Wedding proposals, celebrity style

When it comes to proposing marriage, celebrities aren’t immune to Cupid’s arrow.

In fact, given celebrity proposal budgets are often significantly higher than those of us ordinary folk, they’re able to pull off some truly grandiose and romantic gestures, as well as some equally wacky ones.

However, even the most creative proposal doesn’t guarantee the marriage will work out, as many of these celebs have discovered.

Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise

After just two months of dating, Tom Cruise chose Paris’ uber romantic Eiffel Tower as the backdrop for his proposal to Katie Holmes’ hand way back in 2005.

He arranged for the two to be at the top of the tower at sunrise when he popped the big question. She said, ‘Yes!’ and he headed straight to a press conference for his newly released film, War of the Worlds, where he announced that he and Katie were officially engaged – and that he was exhausted having not slept a wink.

The beaming couple married in an ancient Italian castle in November 2006 but, sadly, their union wasn’t to last. They divorced in 2012.

Heidi Klum and Seal

British Muso Seal ensured that his December 23, 2004 proposal to German supermodel girlfriend Heidi Klum would be truly extraordinary.

He flew his bride-to-be to a glacier in Whistler, Canada, where he had already arranged for a full snow hut to be constructed.

Inside was a full-sized bed, complete with sheets, rose petals and candles peppered throughout the makeshift structure.

Heidi later described the moment as, “very, very romantic” and the couple wed on a Mexican beach in May 2005.

They renewed their wedding vows every year but, sadly, after seven years of marriage (and three children), Heidi and Seal announced their divorce in December 2012.

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West

Rapper Kanye West’s October 2013 proposal to reality TV starlet Kim Kardashian involved no subtlety or frugality.

Kanye hired out San Francisco’s massive AT&T Park, as well as a full-sized live orchestra to ask Kim to marry him and he even forked out for an eight-million dollar engagement ring.

The couple married in a lavish wedding ceremony in Italy in June 2014.

Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon

This celebrity couple became engaged back in April 2008 after comedian and rapper Nick Cannon popped the question on the roof of Mariah Carey’s luxurious three-story New York City apartment.

It was in April 2008 that Mariah Carey scored her 18th No.1 hit and become the best-selling single artist of all time. In honour of her new record, New York City lit the iconic Empire State Building purple. Nick, pretending he wanted Mariah to view the lighting-up at a private party on her rooftop, organised for the area to be covered in balloons and other treats.

He then hid a 17-carat diamond ring inside a lolly ring (called a Ring Pop)  and handed it to her.

In an interview with Oprah Winfrey, Cannon said, “I opened up a Ring Pop first … and then I give her one, and she was like, ‘It feels like mine is broken,'” he says. “I was just like: ‘Let’s just open it. It’s a festive moment.’ And she opened it and her ring was in there.”

He later added, “People [always] asked me who my celebrity crush was — Mariah Carey. They didn’t even think I could meet her,” he says. “But then one day backstage at the Teen Choice Awards … she was like, ‘I heard all that nice stuff you’ve been saying about me.’ I said, ‘Give me a chance.'”

Good thing she did because the couple married in the Bahamas in April 2008 and now have two gorgeous twins together, Monroe and Moroccan.

Last year in May, to celebrate their fifth wedding anniversary, the happy couple renewed their vows at Disneyland.

Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown

The late Whitney Houston’s relationship with R&B singer Bobby Brown was a troubled one that spanned several decades.

After three years of courtship, the couple married in July 1992 and remained so for 15 years. Sadly, the marriage was one characterised by drug and alcohol abuse, and Brown’s highly publicised physical violence against Whitney.

So, it’s not surprising to hear Brown had to twice ask Whitney to marry him. She turned him down the first time.

To be sure, the second time, he proposed with not one, but two rings. He presented her with the first, smaller ring after dinner one evening and, crying, she exclaimed, “Yes!”.

It was then he whipped out the real, far bigger ring, which made Whitney cry even harder!

Katherine Heigl and Josh Kelley

Singer-songwriter Josh Kelly and model-actress Katherine Heigl met, ironically, when Katherine played Josh’s love interest in the video clip for his 2005 song Only You.

One year later, Josh proposed to Katherine at the very house in Venice, California where the video clip was shot.

Originally, he couldn’t find the house, so he walked for miles to find it again. When he did, he organised for dinner with chocolate cake for dessert. He waited for her to take the first bite of chocolate cake before asking for her hand in marriage.  She said, ‘Yes’ and they wed on December 23, 2007. They’re still happily married  today.

Tori Spelling and Dean McDermott

The romantic proposal from Canadian actor Dean McDermott to Tori Spelling, daughter of American TV mogul Aaron Spelling, involved about 2.5kms of fairy lights illuminating a path along which the couple were taking a romantic horse-drawn carriage ride in December 2005.

The lights finally ended at a table surrounded by Christmas trees, each decorated in a unique style. Dean got down on one knee and proposed.

He asked and she said ‘yes’ even though both were legally married, but separated, at the time.  They’ve been married since May 7, 2006 and have four children together.

Christina Aguilera and Jordan Bratman

“Will you do me the honour of being my wife?”

Those were the words used by music executive Jordan Bratman when he proposed to Grammy Award winning singer Christina Aguilera on February 11, 2005.

He filled a Californian hotel room with gift boxes and rose petals and each box contained a present and a personal poem describing how he felt about his gal.

The final box contained an engagement ring and, after Christina opened it, Jordan got down on one knee and asked her for the honour of becoming his wife.

After a joint hen’s night/buck’s party, the couple married in a sunset ceremony in California’s Napa Valley on October 28, 2005.

Sadly, they divorced on October 14, 2010.

Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas

American actor Michael Douglass and Welsh actress Catherine Zeta-Jones share a birthday (September 25), though they were born 25 years apart.

They were introduced by fellow actor Danny DeVito and Michael popped the question at his Aspen home on New Year’s eve 1999, the night before the new millennium kicked in with, what Catherine described as, “a big ol’ diamond ring’.

It was, in fact, a 10-carat diamond marquise ring.

Michael announced it on his official website the next day saying, “I am very happy to announce that I am engaged to Catherine Zeta-Jones. I proposed to Catherine on New Year’s Eve at my house in Aspen.”