Weddings have, for as long as I can recall,  aimed to unite families. Generations from each side gathering to celebrate their coming together and unity into a singular (hopefully) happy family. Considering the amount of money spent to plan and execute everything associated with such an event, how could everybody not possibly have the time of their lives? On average, couples in the United States spend just over $33,000 on their special day - depending on where you live, that amount can be much higher. Canadians spend roughly the same amount (albeit in their monopoly money of a currency).

Light years beyond the average wedding cost are those who spare absolutely no expense when it comes to the ceremony of marriage. Let's take for example Serena Williams... The younger Williams sister, as part of a lengthy list of lavish expenses, dropped $3.5 million on her jewelry for the big day. For the helluva it, the 2017 Wimbledon winners each received £2.2 million - converted to USD - is, give or take, roughly three million a Wimbledon win wasn't enough to cover the jewelry?!?!

I suppose when an individual has that amount of money, you actually run out of things to spend money on. She is blessed with bottomless pockets, having earned close to $90 million in her tennis career, and that doesn't include endorsements. She also owns a small portion of the Miami Dolphins. And with Serena's example in mind, here are 15 more examples of *athletes* racking up insane wedding tabs.

16 Kris Humphries

What would an extravagant wedding post be without (at the minimum) a sprinkle of Kardashian seasoning? Kris Humphries was the victim of a wedding-themed Kardashian tragedy. I suppose, in a way, he was lucky that it only lasted 72 days. Still, the entire wedding reportedly cost $10 million. Never mind days, that would be hefty a price tag, even if it resulted in 72 YEARS of marriage! Also, it turns out during the ceremony, Kim's sister, Khloé, was heard uttering to another guest - "I give it six months..." (That and other outrageous facts concerning the marriage can be found here - via BuzzFeed).

Crazier than all of that is the fact that, because of the family's status and influence, Kim was reportedly required to spend very little of her own money to pull it off.

From sponsored bachelor and bachelorette parties to discounts on jewelry and the venue, right down to the wedding invitations and cake (both of which were reportedly complimentary), everything about this wedding came cheaper than the intended price, or simply free of charge entirely. Ironic that when you can actually pay for something, suppliers are more than often willing to just give it to you for nothing. Even Kim' stepdad, Bruce Jenner, now Caitlyn, negotiated exclusive rights to the wedding photos.

15 Dwyane Wade

The Miami Heat legend married Gabrielle Union in an extravagant ceremony – so extravagant that there was a moat involved! The couple tied the knot at the Chateau Artisan estate (pictured above), with the whole event costing a reported $5 million. As it turns out, Wade had to step in and take over planning duties. According to Union, she was getting carried away with some of her ideas. “He realized that I was trying to turn it into a frat party with K-cups and beer pong, and he took over,” she explained to US Weekly months before the ceremony. Having played with LeBron for multiple years, you would have thought Wade would be used to taking a backseat... guess not.

The aerial image of the venue looks more like a rendering than an actual place. While the common bride and groom choose between churches and tricked out golf clubhouses, people like Dwyane Wade are opting for venues that appear to be from a world unlike ours – that estate looks straight out of Narnia. As for Wade's appetite to share the spotlight with his wife – “Everyone wants to look good on their wedding day, and I’m not going around the back. My fiancée may have the bigger moment, but I want everyone to turn and see me when I’m walking down the aisle. I want my entrance.” I think it's safe to say more people were focused on Gab's entrance.

14 Wayne Gretzky

Wayne Gretzky, the NHL's greatest player of all-time, spent more than one-million dollars to marry his wife, Janet Jones. Keep in mind this -- the wedding took place back in 1988, back when the Great One was still in his hockey-playing prime, while Janet was still enjoying a more productive acting career. Accounting for inflation, that equates to nearly $2,000,000 today, nearly doubling the 1988 amount. Money was no consequence, with many referring to the event as Canada's royal wedding. Seeing as it took place the year I was born, I, unfortunately, cannot speculate on whether it reached Harry and Meghan levels of caring - though I highly doubt it.

The two met at a basketball game and after only six months, got engaged. Perhaps knowing Janet had previously posed for many publications, Wayne figured he needed to act quickly. Wayne gifted his wife a Rolls-Royce convertible, at the time valued at $200,000 (unsure of the currency). The guest list reached 700 and following the ceremony all guests traveled, by limousine, to the reception. Nice touch. Having taken place in Edmonton, Gretzky's first NHL team, the couple would eventually settle in Los Angeles following the trade that jolted a country, and the hockey world like never before. Despite the trade, Gretzky remains a massive figure in Canadian hockey, specifically in Edmonton, having won four Stanley Cups in nine seasons as an Oiler. Also, he's dad to the hottest daughter in all of sport, Paulina GretzkyThumbs up indeed.

