As one of the most highly-anticipated celebrity weddings of the decade, Kim Kardashian and Kanye West's ceremony lived up to expectations. The power couple, who married on Saturday 24 May in Florence, Italy, chose the breathtaking Forte di Belvedere to exchange their vows — an imposing fortress overlooking the city that dates back to the 16th century. Among Kim and Kanye's 600 guests were members of the Kardashian clan, including Kim's mother Kris Jenner and the bride's sisters Kourtney, Khloé, Kendall and Kylie. Kim was walked down the aisle by her stepfather Bruce Jenner, as Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli sang Con te Partiro (Time To Say Goodbye).
© Photo: Getty ImagesKim Kardashian and Kanye West married in Forte di Belvedere
Notable absentees included Kim's brother Rob Kardashian, who was spotted flying home to Los Angeles alone, and music couple Beyoncé and Jay Z, who was previously reported to be Kanye's best man.
Guests fly into Florence, Italy for the weddingThe ceremony was largely kept out of view by a towering wall of white flowers to give Kim and Kanye the "privacy" they had wanted on their big day. The venue was also decorated with an abundance of floral arrangements from Fiori Della Signoria, one of Florence's oldest flower shops, which were said to have been worth £60,000 according to People.
After the sunset wedding, Kim and Kanye led their guests to the reception where the Yeezus rapper introduced his wife as "my baby, Kim Kardashian West".
Kim wowed in a custom-made Givenchy wedding dressPeople reported that the wedding party enjoyed their dinner seated at a 224-foot imperial marble table, which had been mounted onto a platform so that Kim and Kanye's nearest and dearest could enjoy the hilltop view of Florence as they dined. On the menu was chicken, steak, salmon, tortelloni and both rosé and gold Armand de Brignac Champagne, and the meal was topped off with a white, seven-foot wedding cake that featured fruit layers.
Kim and Kanye's first dance was to At Last performed by John Legend. The All of Me musician was accompanied to the wedding by his model wife Chrissy Teigen. Guests danced the night away to songs including These Arms of Mine and A Little Tenderness by Otis Redding, Otis by Kanye and Jay Z and Michael Jackson's Rock With You. The party, which was organised by celebrity event planner Sharon Sacks, got into full swing as the red lights along the perimeter of the fortress lit up the night sky.
Inside Kim's pre-wedding party at Versailles, France
Moments leading up to the wedding were caught on camera for the Kardashian family's hit reality TV show Keeping Up With The Kardashians, while the actual ceremony was not. Speaking after the nuptials to E! News, who film the show, proud mother-of-the-bride Kris said, "I'm beyond bursting with happiness for Kim, Kanye and baby North. Such a magical, romantic wedding! I feel blessed to have my new son and his family as part of ours."
