Melania Trump Looks So Different In Lavish Throwback Pics With Her Wedding Dress

It isn't exactly considered one of the great romances of all time, but you have to give Donald and Melania Trump credit where credit is due. After all, they have been together since the late '90s. And in January 2025, the first couple celebrated 20 years of marriage. Though Melania didn't post on her social media to denote the occasion, the president did, albeit with a few red flags.

Both Melania and Donald have changed a lot during their time together. As the marriage enters its third decade, onlookers note that it doesn't seem rock solid, but that wasn't always the case. Back in 2005, Melania was full of enthusiasm for their wedding. At the time, a friend of Donald's told People that Donald vowed to be a better husband to Melania than he had been in the past — at the time, he had been twice married and twice divorced. And if their extravagant 2005 nuptials were any indication, he was going all-in on his third trip down the aisle. They spared no expense on Melania's lavish wedding look, which is completely different from her 2020s style.

Many things about Donald and Melania Trump's lavish wedding would raise eyebrows nowadays. Let's first consider the guest list, which included Bill and Hillary Clinton, Rudy Giuliani, Billy Joel, Kelly Ripa, Simon Cowell, and Heidi Klum. Then there was the exorbitant cost of the bash and the fact that Melania posed in her wedding dress for a Vogue cover before the wedding. 

Melania's over-the-top wedding gown was a stark contrast to the more understated outfits she often wears as first lady. She picked her wedding dress with the help of Vogue's Anna Wintour and André Leon Talley at the Christian Dior atelier in Paris. The price tag of the custom gown was an extravagant $100,000. In a throwback pic that Melania posted on social media to commemorate her anniversary in 2014, the public could see just what 100K can buy.

And the elaborate gown was just the beginning. Notably, there was also the dramatic veil that she bunched atop her head like a messy bird's nest. She also wore heirloom rosary beads on her right hand and a borrowed Fred Leighton diamond necklace.However, one of the most noticeable things about the picture isn't the lavish ensemble but how happy and radiant the bride looked. Sadly, it's a look we rarely see from Melania decades into her marriage.