13 LeBron James

LeBron James reportedly spent $10 million on a three-day wedding bash. He and his wife (and high school sweetheart), Savannah Brinson tied the knot in a super-secret ceremony, back in 2013. The event was planned by Preston Bailey, a well-known celebrity wedding planner (never heard of him). Generally speaking, Bailey operates with budgets of ~$10 million, minimum. Safe bet that the tab for King James' feast with friends... The guest list included Pat Riley, Dwyane Wade and wife Gabrielle Union, Carmelo Anthony and wife La La (not a typo). Also present was Heat head coach, Erik Spoelstra. Like virtually every member on this list, money is no object to LeBron James.

He is a money-generating machine, his brand and persona are both global in reach.

James' name has been in the media spotlight since he was in high school. Money has followed LeBron James for quite some time now... The engagement ring for wife Savannah? $300,000 – the first date was presumably at an Outback Steakhouse (via Business Insider). Now, with three children, and a combined net worth approaching half a billion dollars, the James family is on their way to becoming one of the wealthier sports families of this generation. LeBron, himself, is already one of the wealthiest athletes to ever live.

12 Michael Jordan

LeBron's competition for G.O.A.T status is Michael Jordan and only Michael Jordan. Unpopular to many, I'm inclined to believe James has already surpassed Jordan, given everything he's accomplished thus far in his career, most notably having appeared in eight consecutive NBA finals. Steve Kerr, a teammate of Michael Jordan with the Chicago Bulls, was recently asked about LeBron's impact on the Cleveland Cavaliers. "They have a guy who's playing basketball at a level that I'm not sure anyone's ever seen before when you consider everything he's doing," Steve Kerr, via nbcsports.com.

While Jordan may very well relinquish his title as the NBA's GOAT, he, like James, deserves recognition for sparing no expense when it matters most. Jordan, for his second wedding, dropped a cool $10 million. He married Cuban model, Yvette Prieto. Prieto is 16 years younger than her husband. As for who planed it all? Well, one might expect this to be another Preston Bailey special., but alas MJ and his bride opted for Sharon Sacks. Sacks is yet another celebrity-endorsed wedding planner, specializing in making things work when money is no object. Imagine how easy planning a wedding gets when money is treated like air – it's there if you need it, don't worry. Ok, make that two candidates – Sacks and Bailey – for potential planners of my eventual bride's special day.

11 Tiger Woods

No athlete suffered a more depressing and frankly hard to watch fall from grace than Eldrick Woods did. Woods was golf's unequaled. He was viewed as the world's most dominant athlete, winning tournaments at a scorching rate that had him on pace to obliterate Jack Nicklaus' record for major tournament victories (18). However, the man we simply know as Tiger was living a lie. Thought to be a loving caring father on top of the world's best golfer, Woods, in reality, was a misguided and tortured soul addicted to sex. The concept of a sex addiction still baffles me – we should all be so lucky.

Prior to his first, and as far as I know, only marriage falling apart, Woods and ex-wife Elin Nordgren were married in spectacular fashion. Reports estimate the entire event set the couple back $1.5 million – actually seems a bit light for a man of Tiger's earning power. He did have 500 special roses flown in for the ceremony. And Hootie and the Blowfish performed (???). Guests got to enjoy an entire resort, rented out by the bride and groom for one week: Access to two golf courses, their respective clubhouses, along with all resort amenities and beachfront property. No photos were ever released of the wedding.

10 Caroline Wozniacki

The Danish tennis star has had quite the journey, on her way to finding love in the form of ex-NBA player, David Lee. Before Wozniacki discovered Lee, she was engaged to Rory McIlroy. The golfer would call off the engagement months later, after realizing he wasn't ready for the commitment of marriage – according to Wozniacki, he did it via a brief phone callHe did, following the break-up, win two majors that year. Credit, where it's due, is all I'm saying. Three years later, in 2017, Wozniacki announced she was smitten with Lee, who had already retired from the NBA. She actually went public with their relationship on Valentine's Day, which is obviously fitting.

While full financial details about the wedding are hard to come by, the engagement ring given to Caroline, from David, has been reported to have cost upwards of one million euros. Once again, the amount changes depending on who you ask, but some experts price the rock at more than seven figures. McIlroy's ring was supposedly worth €150,000 – peanuts. That ain't love! His last major victory having come in 2015, McIlroy is desperate to get at least one major victory under his belt in 2018. He nearly won the Masters earlier this year but was bested by Patrick Reed.

9 Wayne Rooney

The English football star and wife, Coleen, spent a cool £5,000,000 on their special day, back in 2008. Included in the expenses were five private jets – used to transport the 64 guests out to the four-day gala that included luxury yachts, masked balls, and daily champagne breakfasts. The bride's dress fittings alone cost £85,000, given she had to fly to and from New York City for each one. The dress? – another £200,000. Another wedding wish involved having the bride's favourite band, Westlife, perform. That was arranged for a cool £400,000.

