Star-studded “I do’s” brought much-needed dazzle to an otherwise lackluster year. From far-flung destination weddings to intimate at-home nuptials, many of the world’s most famous duos navigated COVID-19 regulations in ceremonies with a decidedly personal feel. While you may not have received an invite, with our roundup of the best celebrity weddings of 2021, it’s almost better than being there.

Ariana Grande and Dalton Gomez

At the Met Gala a few years ago, Ariana Grande and Vera Wang made a very important pact: Vera promised the pop star that she would design her wedding dress, whenever that day would come. Fast forward to May 2021, Grande wed real estate agent Dalton Gomez wearing custom Vera Wang Haute. Sleek and elegant, the empire-waist column and bubble veil was reminiscent of Audrey Hepburn in Funny Face. The micro-wedding was held at the couple’s Montecito home with fewer than 20 guests in attendance.

Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton

Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton tied the knot on Shelton’s ranch in Oklahoma. The bride wore a strapless tulle Vera Wang gown, vintage cowboy boots, and a veil embroidered with the names of her country-singer hubby and three children. After the couple posed for photos underneath the Great Plains sky at sunset, Stefani changed into an embellished mini dress for the reception. “You need a party dress when u get to marry @BlakeShelton,” she wrote on Instagram.

Lady Kitty Spencer and Michael Lewis

Lady Kitty Spencer turned a walk down the aisle into her own personal runway during her wedding weekend extravaganza in Rome. When she wed financier Michael Lewis, she changed into five different looks by Dolce & Gabbana Alta Moda, each one more striking than the last. A standout was a high-collar Victorian-inspired lace gown that immediately drew comparisons to the bride’s cousin-in-law, the Duchess of Cambridge, as well as Princess Grace of Monaco, as they both chose classic yet conservative looks for the wedding day.

Issa Rae and Louis Diame

Actor, writer, and producer Issa Rae married her longtime love and businessman, Louis Diame, in the South of France. The ceremony took place at the famed Grand Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat, the palatial seaside destination that has long been frequented by Hollywood and real-life royalty, from Queen Victoria to Elizabeth Taylor. The bride wore a custom Vera Wang princess gown, while the groom chose a custom red velvet Dolce & Gabbana tuxedo. Posing for photos, they were the picture of Côte d’Azur glamour.

Lorraine Pascale and Dennis O’Brien

Model Lorraine Pascale married Dennis O’Brien in early August of this year. The two were married at the registry office in Chelsea, London, and had an intimate celebration with 30 guests afterward. To say I do, the bride wore a Vivienne Westwood dress with a sweeping train and walked down the aisle with her daughter, Ella Balinska.

Lily Collins and Charlie McDowell

Actor Lily Collins wed director Charlie McDowell in Dunton Hot Springs, located just outside of Telluride. Nestled in an alpine valley, the venue boasts 14,000-foot mountain peaks, waterfalls, and Aspen trees that made perfect fodder for wedding photos. Collins wore a hooded lace gown by Ralph Lauren—one of few wedding dresses the brand has designed, along with Priyanka Chopra’s in 2018. It was a family affair, with the groom’s mother, Mary Steenburgen, and the bride’s father, Phil Collins, both in attendance.

India Hicks and David Flint Wood

After postponing her wedding twice due to the pandemic, designer India Hicks married her partner of 25 years and father of her five children, former advertising executive David Flint Wood, in her home village of Oxfordshire. The bride brought her signature style to the decor, starting with a beautiful sit-down dinner in a field that went down the night before the wedding, a decision Hicks made to build a sense of community among her guests. 

Jasmine Tookes and Juan David Borrero

Supermodel Jasmine Tookes wore Zuhair Murad for her Labor Day weekend wedding in Ecuador. In keeping with Ecuadorian wedding tradition, the couple indulged in hora loca, aka ‘crazy hour,’ involving a few themes and dancers that help get the party started. They chose three themes: Aladdin, angels, and festivals, so guests received Princess Jasmine and Genie props and angel wings to celebrate.

Mark Ronson and Grace Gummer

DJ, songwriter, and producer Mark Ronson is known for collaborations with high-powered female artists like Lady Gaga, Adele, Miley Cyrus, and Amy Winehouse. So when he married actress Grace Gummer, the daughter of Oscar-winner Meryl Streep, his new bride and mother-in-law were just the latest on a long list of impressive women in his life. (Lest you forget, Ronson is also the son of designer Ann Dexter-Jones and older brother of designer Charlotte Ronson and musician Samantha Ronson.) The Jewish wedding took place in New York last August and was kept to close family and friends. We can only assume Ronson’s “Uptown Funk” was played into the wee hours.

