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The Sunday Telegraph

I guess I know a thing or two about weddings. As I told Ivana Trump when she asked if I would be one of her 25 bridesmaids at her last nuptials: “Darling, I’m afraid I can’t – you see I’m always the bride, never the bridesmaid.” I’ve been wed five times and although that seems a lot I discount two marriages.

After all, I started when I was 18, because in those days a young girl got married and did not sleep around. I had admired the photograph of 18-year-old Elizabeth Taylor a couple of years previously at her marriage to hotel heir Nick Hilton. How pure and virginal she looked in her satin gown, and obviously madly in love.

The shot is among a selection of wedding photographs of Hollywood stars from the Twenties onwards, in a forthcoming book entitled Weddings and Movie Stars.

But the marriage was not to last. A few months later my Aunt Pauline told me she had been on the beach in Cannes where the Hiltons were honeymooning and had seen a miserable Elizabeth sitting alone while her new groom preferred spending his days gambling at the casino. Needless to say the union lasted less than a year, but she went on to have seven more!

A fabulous Sixties wedding given at the louche venue that was the Playboy Club in London was that of Roman Polanski and Sharon Tate. All the women wore micro-mini dresses, patterned tights and enormous hair, while the men featured a variety of moustaches, long sideburns and flowered shirts.

But none of the women could hold a candle to the gorgeous bride. In a short, white minidress, with masses of flowers in her luxuriant blonde locks, she was the absolute picture of joy and happiness. It was a joyous wedding and we had great fun.

Tragically, too short a time later, I also attended her funeral, after a beautiful and pregnant Sharon was viciously murdered in their Hollywood home.

One of the funniest weddings I ever attended was that of Liza Minnelli to David Gest. Held at New York’s massive Collegiate Church, it was attended by a galaxy of disparate stars, from Jane Russell and Mickey Rooney to David Hasselhoff, Donny Osmond and, of course, Elizabeth Taylor and Michael Jackson.

The bride had 20 maids of honour and the groom had 20 assorted groomsmen of all ages and types. They were allowed to wear whatever they liked so the amount of diversity of costume was highly amusing. Strapless ball gowns and miniskirts were popular – among the women, of course.

We sat in the pews for a long time waiting for the ceremony to begin, wondering what the delay was and we subsequently heard what had happened.

Matron of honour Elizabeth Taylor had travelled down in her bedroom slippers, but had forgotten her shoes to change into! She, best man Michael Jackson and others in the wedding party sat on stage. (It’s the only church in New York that has more of a stage than an altar, and the sacristy where the wedding party waited was called “the green room”.) When Liza walked in and met David at the altar they were obviously enchanted with each other.

David kept attempting to kiss the bride well in advance of his cue, prompting the pastor several times to break them apart like dogs in heat. When it came time for the official “you may kiss the bride”, David launched himself on Liza to gasps of astonishment from the attendants and sucked her face like he was trying to vacuum her golden tonsils out. In spite of such a forceful and passionate kiss, the marriage lasted barely a year, with the final divorce coming shortly after.

Long lasting happy marriages in Hollywood are as rare as hen’s teeth, but one of the happiest and most long-lasting was Paul Newman’s to Joanne Woodward. I knew them well for more than 50 years and they were the perfect Hollywood couple until his death. But I guess they weren’t exactly Hollywood, as they lived in Connecticut – maybe that’s the secret.

So as the magical day approaches for Prince William and Kate Middleton, I only hope that their marriage will be as long and fulfilling as his grandmother’s is. Please don’t take after great Aunt Margaret, or Auntie Anne, or Uncle Andrew and definitely not your father, Charles. William and Kate look like soul mates – may they last a lifetime together.

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24 Apr, 2011 Joan Collins