Kimye wedding party leaves Paris

Published May 24, 2014

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Paris - Celebrity royalty Kanye West and Kim Kardashian on Saturday took their marathon wedding celebrations to Florence after kicking them off with a sumptuous private party in Versailles.

The couple and their guests flew out of the City of Light aboard private jets shortly before midday, heading to the historic Italian city nestled in the Tuscan countryside.

The limelight-loving couple and their entourage spent Friday night partying in Versailles, the favourite palace of Louis XIV, France's “Sun King”, the superstar attention seeker of his day.

Sporting a white dress with a plunging neckline that defied the laws of motion, the 33-year-old reality TV star and her 36-year-old rapper beau welcomed dozens of invitees to celebrations that included horses adorned with bright colours, riders wearing huge feathers in their hats, musketeers in wigs and drum rolls.

Teenagers, drawn by rumours that superstars such as Justin Bieber, Beyonce and Jay Z would be among the guests, hung around outside the castle, desperate for a glimpse of their idols.

West and Kardashian settled on a private party in the prestigious chateau outside of Paris after they were told they would not be able to marry there in January.

But Versailles was a mere exclusive aperitif ahead of the huge fete planned for Sunday in Florence, where 1 600 guests will attend in the 16th-century Fort Belvedere.

After months of suspense, the festivities were gradually revealed throughout Friday according to a carefully orchestrated plan by the Kardashian clan, who got famous through reality TV and obviously eager to make this the marriage of the year.

The circus could earn them up to $21 million (over R216m) thanks to sponsors and through the sale of exclusive photos of the ceremony, according to press reports.

Some websites say the couple were already married in early May in a civil service in California.

Earlier on Friday, the couple, who have a daughter, lunched in the Chateau de Wideville, to the west of Paris, which is owned by iconic designer Valentino.

From early afternoon, the surrounding sleepy hamlet was abuzz as black sedans rolled into the magnificent property and journalists scrambled to catch sight of the celebrity pair.

A helicopter hovered over the chateau, whose origins go back to the 17th century, but few turned up near its imposing gates to catch a glimpse of the couple.

A source involved in the event said the couple had requested that the cars transporting their entourage be sprayed with Chanel perfume inside.

On Thursday night, Kim Kardashian celebrated her bachelorette do with her friends in Paris, sporting a white Balmain mini dress embellished with pearls.

The quilted dress was reportedly inspired by a Faberge egg that Hollywood legend Elizabeth Taylor received from iconic actor Richard Burton.

Kardashian has tweeted several photos of her in the city, including one with the Eiffel Tower lit up behind her and her friends with the message: “Night out in Paireeeeee.”

One showed her with her grandmother while yet another of her and her friends bore the message “I'm so lucky! I have the best friends in the whole wide world.”

But many were singularly unimpressed like a Dutch tourist, who only gave her first name: Christine.

“I think this whole thing is absolutely crazy,” she said, speaking outside the couple's luxury Paris hotel on Thursday night.

“This woman has become famous by doing nothing! It's vastly overblown!” she said. - AFP

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