Lena Dunham and Luis Felber

Lena Dunham and musician Luis Felber planned their wedding in one short month—no small feat, particularly in the times of COVID-19. They were married underneath a chuppah constructed from flowers, and the ceremony was viewed in person and on Zoom, broadcast to the bride’s friends and family in New York and Los Angeles, and to the groom’s family in Peru. Dunham’s bridal party included famous faces like Taylor Swift and Tommy Dorfman. The bride wore three custom Christopher Kane dresses and each look had its own headpiece.

Alexandre Arnault and Géraldine Guyot

It was fashion’s royal wedding of the year. In October, Alexandre Arnault, son of LVMH chairman and chief executive officer Bernard Arnault, wed Géraldine Guyot, the founder of the accessories label D’Estree, in Venice. While the couple was previously married in a smaller ceremony in Paris in June, the far grander second wedding drew guests including Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Roger Federer, Pharrell Williams, and Kanye West, who also performed at the reception.

Princess Nina and Prince Philippos of Greece and Denmark

Royals, they’re just like us! Prince Philippos and Princess Nina had a micro-wedding in December 2020, like so many other couples impacted by the pandemic. When they followed it up with a religious ceremony in October at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens, it had all the pomp and circumstance that typically accompanies a royal wedding and brought out royals from across Europe: Princess Beatrice and her husband, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, and Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank representing Great Britain, and Queen Sofia of Spain were among the many in attendance.

Ivy Getty and Tobias Engel

When artist, model, and heiress Ivy Getty married photographer Tobias Engel in San Francisco, the weekend kicked off with a British Invasion Mod Party at The Palace of Arts, a picnic at The Log Cabin, and a pajama party the morning of the wedding. Once pronounced husband and wife, Myra sang her infectious hit from The Princess Diaries, “Miracles Happen.” Getty wore a custom John Galliano for Maison Margiela gown covered in mirror shards; meanwhile, her veil was 16-feet long and took 200 hours to embroider. “Normally, I don’t do bridesmaids dresses because bridal gowns alone take up so much of my time,” Galliano told Vogue.com. “But as I was so bewitched by Ivy and her stories of these women she had grown up with—her bridesmaids—made an exception.” The reception was held at the Getty home, where guests danced in Ann Getty’s decorated rooms, surrounded by Matisse and Cassatt paintings on the walls.

Malala Yousafzai and Asser Malik

Malala Yousafzai, the human rights activist and youngest Nobel Peace Prize winner in history, married Asser Malik in a nikkah ceremony at home in Birmingham, England. While the guestlist remained small, the couple received an outpour of congratulations online, ranging from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to climate and environmental activist Greta Thunberg to actress Reese Witherspoon.

Paris Hilton and Carter Reum

Paris Hilton had the Bel Air wedding of her dreams. When the entrepreneur and reality TV star wed venture capitalist Carter Reum, she called on celebrity wedding planner Mindy Weiss to bring her vision to life. The couple was married on November 11, 2021, a date selected for the auspicious “11:11” numerology. The bride wore custom Oscar de la Renta, and Demi Lovato sang a cover of Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” as guests like Kim Kardashian West, Nicole Richie, Ashlee Simpson, Paula Abdul, and Rachel Zoe looked on.

Lauren Perez and David Waltzer

For her seaside Miami Beach wedding, influencer and entrepreneur Lauren Perez walked down the aisle barefoot in custom Vera Wang. Supermodels Kendall Jenner and Bella Hadid were bridesmaids, while friends like Hailey Bieber were there to support. Perez changed into a bespoke Vivienne Westwood dress and Nike Air Force Ones just in time for a surprise performance from Fat Joe at the reception.

Adam Devine and Chloe Bridges

After COVID-19 thwarted Adam Devine and Chloe Bridges’s plans, what was originally meant to be a 200-person shindig at Orange County’s Resort at Pelican Hill became a romantic destination wedding in Cabo San Lucas. Despite changing their guest list, venue, and wedding date, the bride’s flowing Danielle Frankel dress was one element that never wavered. At the reception, an explosion of fireworks marked the start of a wild dance party. At one point, the couple’s friend, Tré Cool, (from the punk rock band Green Day) jumped on stage and played the drums, pulling Devine and his dad up with him!

Camille Charrière and Francois Larpin

Leave it to writer, influencer, and broadcaster Camille Charrière to stage one of 2021’s most talked-about weddings on social media. When she wed film producer Francois Larpin in a small civil ceremony in Paris in December, she was the picture of Parisian insouciance in a glitter-flecked Celine dress. But it was her barely-there after-party look that sent the Internet and fashion world into a frenzy. The upcycled lace slip by Harris Reed was a nod to the naked dress of the ’90s and let the bride’s La Perla thong peek through. It suited the “Roaring 2020s” dress code, as cocktails at Maxim’s were followed by a seated dinner for 180 people (and countless others who followed along on Instagram), plus Mary-Kate Olsen, who crashed the reception and was seen tearing up the dance floor late into the night.