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Kelly Ripa revealed on Live with Kelly and Mark that she regrets not having flowers at her Las Vegas nuptials, and called her bouquet-less photos awkward
Ripa and Mark Consuelos suggested Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce consider a simple wedding like theirs for lasting marriages
The couple tied the knot at the Chapel of the Bells in Las Vegas in 1996 and it only cost a total of $179
Kelly Ripa is happy with how she and Mark Consuelos tied the knot — though she has one regret.
While sharing her advice to Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce, both 36, for their upcoming nuptials, Ripa, 55, revealed the one thing she would change about her 1996 Las Vegas elopement with Consuelos, 55, which cost $179.
“I’m still sorry we didn’t spring for flowers, because I always think my hands look awkward,” Ripa said on the June 12 episode of Live with Kelly and Mark.
“Flowers are extra. And, you know… somebody didn’t want to spring for flowers,” she added while pointing to her husband on the show. “The one photo that I never show is the [one] where I’m awkwardly posing with my hands because I don’t have flowers. It’s a very awkward photo.”
Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos on their wedding day.
Credit: Courtesy Kelly Ripa
The couple noted that everything else came with the $179 wedding package, including a photographer for wedding photos, and those marriages without the “muss” and “fuss” usually last.
“I’m going to save you two a fortune. Chapel of the Bells. You go in. You’re in, you’re out,” Ripa said, suggesting her own wedding venue for the couple instead of Madison Square Garden, where Swift and Kelce’s nuptials are rumored to take place and allegedly cost $1 million a day to rent.
“Less than a couple hundred bucks, probably even now still. I’m not sure how much it is. And those marriages stick,” Consuelos added.
“Yeah. We’ve been married [for] 30 years. You can go in there in the middle of the night, no one has to know anything, you know what I mean? And then throw your afterparty at Madison Square Garden,” Ripa advised.
The couple, who met as young actors on the set of All My Children, has dished about the details of their marriage on Live over the years, including the fact that while they were happy with how their quick marriage happened, their parents were not.
“None of our parents like the fact that we eloped. They [hated] that,” Ripa shared in 2024. “Spoiler alert: if you’re planning on eloping, your parents will hate that.”
Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos attend the 79th Annual Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall on June 7.
Credit: Dia Dipasupil/WireImage
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However, Consuelos shared that their parents eventually came around to the idea “10 years later” when he said they “figured out all the money they saved” by not having to pay for a more extravagant wedding.
Ultimately, the couple — who share kids Michael, 29, Lola, 24, and Joaquin, 23 — are proud of how their wedding happened, and even shared a recreation of one of their iconic Las Vegas wedding photos in 2024 with the caption “Viva Las Vegas ✨ Then ➡️ Now.”
To celebrate their 30th anniversary, the couple also high-fived on their show as they said, “30 years! We did it.” The couple then reflected on their spontaneous decision to marry, calling their relationship “destined” and a “big adventure.”
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