Kim Kardashian, Kristen Bell, Natalie Portman — Why Aren't Celebrity Brides Selling Their Wedding Pics?

Kim and Kanye shared this photo with E!. (E!)
Kim and Kanye shared this photo with E!. (E!)

Kim Kardashian is the latest in a long line of A-list stars refusing to sell wedding photos, joining the likes of Kristen Bell, Natalie Portman, and Emily Blunt. Is this a new trend?

Yes.

"It does seem like couples are leaning that way in their decisions," celebrity wedding planner Harmony Walton of the Bridal Bar tells me. "Whether it be to release their own wedding image or images via their social media streams or to keep the special day that much more special and private."

And unlike some other trends pioneered by the Kardashian clan, this one is actually pretty refreshing.

Don’t get me wrong; this family never misses a publicity op, and this latest event is no exception. E! Online, whose parent, of course, broadcasts Keeping Up With the Kardashians, already has published images from the Florentine spectacle. We also know that the couple Instagrammed a photo from the affair, because Kanye West has complained — loudly — about how tedious it was to edit said photo. And, while E! has announced no solid plans for a wedding special, some breathless reports insist otherwise.

Kim shared this shot on Instagram (Instagram)
Kim shared this shot on Instagram (Instagram)

All that said, a traditional photo-sale deal with a glossy magazine looks unlikely. If that's the case, Kardashian joins the ranks of celebrity couples such as Beyoncé and Jay Z; John Krasinski and Emily Blunt; Ginnifer Goodwin and Josh Dallas; Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner; Adam Brody and Leighton Meester; Natalie Portman and Benjamin Millipied; and Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard.

[Related: How Annie Leibovitz Spoiled Kimye's Honeymoon]

"We're not interested in making a spectacle out of something we think is lovely," the famously private Bell explained to a British outlet in 2010. "We're both very much homebodies. It's not like we're sitting at home but wishing we could be out at a club without people noticing us."

Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard (Christopher Polk/Getty Images)
Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard (Christopher Polk/Getty Images)

But loveliness (or privacy) isn't the only motivation here.

There's also a thing called money. And control.

"The magazine payday isn't what it used to be," Walton says.

If you're curious, the money used to be very good indeed. Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher sold images of their now-defunct union for $3 million back in 2005. And Eva Longoria, before she divorced NBA star Tony Parker, married Tony Parker, and sold those photos for $2 million.

Nowadays, magazines just aren't offering those prices. And a celebrity is much less likely to sell.

"Which means," Walton concludes, "that instead, some couples are simply releasing their photos for free to hit a larger audience that's worth more than the smaller paycheck."

Indeed, more and more magazines and websites are relying on grainy, long-lens paparazzi shots of those blessed moments, while more and more matrimonial-minded stars are content with showing off a wedding snap during a talk-show appearance or — the preferred delivery method — by putting up pics on their social media outlets.

It's like the old saying goes: All Instagram publicity is good publicity. Especially if you're looking your bridal best.

Natalie Portman and Benjamin Millepied at their August 4, 2012, wedding (FameFlynet)
Natalie Portman and Benjamin Millepied at their August 4, 2012, wedding (FameFlynet)

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Leslie Gornstein is an entertainment writer and the host of the weekly Hollywood gossip podcast The Fame Fatale.