Surprise celebrity weddings

Mark Zuckerberg, the latest celebrity to successfully marry his bride in a surprise ceremony, is one of many big names who have used elaborate deceptions or last-minute elopements to make sure their weddings avoid attention from paparazzi.

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Facebook founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan at their wedding ceremony in Palo Alto, Calif., on May 19, 2012. Wedding guests thought they were attending a graduation party for Chan, who had recently completed medical school at the University of California at San Francisco. But the guests, fewer than 100, were surprised by a ceremony conducted in the back yard of the couple’s home. Zuckerberg updated his status to "married" on Saturday.

Allyson Magda / AP

John F. Kennedy Jr. and his wife, Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, planned a small, private ceremony on Cumberland Island off the coast of Georgia in 1996. Despite intense media coverage of their relationship, the couple managed to keep the entire event a secret until the following day. Fourty guests attended the ceremony and stayed at the Greyfield Inn, the only hotel on the island that is largely under the protection of the National Park Service.

Mitch Jacobson / AP

Julia Roberts and Danny Moder fooled their guests during a Fourth of July party in 2002 by exchanging vows just before midnight.

Katy Winn / AP

Guests of Jesse James and Sandra Bullock’s wedding were invited to a ranch in Solvang, Calif., in 2005 for what invitations said was a barbeque in honor of Bullock, who was turning 41 a few days later. Many didn’t know they were attending a wedding until shortly before the ceremony began.

Mark J. Terrill / AP

Ryan Reynolds and Scarlett Johansson invited a few friends to a remote retreat outside of Vancouver in 2008 where they held a private ceremony, managing to evade attention of the press.

Kevin Mazur / WireImage

Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck flew to the Turks and Caicos, where they quietly tied the knot.

Mark J. Terrill / AP

Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon had a surprise wedding at her estate in the Bahamas in 2008 after dating for six weeks. The couple confirmed they were married to People shortly after.

Gareth Cattermole / Getty Images

Jay-Z and Beyonce exchanged vows in a very private affair in New York in 2008, followed by a party on the rooftop of the building of Jay-Z’s Tribeca apartment.

Damien Meyer / AFP/Getty Images

LeAnn Rimes and actor Eddie Cibrian told guests they were attending an engagement party in 2010, but rather exchanged vows in Los Angeles a few months after they announced their engagement.

Dan Steinberg / AP

Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson and Michelle Rhee, former Washington schools chancellor, married in a private ceremony at a Tennessee mountain resort in 2011, nearly a year after they canceled plans for a more lavish ceremony that drew a large amount of media attention.

Donna Cassata / AP

Benjamin Millepied and Natalie Portman remained silent about their wedding, even after they debuted their wedding bands at the Oscars in 2012.

Stephen Lovekin / Getty Images

Actor Daniel Craig and his wife Rachel Weisz were married in New York in 2011 in front of only four witnesses, Weisz’s son and Daniel’s daughter, both from previous marriages, and two friends of the couple.

Carlos Alvarez / Getty Images

Model Miranda Kerr and Orlando Bloom were married and on their honeymoon before most knew they had exchanged vows. Kerr canceled an appearance at the Australian department store David Jones, tipping some off, for what she called a special moment in her life.

Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images

Singer Mark Anthony and Jennifer Lopez invited about 35 guests to an afternoon party at Lopez’s estate in Beverly Hills, before telling the them they would be witnessing the couple’s marriage, held only a week after Anthony’s divorce from Dayanarra Torres was finalized.

Kevin Winter / Getty Images

Megan Fox and Brian Austin Green broke off their engagement in 2009 but married privately on a trip to Hawaii in 2010.

Michael Buckner / Getty Images for GQ

Claire Danes and Hugh Dancy held very private nuptials in France in 2009, after meeting on the set of the movie “Evening.”

Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images

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