Tying The Knot

After 28 years together, Gene Simmons and Shannon Tweed finally tied the knot yesterday at the Beverly Hills Hotel.

Among the nearly 400 guests were Hugh Hefner, Bill Maher and the members of KISS ... including Paul Stanley, who was in the wedding party.

We're told Tweed was wearing $2.5 million of diamonds for the first dance ... and that does NOT include engagement ring. Michael Raven handmade the jewelry -- which included 13 pieces for the bride and bridal party, consisting of earrings necklaces and a $420,000 bracelet.

A diamond isn't always forever ... sometimes it's only for 6 months -- especially for Hugh Hefner's ex-fiancee Crystal Harris ... who just put her engagement ring on a pretty famous auction block!

TMZ has learned ... the platinum ring, which boasts a 3.39 carat circular-cut diamond -- will be auctioned off by Christie's in NYC next month.

According to the listing, the ring is expected to sell somewhere in the range of $20 -$30k.

Sources close to Crystal tell us ... the former Playboy model "couldn't bear to look at the ring anymore because it brought back bad memories."

Think how the guy who paid for that rock feels ... right, Hef?

Kim Kardashian's wedding photos look just like your average wedding pics -- if the average wedding pics were filled with famous people and sold for millions of dollars.

We've got TONS of pics from inside the ceremony and the party -- with big name guests like Lindsay Lohan, Ryan Seacrest, Serena Williams, Lamar Odom and Vera Wang.

She JUST won $500k on "Big Brother" Wednesday ... but Rachel Reilly says she's already dropping some of her winnings on a wedding THIS WEEKEND!!!!

Reilly and her fiance Brendon Villegas were at TRU nightclub in Hollywood last night -- when Rachel told us she's having TWO weddings ... one in Vegas and one on something called "Real Station."

Eddie Griffin and his new wife had ZERO plans to get married on the fly in Vegas last week -- his wife tells TMZ, they just woke up and decided out of the blue ... it was time to tie the knot.

Griffin's bride Nia Rivers tells us, it came out of nowhere on Thursday -- all of a sudden, they couldn't go any longer without being married ... so the couple beelined to a Vegas wedding chapel that same day.

Eddie and Nia -- who just bought their 8-bedroom dream home outside Sin City -- got engaged in June ... inside the revolving restaurant on top of the Westin building in Atlanta.

They have an 18-month-old son -- and Nia tells us, as soon as they find the right sitter ... the newlyweds are heading straight to Fiji for their honeymoon.

Or Bora Bora. They can't decide.

"Undercover Brother" is officially a married man ... TMZ has learned Eddie Griffin tied the knot in Las Vegas on Thursday after dropping $199 at a walk-in wedding chapel!!!!

Griffin and his fiancee Nia Rivers rolled into the Vegas Weddings chapel on Thursday afternoon -- where they took the plunge in front of 4 guests.

We're told the couple was in a "playful mood" -- and appeared to be very much in love.

Sources say the Griffins splurged on the Cherish Package -- which includes limo transportation, a bouquet for the bride, a boutonniere for the groom and 9 photos.

Gene Simmons is finally revealing what Shannon Tweed told him when he asked for her hand in marriage ... and SHOCKER ... she didn't say no.

Now, the couple is planning the wedding -- and they've already sent out invitations -- complete with a sarcastic wedding announcement from their kids.

The announcement says, "After 28 years of loose strings, our parents have finally decided to tie the knot."

"Our mother will share our horrendous hyphenate of a last name and our father's life ... well, it doesn't change that much."

It continues on a heartfelt note -- saying, "But we will be united as a family in spirit and in title forever."

The wedding is set for October 1 at the super-fancy Beverly Hills Hotel. Check out the invitation for the dress code ... funny stuff.

It's amazing ... Petra Ecclestone blew $85 million on Candy Spelling's 57,000 mansion, and she could still afford a wedding that rivaled the one recently thrown for those 2 kids in England.

Petra tied the knot with businessman James Stunt in Italy yesterday, in the same village where Tom and Katie got hitched. But this wedding was a lot more expensive -- reportedly more than $5 mil -- and a lot grander.

For starters, Andrea Bocelli was there performing "Time to Say Goodbye," the first dance was courtesy of Eric Clapton, and the crowd then danced to The Black Eyed Peas. BTW, Peas don't come cheap -- $2.4 million for the live appearance.

