As soon as we heard about the Netflix documentary series about David Beckham's life, we knew a David and Victoria Beckham deep dive was desperately necessary. Aside from his football credentials, David Beckham went from being an ordinary east London boy to marrying one of the most famous pop stars in the world and becoming a household name on every continent.
The couple may have been married for 24 years, but for a lot of fans, their wedding feels like yesterday. And you can understand why – it reportedly had a 'Robin Hood' theme, the couple wore head to toe satin purple outfits, they sat on custom thrones and Victoria's hair was styled to look like a tarantula was perched on top of her head.
They may have reached the dizzying heights of global fame – culminating in a joint net worth of $450m – but back in the '90s, they were just two twenty somethings in love. Let's travel back in time to revisit a celebrity wedding for the ages.
When was David and Victoria Beckham's wedding?
Two spring chickens in the midst of global stardom, David and Victoria got married when they were 24 years old on 4 July 1999 after two years of dating. Their eldest son Brooklyn, who was five months old at the time, was in attendance.
In 2017, the couple renewed their vows during an intimate ceremony at home. According to David, only six people were there and it was a significantly more relaxed vibe than the original.
The couple celebrated their 24 year anniversary this summer and Victoria shared a video of the couple cutting the cake on their special day on Instagram. She wrote, '4.7.99 💕💕💕24 years ago. I love you so much David Beckham.'
Where was David and Victoria Beckham's wedding?
For no apparent reason, the couple got married in Ireland. After saying 'I do' in a local chapel in front of only 29 family and friends, they celebrated at a larger reception in Luttrellstown Castle on the outskirts of Dublin.
It wasn't as modest as it sounds, Luttrellstown Castle is a 15th-century castle spread across a 560-acre estate. Even Queen Victoria has stayed there!
Who were Victoria Beckham's bridesmaids? Her sister Louise, then 22, Louise’s then 13-month-old daughter Liberty, and David’s niece Georgina, then 16 months old.
David Beckham's best man was footballer Gary Neville, who spoke about the early days of David and Victoria's relationship during his speech. Apparently he said, 'He would come into training every day like a little schoolboy. You’d go a long way to find two people more in love.'
Who designed Victoria Beckham's wedding dress?
Victoria Beckham might be the head of a global fashion brand now, but that wasn't the case in 1999. So her chosen wedding dress designer was Vera Wang.
Victoria wore two wedding dresses – the first being the Vera Wang satin ballgown with a corseted top and full skirt, which she accessorised with a diamond and gold tiara by Slim Barrett and a crucifix necklace from David.
For the reception, Victoria changed into what she called her 'Jessica Rabbit' wedding dress - a purple satin fishtail gown featuring a thigh split gown and red lining and silver Manolo Blahniks, while David wore a matching purple Saturday Night Fever suit with purple suede Manolo shoes.
Reflecting on their stylistic choices on Desert Island Discs, David said: 'Victoria's [dress] was nice. I looked like one of the guys out of Dumb and Dumber when they went to that party. I even had a top hat. Unbelievable. What was I thinking?'
Who sang at the Beckhams' wedding?
A much Googled questioned, sadly we actually don't know exactly who sang at the Beckhams' wedding, but we do know the Spice Girls were in attendance. Apparently the orchestra played their hit single 'Goodbye' as well – quite a sad choice if you ask us!
We also know, according to the Irish Independent, that guests danced to 60s and 70s music, before being treated to a four-and-a-half-minute firework display at the end of the night.
How much did David and Victoria Beckham's wedding cost?
The Beckhams' lavish wedding ceremony is predicted to have cost £750k (which would now be the equivalent to more than £1.6m). Rumour has it David arrived to the ceremony in a silver convertible Bentley Azure while Victoria was driven in a silver Bentley Arnage. And Victoria's tiara was said to be worth between €22-30k.