Rooney's bachelor party involved him and 25 friends flying privately to the Spanish island of Ibiza.

As part of the celebration, Rooney did not want any of his also wealthy friends paying for anything – at the time a source stated that Rooney had budgeted "£10,000 a head". Not too shabby! At the time of the wedding, Rooney was still playing for Manchester United, where he collected a weekly salary of £115,000, to go along with £10,000 a year in endorsements as well as a book deal. Suffice to say the couple had little trouble flipping the bill for the wedding of both their dreams. Five private jets might have been a tad overboard – just make people fly coach! #stayhumble

8 David Beckham

The original English football star!!! David and Victoria Beckham married in 1999 – dropping $800,000 on their wedding. Hilariously, that wedding tab ranks them dead last on this list. But at the time, that was a lot of money. There were golden thrones and nude cake toppers. Both very much in line with the bride's posh personality. Admittedly, many of the other details about the event are hard to come by. Beckham's former teammate, Gary Neville, served as the best man. Posh's sister, Louise, served as the chief bridesmaid. Their only son at the time (Brooklyn) served as ring-bearer despite being only four months old – I bet he needed help. A staff of over 400 people ensured everything went off without a hitch, including a cake-cutting costume change.

Fast-forwarding, David became the main reason for North America's adoption of soccer, when he left Europe to play for the LA Galaxy of the MLS. Well past his prime, the former English superstar opted to relocate his family to lucrative Los Angeles. From there, both he and Victoria were able to seamlessly transition into the next phases of their respective careers. To be honest, I don't really know what either of them does now. My best guess is just fly around and attend high-profile weddings. As a groom, I can't imagine it's comforting to have David Beckham at your wedding... You know your wife would trade you for him in a second.

7 Lamar Odom

"I'm going to break... you... down..." – that's what I imagine Khloé Kardashian is whispering into Odom's ear. The former Laker married into an inevitable tragedy, back in 2009 when he opted to call Khloé Kardashian his wife. Unlike sister Kim, few financial details concerning this wedding were ever released, though it was broadcasted as part of the couple's hit reality TV series, Khloé & Lamar. Following the marriage, Odom spiraled out of control – getting arrested for DUI in 2013. Two years later, in 2015, Odom was found non-responsive at a Nevada brothel. It was reported that during the four-day stay he spent $75,000. Call it a belated bachelor party...?

Finally divorced, Odom, after being on heaven's doorstep, appears to be on the road to recovery – who knew Khloé and Lamar weren't in fact, the personification of true love?! Khloé, meanwhile, changed conferences and started anew with Cavaliers forward Tristan Thompson. She's trying to finagle her way into Canadian citizenship so she can destroy more good ol' Canadian boys! Thompson was recently caught partying with another woman, seen with not one but TWO women at a club. A punk move? Sure. But let's not forget that Khloé is no angel herself. I got a hunch this relationship, similar to the one with Odom, won't last. In 2015, Odom was, according to Google, the world's most popular person. LOL!

6 Russell Wilson

A castle wedding – say no more. I'm sure it was pricey... Wilson and wife, Ciara, exchanged vows in the English countryside, marrying at the ginormous Peckforton Castle. Financial details are scarce, but the massive property can be rented out for anywhere between $35,000 and $50,000 per day. I imagine they needed it for more than a couple of days. I wasn't able to confirm if the couple opted for any of the offered add-ons -- interested in a golden eagle serving as a greeter for guests? $500. Or perhaps you'd like an owl to fly your rings down the aisle? It could happen for only $200.

I gotta say, these prices actually have me considering hiring a golden eagle for future weddings I'm invited to. Even if I'm not the groom, or in the party itself. Showing up with a majestic bird on your arm would be next level you know what... I get the sense Wilson is a penny pincher. Don't ask me to justify why I believe that, but I just get that feeling. Like he, 100 percent, buys sale items even if the regular priced items are objectively better, at a slightly higher price point. Sorry, Russ. I can change, but right now it's just how I feel.

5 Justin Verlander

Yeah, I'd be wearing that smile too, if she thought I was her best option. Houston Astros pitcher Justin Verlander, is the luckiest man on the planet - in the span of a year, he gets traded from Detroit to Houston. Granted, at the time, Houston was half underwater but even still, represented a step up from the Motor City. As a member of the Astros, he won the World Series and mere days following the win, he flew to Italy to marry Kate Upton. You could literally send me to my maker after doing all that, and I'd be a happy, happy man.

Originally, the couple was meant to get married November 2, 2017, but it just so happened that on that day, Game 7 of the World Series was scheduled to be played.

