Wild Secrets of Multimillion-Dollar Weddings
Our undercover reporter spent a week working with some of the top event planners in the world, and discovered all the unromantic work that goes into achieving nuptial bliss.
Colin Cowie has orchestrated it all, from sheep walking down the aisle to smuggling Fritos internationally.
Illustration: Kati Szilágyi
There’s something leonine about Colin Cowie, party planner to the stars. He’s cool and calm, his vibrato grabs the attention of everyone within earshot, and when the sun sets, he roars. Zambia-born and South Africa-raised, he hit it big when Oprah anointed him her event planner of choice in the early 2000s. Now, Cowie counts Qatari princes, Nicole Kidman, and Ryan Seacrest as clients.
That was all before Covid-19 put an 18-month halt on large-scale events. Flash forward to today, and we’re in a destination-wedding frenzy so unparalleled, there are big-budget celebrations seven days a week. According to Wedding Report, an industry group whose survey predicts 2.5 million nuptials in 2022, this will be the busiest year for event planners since 1984. And 45 of these ceremonies will be designed by Colin Cowie Lifestyle, up 50% from his pre-pandemic norm.