved celebrity-like status. Fans of “intrigue and investigation” suggest that Lady Di got extremely expensive and posh gifts from fans from all over the globe. The Emir of Bahrain was presumed to present the Princess with a $1 million diamond-encrusted boat.
Article by: Aleksander Pichkur