The $2.5 Million Question: Exactly When Did Donald Trump Marry Melania Knauss?

The marriage of Donald Trump and Melania Knauss remains one of the most scrutinized and lavish celebrity weddings of the 21st century. While the couple’s relationship has evolved through reality television, business ventures, and a historic run in the White House, the exact date of their extravagant nuptials is often a point of curiosity. The definitive answer is that the former President and the former First Lady were married on January 22, 2005, in a spectacular, star-studded event that set the tone for their high-profile life together.

This date, which in 2025 marks their 20th wedding anniversary, cemented the union between the Slovenian-born model and the real estate mogul. The event was not just a wedding; it was a major social spectacle, meticulously chronicled by high-society publications and featuring a guest list that now reads like a historical document of American political and entertainment figures.

Melania Trump: A Brief Biography and Relationship Timeline

Before becoming the third Mrs. Trump and the First Lady of the United States, Melania Knauss had a successful career as a model. Her background and journey to the altar are essential context for understanding the magnitude of their 2005 wedding.

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• Full Name: Melania Knauss (née Knavs)
• Date of Birth: April 26, 1970
• Place of Birth: Novo Mesto, Socialist Republic of Slovenia (then part of Yugoslavia)
• Parents: Viktor Knavs and Amalija Knavs
• Career: Model, jewelry designer
• Immigration to US: Moved to New York City in 1996 to pursue modeling.
• Meeting Donald Trump: September 1998, at a New York Fashion Week party at the Kit Kat Club, hosted by Paolo Zampolli. Trump, who was on a date with another woman, famously asked Melania for her number.
• Engagement: April 2004. Donald proposed with a reported 15-carat diamond ring.
• Marriage: January 22, 2005.
• Child: Barron William Trump (born March 20, 2006).

The couple's courtship lasted about five years before their engagement. Their relationship was highly publicized, especially after Donald Trump's reality show, *The Apprentice*, became a massive hit. The wedding was perfectly timed to capitalize on this peak of public interest and media attention.

Inside the Extravagant $2.5 Million Palm Beach Wedding

The wedding of Donald and Melania was an affair of legendary opulence, reportedly costing an estimated $2.5 million at the time. The ceremony and reception were split between two iconic Palm Beach locations, creating a day of unmatched glamour and extravagance.

The Sacred Ceremony: Bethesda-by-the-Sea

The religious ceremony took place at the historic Episcopal Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea in Palm Beach, Florida. The church, a beautiful Gothic Revival structure, provided a traditional and stately backdrop for the vows. The ceremony itself was relatively private, shielded from the full glare of the public eye, before the grand spectacle of the reception.

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The Legendary Mar-a-Lago Reception

Following the ceremony, the 350 guests were transported to Donald Trump’s private estate, Mar-a-Lago, for the reception. The entire ballroom at the club was transformed into a vision of white, gold, and crystal to host the massive party.

• Venue: The Mar-a-Lago Club, Palm Beach, Florida.
• Decor: The 17,000-square-foot ballroom was adorned with over 10,000 flowers, including white roses and gardenias.
• The Cake: A massive, seven-tier wedding cake, standing over five feet tall. It was reportedly covered in 3,000 white-icing roses and filled with Grand Marnier buttercream.
• Entertainment: The reception featured performances from legendary musicians, further cementing the event’s status as a top-tier society gathering.

The Couture Gown That Weighed 60 Pounds

One of the most talked-about elements of the wedding was Melania’s dress, a true masterpiece of haute couture that dominated fashion headlines for weeks.

The gown was a custom design by John Galliano for the House of Dior. It was an astonishing creation that required over 550 hours of hand-stitching and featured over 1,500 crystals and pearls. The dress was made of white silk satin and had a breathtaking 13-foot train.

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The sheer volume of the fabric and embellishments meant the dress weighed an incredible 60 pounds. Melania famously spent a significant amount of time sitting on a bench in the church's sacristy to manage the weight before walking down the aisle. The cost of the gown was estimated to be around $100,000, though some reports suggest the actual value was much higher, up to $2 million, due to the intricate detail and designer status.

The Shocking Celebrity and Political Guest List

The guest list for the Trump-Knauss wedding was a unique blend of New York business elite, celebrity friends, and political power players—a mix that perfectly reflected Donald Trump's multifaceted career at the time. The attendance of certain figures, in particular, has become a historical footnote, often revisited in light of later political events.

Among the 350 high-profile attendees were:

• Bill and Hillary Clinton: Their attendance is perhaps the most famous detail, as they would later become political rivals.
• Barbara Walters: The legendary journalist and talk show host.
• Simon Cowell: The *American Idol* judge, reflecting Trump's own reality TV fame.
• Billy Joel: The iconic musician.
• Heidi Klum: Supermodel and television personality.
• Rudy Giuliani: Then the former Mayor of New York City.
• Chris Christie: Then a U.S. Attorney, later Governor of New Jersey.
• Shaquille O’Neal: The NBA superstar.
• Anna Wintour: The influential editor-in-chief of *Vogue*.

This star-studded collection of guests underscored the couple's social standing and the seamless blend of entertainment, media, and politics that defined the early 2000s New York scene.

The Legacy of the January 22, 2005, Union

The marriage of Donald and Melania on January 22, 2005, was a pivotal moment. It was his third marriage, following his unions with Ivana Zelníčková and Marla Maples, and it was the one that would take him to the highest office in the nation.

The event itself became a blueprint for the "Trump brand" of over-the-top luxury and media magnetism. The wedding, along with the birth of their son, Barron, in 2006, set the stage for their transition from high-society fixtures to political figures. The enduring question of "when did Trump marry Melania" is more than just a date; it marks the beginning of the relationship that would eventually define a political era. As they approach their two-decade milestone, the details of their lavish Palm Beach wedding remain a key piece of the Trump family narrative.