Petra -- the daughter of Formula One billionaire Bernie Ecclestone -- was decked out in a $130,000 Vera Wang special.

Guests guzzled wine at $6,500 a bottle -- Chateau Petrus, of course.

And, of course, Paris, Nicky and Kathy Hilton were there.

Kim Kardashian's wedding bulldozed its way through Santa Barbara last weekend -- and one of its victims ... a wedding full of completely nice, innocent, non-Hollywood people.

As it turns out, the Biltmore Four Seasons Resort wasn't just hosting guests for the Kardashian-Humphries wedding -- it also put up the kind folks attending the nuptials for a gentleman named Matt Hornbuckle and his now-wife Christy Kirschenmann.

The Hornbuckle-Kirschenmann wedding rehearsal took place on Friday -- but when guests rolled up to the hotel bar afterwards for a round of cold ones, they were TURNED AWAY.

Inside sources tell TMZ, the bar had been shut down to make room for the media covering the Kardashian wedding nearby.

Kim Kardashian and her wedding posse of 460 were too loud for the neighbors ... law enforcement tells us the residents were so pissed off over the noise, they called the cops.

We're told several neighbors reached their limit at 11:30 PM and called the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department. Deputies paid a visit to the ritzy estate where Kim's bash was in full gear, and asked them to turn the music down, which they promptly did.

A Sheriff's official tells TMZ ... none of the neighbors wanted to sign an official complaint so no one was cited.

Well, we hate to break the news ... but it's official -- Kris Humphries is off the market.

Kris exchanged vows yesterday in Montecito, CA with his blushing bride, Kim Kardashian (maybe ya heard of her?)

The star-studded guest list included the likes of Ryan Seacrest and his girlfriend Julianne Hough, "Dancing With the Stars" pro Mark Ballas and his date Cheryl Burke, Brody Jenner and his girlfriend Avril Lavigne, dress designer Vera Wang, Demi Lovato, Ciara, NBA star Carmelo Anthony and La La Vasquez and the Lohans ... Dina, Ali and Lindsay.

Kim's older sisters Kourtney and Khloe served as maids of honor, while younger sisters Kylie and Kendall were bridesmaids. The ring bearer was Kim's nephew, Mason Disick, who carried wedding bands designed by Lorraine Schwartz, who also designed the 20.5-carat engagement ring.

Bruce Jenner walked Kim down the aisle.

Kris wore a tailor-made white tuxedo jacket with black pants and a white bow tie by Ermenegildo Zegna. He changed into a traditional black tux for the reception.

The dinner was catered by Wolfgang Puck and the bride and groom were introduced and then serenaded by Robin Thicke.

Kim Kardashian doesn't do anything for free (get your mind out of the gutter) so it only figures her wedding day would be a HUGE pay day for Kim K.

People magazine won the bidding war for exclusive wedding day photos, says The Hollywood Reporter, to the tune of $1.5 MILLION.

The trade says Kim and hubby-to-be Kris Humphries also raked in $300,000 for the engagement announcement back in May and $100,000 from OK! mag for bridal shower pics.

We thought weddings were supposed to cost money?

Wedding crashers BEWARE -- Kim Kardashian's party planning team is taking drastic measures to keep uninvited guests OUT ... with security treating the event "as if it was the White House."

Sources connected to the wedding tell TMZ ... party crashers are being treated as a serious threat ... and not only will security constantly patrol the grounds at the Montecito estate ... but we're told they'll also get support from the sky ... in the form of roaming choppers.

We're told the majority of the wedding festivities will take place either indoors or under tents to thwart the paparazzi -- because the Kardashians don't want the footage to leak out before their special airs on TV.

TMZ has obtained a copy of Kim Kardashian's wedding invitation, and it has all the makings of a fancy schmancy affair.

The wedding, which will be held on Saturday, August 20, is strictly black tie.

The ceremony will be held in Montecito, California -- near Oprah's mansion.

Of course, the bash is being thrown by Kris Jenner and her sidekick, Bruce.

Why would Jay Cutler and Kristin Cavallari break off their engagement right after her WEDDING DRESS photoshoot? We came up with 4 awesome theories ... kinda ... sorta.