Entertainment provided by Jennifer Lopez, Enrique Iglesias and an £18,000 ($25,000) designer wedding dress is far beyond the reach of most brides, but when the groom’s father is worth billions you can afford to splash out.
Billionaire’s son Said Gutseriev, 28, married 20-year-old student Khadija Uzhakhova in Moscow this weekend in a jaw-droppingly lavish affair, rumoured to have cost up to $1 billion.
Held at the luxury Moscow restaurant and banqueting venue Safisa, which was decked out in wall-to-wall fresh flowers, the wedding set a new bar for extravagance.
The young bride arrived in a beaded Elie Saab gown, whose wedding dresses range from £5,000-£18,000.
Her dress was imported from Paris and reportedly weighed 25lb (almost two stone) because of the huge train and heavy embellishment and the bride needed the assistance of several people to carry her train and help her walk upstairs
With a tight bodice, long sleeves and a full skirt cascading in folds to the floor, the gown was pure fairy tale – and came with a floor-length veil and bejewelled handbag to match.
Khadija’s look was completed with a diamond tiara and whopping diamond pendant around her neck.
Meanwhile, guests travelled to the grand nuptials in a fleet of luxury cars including Rolls Royces which were seen lined up outside the venue ahead of the ceremony.
The entertainment also did not come cheap, with Jennifer Lopez – who was reported to have been paid $1million for singing for Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, the president of Turkemenistan in 2013 – jetting in to give the moneyed crowd in an energetic performance in a series of skimpy outfits.
But providing an unforgettable show was the least of J Lo’s worries as the singer apparently told guests that pronouncing the newlyweds’ names was ‘the hardest thing I had to do today’.
The singer, who performed her hits If You Had My Love, Dance Again and Get Right went through several outfit changes including a black tailored suit and a silver spangled leotard.
And she clearly received a generous pay cheque for the performance as the 46-year-old singer treated herself to some fancy accessories at Moscow store Aizel, which shut down for two hours to allow the star to shop in private, over the weekend.
Enrique Iglesias took to the stage to perform Bailando, casually dressed in jeans, a T shirt and baseball cap.
Sting also performed and was joined by a group of young girls and women for his song Desert Rose.
French singer Patricia Kaas serenaded the guests and the Georgian national folk dance ensemble Sukhishvili also made an appearance, despite artists from the region unofficially boycotting performances in Russia since the 2008 war.
Beyonce and Elton John also sang at the wedding according to Russian media reports, however this has yet to be confirmed and no photos have emerged.
The couple’s 600 guests dined on European cuisine and sushi and the wedding cake was a lavish eight tier creation, decorated with elaborate white icing and layers of pink floral garlands and topped with a star and crescent as a show of the couple’s Muslim faith.
But the extravagance of the occasion is surely fitting for the son of Kazakh-born Mikhail Gutseriev, a Muslim born in the Caucasus, who is thought to be worth $6.2 billion (£4.3billion).
The self-made man who now calls Russia home ensured he gave his public school-educated son a day to remember.
Said, who was born in 1988, was educated at Harrow and then the University of Oxford where he studied archaeology and geology.
He faced tragedy when his son Chingis – who also went to Harrow – died in a mysterious car accident in Moscow while driving his Ferrari.
It was reported that Russian papers tried to investigate but both the police and ambulance service then denied all knowledge of it.
Chingis was buried in Baku, Azerbaijan, where his family have links.
Said also completed a masters degree at the University of Plymouth, focusing on management of oil and gas industries, before returning to Russia to join the family business.
He’s also spoken of his desire to one day return to the UK to study for an MBA at London Business School, but for now is director of Russneft’s Orsk Refinery.
Little is known about the bride other than that she’s a first year student at the Moscow State University of Medicine and Dentistry.
Fireworks were let off at the end of the evening to celebrate the happy couple’s union.
@DailyMail
