Guests at the star-studded nuptials of Misha Nonoo and Mikey Hess were treated to a night they will never forgot on Friday as the couple exchanged vows at the Villa Aurelia in Rome.
There was the mind-blowing moment that the groom serenaded his new bride with a Beatle and a British karaokist, while guests including Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom looked on, sources tell DailyMail.com.
Those same sources also say that a number of guests were also left dumfounded when they discovered that the couple had decided to seat Gayle King at their head table, despite their brief friendship with the CBS This Morning anchor.
And throughout the night, sources say that guests could be heard murmuring about the couple’ decision to marry on a Friday, saying it was all done to make sure the Duchess of Susex, Meghan Markle could attend with her husband Prince Harry ahead of their tour of Africa.
That decision was more likely made on religious grounds, as the Jewish faith would require that the pair exchange their vows by sundown.
Murmur she wrote: There were whispers that Misha Nonoo and Mikey Hess had moved their wedding ceremony to Friday so that they could accommodate Meghan Markle and Prince Harry (above on Friday arriving at the wedding venue)
No new friends: Markle and the bride had seen one another the previous week in London (left) and Hess and Nonoo’s first public appearance as a couple was at the royal wedding (right)
Rome if you want to: Mikey Hess performed a singing skit with Paul McCartney(above on Friday with wife Nancy Shevell on his way tot he wedding)
The who knew, crew: McCartney had met the couple one year prior while they were all guests on David Geffen’s yacht Rising Sun (l to r: Lydia and Michael Kives, Geffen, Kloss and Kushner, guests, Shevell, McCartney, Nonoo, Marie-Jose and Henry Kravis in 2018)
Green queen: Gayle King (left arriving to the wedding on Friday night, last week with mother-of-the-groom Susan Hess at Nonoo’s store opening in NYC) was a guest at the event despite only having met the couple a handful of times
Gayle force: Sources tell DailyMail.com that Gayle was sat at the head table with Nonoo and Hess
The Duchess arrived in Rome on Thursday with Prince Harry in tow, staying for less than 48 hours before jetting home on Saturday afternoon before their trip to Africa with baby Archie.
After arriving on Thursday, the Sussexes were invited to an intimate gathering by the bride and groom that was comprised of only family and VIP guests, including Perry and Bloom as well as Hess’ best friend Joshua Kushner and his wife Karlie Kloss.
This exclusion of some wedding guests’was upsetting to longtime friends of the couple,’ said one source.
One night later, the star wattage was on full display for the couple’s big night.
In addition to the royal couple, Paul McCartney attended with his wife Nancy Shevell – and the former Beatle even performed a funny song alongside James Corden and Hess for the bride and fellow guests.
King meanwhile watched it all from the bride and groom’s table, despite only have met the two a handful of times.
She was however at Misha’s store opening a week before the wedding, and did attend Markle’s baby shower with the bride.
The three have also spent time together on David Geffen’s yacht with King’s friend, Oprah.
The princess bride: Princess Eugenie was seen with Nonoo just last week at her store opening in New York City (the pair above on Friday before the wedding)
Sparkle motion: Nicky Hilton in a golden Oscar de la Renta on Friday with husband James Rothschild (left) and Colby Mugrabi in Prada on Saturday (right)
Chic reapers: Karlie Kloss arrived to the venue with her good friends Dasha Zhukova and Stavros Niacrchos on Friday (above)
Oprah was a no-show, but that was not the case for Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, despite the heavily Democratic crowd.
There were no signs of outward hostility towards the couple from guests despite the massive political differences with many of the guests, who greeted Jared with handshakes, amid the news that President Trump had just deployed troops to the Middle East.
That was just the beginning too, with Jason Derulo stopping by on Saturday night and performing his entire catalogue for the couple at their second party.
He performed as part of the paid entertainment however, and was not a guest.
Others spotted enjoying a brief Roman Holiday were Jenna Bush Hager, Nicky Hilton and James Rothschild, Wendi Murdoch, Aby Rosen and Samantha Boardman, Henry and Marie-Jose Kravis, Roman Abramovich’s ex-wife Dasha and her new fiance Stavros Niarchos, and Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie.
The newlyweds’ guest list for the big day included: an American princess; three members of the British royal family; a supermodel; countless real estate scions; a family of Greek shipping heirs; a Grammy-winning pop star, her stylist and her actor fiance; two Republicans; the former wives of Rupert Murdoch and Roman Abromovich; a Beatle; and James Corden.
On the bride’s side of the aisle were the two biggest names in attendance, Prince Harry and Markle.
Nonoo claims she met Markle in 2010 when the two were sat together at a luncheon in Miami during Art Basel, and has said in the past that they struck up a friendship almost immediately.
Markle wrote in her now-shuttered blog that it was actually at Art Basel in 2014, and during a night of drinking and dancing in Miami.
It is Markle’s timeline that stands up, with photos confirming the two both attended an event at the Soho House that year.
The two were then introduced by Markus Anderson, one of the founders of the Soho House and a friend of Markle.
Anderson was also a friend of Nonoo and her husband at the time, Alexander Gilkes, who three years prior had started his own auction house for fine art, Paddle8.
His employees at the time included none other than Princess Eugenie, who had been a guest at his and Nonoo’s three-day wedding back in 2012, which also took place in Italy.
Nonoo is sticking to the three-days-in-Italy timeline this time around as well, but did switch up the venue by marrying Hess in Rome and Gilkes in Venice.
Connections: Mikey Hess and Misha Nonoo had the most star-studded wedding of the year in Rome on Friday (Guests above and their ties to the newlyweds)
Princess Eugenie was seen with Nonoo just last week at her store opening in New York City, and event also attended by Karlie Kloss.
Princess Beatrice was also in attendance at Nonoo’s 2012 wedding as well, and is the matchmaker who likely brought the two together with the help of billionaire David Geffen.
The younger of the two sisters came to know Hess after the pair met in 2016 at the US Open, shortly after Princess Beatrice enjoyed a trip on Geffen’s yacht, Rising Sun.
Hess is a frequent guest on the yacht, as is his best friend, Joshua Kushner.
Kushner and Hess both attended Harvard and then Harvard business school together, and Kushner was a member of the wedding party.
The boys are so close that Kushner’s big brother also grabbed an invite with wife Ivanka.
Those two were also at the US Open back in 2016, along with Kushner’s now-wife Karlie Kloss, Geffen pal Dasha Zhukova and Wendi Deng.
That was the start of a friendship that led to the ex-wives of Rupert Murdoch and Roman Abromivich scoring invites to the wedding.
Geffen also brought the couple together with Paul McCartney and Nancy Shevell, when they all spent time on the Rising Sun back in 2018, alongside Kloss and Kushner.
It was also likely Kloss who brought Scooter Braun into the fold after he began to rep the supermodel on her various projects off the runway.
Hess is also linked to Perry though through his friendship with Nico Mizrahi, whoae wife Jamie is the singer’s stylist.
It is unclear who knows Corden.