LISA HALABY & KING HUSSEIN
June 15, 1978, at Zaharan Palace, Jordan
LENGTH OF COURTSHIP: One month
LENGTH OF CEREMONY: Four minutes
YEARS SEPARATING BRIDE & GROOM: 16
NO. OF GROOM'S PREVIOUS WIVES: Three
REALITY CHECK: She gets eight stepchildren
BRIDE'S MARRIED NAME: Queen Noor al-Hussein
MOMENT OF TRUTH: The American Halaby is the only woman at the ceremony
IN-LAW PERK: King paid Lisa's father a dowry
HONEYMOON RETREATS: His Red Sea resort at Aqaba, then on to Scotland
STATUS: Married, with four (more) children
QUEENLY QUOTE (1979): "I don't feel any regrets"
LADY DIANA SPENCER & PRINCE CHARLES
July 29, 1981, at St. Paul's Cathedral, London
NO. OF BRIDESMAIDS: Five
NO. OF CAKES: 16
SECURITY: 4,000 policemen, 2,228 soldiers
OUTDOOR DECOR: 2½ miles of bunting, 14,000 red geraniums, baskets of petunias, verbena and phlox
WEDDING SONG: "Let the Bright Seraphim," an aria from Handel's oratorio Samson, chosen by Charles
LARGEST ROYAL GUEST: The 350-lb. King of Tonga
BEST GIFT: Priceless tiara, from Queen Elizabeth II
GOOD LUCK CHARM: An 18-karat gold horseshoe tucked in Di's skirts
BAD LUCK OMEN: Days before the wedding, Di discovers that Charles plans to give confidante Camilla Parker Bowles a bracelet
MOMENT OF TRUTH: Di's sister warns, "Your face is on the tea towels, so you're too late to chicken out"
LEAST POPULAR SOUVENIR: A $1,100 commemorative cannon
STATUS: Officially separated
GRACE KELLY & PRINCE RAINIER III
April 19, 1956, at the Cathedral of St. Nicholas, Monaco
NO. OF BRIDESMAIDS: Seven
ENGAGEMENT RING: The emerald-cut diamond solitaire Kelly wore in High Society
ROYAL TRAINING: Kelly's role in The Swan, about a girl groomed to marry a prince
DOWRY: $2 million from Grace's father, builder Jack Kelly, to cover the wedding
VOW: Je veux
NO. OF JOURNALISTS PRESENT: 1,800
PRENUPTIAL AGREEMENT: Should the marriage collapse, Rainier gets the children
ROYAL SNUB: Not one European crowned head attends
ROYAL RIPOFF: Thieves make off with $60,000 worth of the guests' jewelry
HONEYMOON: Cruise to Spain and Corsica aboard his yacht
USELESS GIFT: Gold and bone hatchet, from the Speleological Club of Monaco
PRINCESS' JOB DESCRIPTION (1970s): "I work hard in social work, public relations and raising the Grimaldi heirs"
STATUS: Happily wed until the Princess' death in 1982
MASAKO OWADA & NARUHITO, CROWN PRINCE OF JAPAN
June 9, 1993, at the Imperial Palace, Tokyo
WEIGHT OF BRIDE'S COURT ROBE: 30 lbs.
SPECIAL SECURITY: 30,000 policemen
NO. OF BANQUETS: Six
COST OF MEALS: $620 per guest
IMPERIAL FAUX PAS: Masako speaks 28 seconds longer than her fiancé at an engagement news conference
MERCHANDISING: Pair of wedding dolls ($2,000); stuffed replicas of Masako's terrier, Chocolat ($28)
PRINCE'S RÉSUMÉ: Studied medieval river traffic on the Thames at Oxford, 1983-85
PRINCESS' RÉSUMÉ: B.A., Harvard, 1985: graduate studies, international relations, Oxford, 1988-90: six years with the Foreign Ministry, Tokyo; 50 hours of Imperial training, 1993
ROYAL GESTURE: Amnesty will be granted to some 30,000 criminals
STATUS: Newlywed
HOPE COOKE &THE CROWN PRINCE OF SIKKIM
March 20, 1963, at the royal chapel, Sikkim
GROOM'S NAME: Palden Thondup Namgyal
LENGTH OF COURTSHIP: Two dates
PRINCESS' QUALIFICATIONS: American debutante; Asian art history major at Sarah Lawrence College
COST OF CEREMONY: $50,000
MUSICAL OFFERINGS: 10-foot Himalayan trumpets; Sikkim Police Bagpipe Band; villagers bring own drums and horns. Switching to a Western mode, a band plays "Dixie"
ENDANGERED GIFTS: Tiger skins and yak tails
BRIDAL RITE: Astrologer draws symbolic animals on Cooke's fingertips with inkless pen
STATUS: Divorced in 1980, two years before the King's death
ASSESSMENT (1993): "Being Queen is not glamorous. I think people now see it as a job and a very hard one"
CURRENT JOB: Leads walking tours of New York City
RITA HAYWORTH & PRINCE ALY KHAN
May 27, 1949, on the French Riviera
CHAMPAGNE CONSUMED: 150 bottles
ODORS WHIFFED: 200 gallons of eau de cologne floating in the Chateau de I'Horizon pool
GIFT FROM HUSBAND: An Alfa Romeo, later exchanged for a custom Pigoni two-seater
GIFT FROM EX-HUSBAND: A spaniel puppy, "Poogles"—her pet name for Orson Welles, to whom she was wed from 1943 to 1948
ROYAL GESTURE: Aly gives 540,000 French francs to the local poor
BRIDAL BONUS: Rita is two months pregnant with daughter Yasmin
COMMON TOUCH: A few days later, brown, black and "bride's blue" copies of Rita's dress are selling at Macy's for $18.74
DURATION OF MARRIAGE: 3½ years
SARAH FERGUSON & PRINCE ANDREW
July 23, 1986, at Westminster Abbey
EMBROIDERY ON TRAIN: Bees, thistles, anchors, waves, hearts and the couple's entwined initials
NO. OF BRIDE'S EXES PRESENT: Two
NO. OF GROOM'S EXES PRESENT: Two
DUPLICATION OF GIFTS: 1,000 crystal glasses, 600 dinner plates, 308 vases, 18 breakfast serving sets, 16 Persian rugs and 12 armchairs
UNDUPLICATED GIFT: Georgian mahogany commode
STATUS: Officially separated
BRIDE'S ADVICE (1992): "Spend a long time before you make your decision, and really, really know your man"
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