And they say NOTHING is more important than one's wedding...false. Meanwhile, both their families were awaiting the couple's arrival in Tuscany. Hosting two families had an exclusive ceremony in Tuscany, Italy is not a cheap endeavour. And neither was Upton's engagement ring – worth a reported $1.5 million. Obviously not the case for Verlander, who has plenty of money in the bank, but I'd happily go into debt for that woman. A perpetual tip of the cap to you, Mr. Verlander.

4 Serena Williams

That's right, the inspiration for this list finally gets examined. As stated earlier (but it bares repeating), Serena Williams spent a serious boatload of money on her lavish wedding to Reddit co-founder and father of her daughter, Alexis Ohanian. Reports have said that just the jewelry she was wearing that day was worth somewhere in the ballpark of 3.5 million dollars. Best female tennis player on earth or not, that is a crazy amount of money to be wearing at any point in time.

That said, who can fault her for wanting to have what many have said is the best wedding in sports? She had her beautiful young daughter there, and she seemed beaming with joy to be signing the paperwork to make Alexis Ohanian her husband. The two seem like a mis-matched pair on paper, what with Williams being so athletic and Ohanian being more of a smarty-pants computer wizard. But at the end of the day they have already started a beautiful (and clearly successful) family together. All in attendance clearly had a good time and the money at least was not spent in vain. Hopefully the two can stay together for the long haul, which seems to be the plan.

3 Cristiano Ronaldo

This one is a bit different - in that Ronaldo, himself, did not get married. But we can all imagine the price attached to a hypothetical wedding with #7 playing the part of the groom. In the context of truly insane wedding expenses, Ronaldo might take the cake with the gift he gave his agent, Jorge Mendes, as part of Mendes' wedding. Wanting to thank Mendes, a super-agent in every sense of the word, Ronaldo gifted him an entire Greek island ! The market for Greek islands is niche by most accounts, and nailing down the exact price Ronaldo paid for Mendes' piece of land is difficult.

Reports are there were islands listed for as little as €3,000,000 -- for more information, why not check out privateislandsonline.com. There literally is an app or website for anything. For the Portuguese football star, footing the bill for an entire island is similar to you or I treating a friend to an upsized McDonald's meal. With an estimated net-worth exceeding $400 million and scheduled to make over $100 million in 2018, Ronaldo doesn't need to worry about the well running dry anytime soon. He's also blessed with a Nike contract that, over the course of its lifetime, will be worth upward of one billion dollars. Did anybody else read aloud 'one billion dollars' as if they were Dr. Evil from Austin Powers? I know I did when I typed it.

2 Alex Rodriguez

I'm bending the rules in the title... But we're talking about Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez. Rodriguez, fresh off earning every penny of his $275 million, 10-year contract with the New York Yankees. A career filled with controversy, most notably for the use of PEDs, ended with A-Rod being paid $27 million to essentially go away -- his career baseball earnings exceed $400 million. J-Lo, meanwhile, has talked many times about marrying the former baseball juicer. In what will be her fourth marriage, Lopez certainly will spare no expense. To this point, Lopez already has a marital strike-out, after going down looking at three straight ex-husbands. She really does have so much in common with her soon-to-be husband.

The two are engaged, but no wedding date has been set. Rest assured that when the day finally arrives -- how could it not? These two are clearly smitten over one another -- it will not be cheap. Combined, the two are worth in excess of half a billion dollars. It's already been reported an eventual wedding will far exceed $3 million.. For now, Lopez is fine with things as they are, but marriage remains the desired destination for her - "I would love to grow old with somebody in a committed relationship but I’m not forcing anything right now," she told ET, back in March. If I had just bought a $15,000,000 Manhattan condo with my fianceé, I'd probably do the same.

1 Prince Charles

Okay... this is the last entry, and YES! I'm aware this list is supposed to be reserved for lavish athlete weddings... I'm here to tell you that Prince Charles was a natural athlete, according to Vanity Fair. You don't, as an unathletic bum, serve as captain for both the cricket and hockey teams. Charles was a force in his younger days. On top of possessing undeniable athleticism, Charles had access to the royal bank account, which he put to fine use in his marriage to Princess Diana.

Adjusting for inflation, the 1981 wedding came at a cost of $110 million. Athlete or not, that is an astronomical figure in any decade. For comparison sake, William and Kate's wedding cost $34 million. Harry and Meghan Markle even managed to keep the final tab under $50 million, with many reporting their wedding to have cost around $46 million. Both are ridiculous amounts to spend on a wedding, and yet neither comes even close to equalling their mother's. Combine the two and you're still $30 million short. By this point, I'm hoping you've forgiven me for bending the rules in such a way so I could include this wedding on the list. It's too crazy of a price tag to omit! Now, somebody needs to validate Charles' inclusion here by doing a "15 Greatest Moments in Prince Charles' Athletic Career".