It was mentioned in a low-key way at the time, but Chris Pratt and Katherine Schwarzenegger walked their first red carpet together at the LA premiere of Avengers: Endgame last week. They’ve been together a year, and that was their first red carpet. I sort of like that – they waited until they were engaged, but when they did the carpet together, it wasn’t some huge production. They both looked nice, and you can tell that they make each other very happy – he seems especially proud of his pretty, young fiancee. Katherine has apparently been planning their wedding – which will probably be this summer – without much input from Chris. And then this weekend, Maria Shriver hosted Katherine’s bridal shower, and it sounds like the social event of the season. Like, Shriver really spent serious money on the shower and it pains me that we don’t have any photos from it! We do have lots of information about it though:
Who attended the shower: The bride-to-be gathered at mom Maria Shriver’s home where her closest friends and family to toasted her nuptials. Groom-to-be Pratt also made an appearance at the shower, which was decorated with lots of white flowers and candles. Live music also played in the background. Later in the day, Katherine’s father Arnold Schwarzenegger stopped by after attending his son Joseph Baena’s college graduation. A source described the shower as “beautiful and elegant” and it featured a pretty star-studded guest list with Oprah Winfrey among the 100 attendees.
Katherine wore white: The source told E! News that the bride-to-be “looked stunning in a white skirt and fitted tank top with beaded fringe. Her hair was clipped back on one side.”
The vibe: Guests arrived at Shriver’s home around noon for a “backyard luncheon” that was described as “very traditional and exactly what you would imagine for a classic bride.” There was live music from a guitar player as well as lots of champagne. “There were photos of Katherine and Chris in picture frames at the entrance and large cherry blossom arrangements,” the insider shared. Their lunch was “served in the backyard by the pool buffet style.” According to our source, the aesthetic was “white and light green with lots of greenery and some pastel colored wildflowers. All the tables and chairs were wooden for a rustic chic vibe.”
The food: The dessert selection was just as tasty. The source told E! News there was “a table set up with several different miniature cakes, scones, pastries and Fonuts,” which are gluten-free baked donuts.
The speeches: “Some of Katherine’s friends spoke, her sister said something and then Maria gave a very long tribute to Katherine with the theme that she was born to love and to be loved,” the insider said. Pratt arrived around 2 p.m. once the shower had been going on for a while. “Maria introduced him over the microphone as Katherine’s husband to be and future fiancé. Everyone cheered and whistled,” the source said. Shriver took a moment to praise her future son-in-law and “told everyone that the way he treats Katherine takes her breath away.” Pratt said a few words in front of the crowd and, unsurprisingly, “had everyone laughing…He told Katherine he loves the way she laughs and he loves the way she cries,” the source said.
The shower was a big hit: “Everyone commented that it was the most beautiful shower they had ever been to. Even Chris said it was incredible and only something you would see in the movies,” the insider continued. “No expense was spared” for the beautiful gathering.
I don’t know, it sounds nice and somewhat old-school for a bride-to-be who comes from money, who is marrying someone pretty rich too. I also think that the wedding will probably be sooner rather than later – my guess is June? Sources also said that “Chris and Katherine’s wedding will be a very intimate affair with just their closest loved ones. They don’t want it to be a circus. The focus will be their commitment to each other, and God will play a very large role on their big day.” Yes, everything about them is churchy and faith-based. And People Magazine said that Katherine’s younger sister Christina is planning a bachelorette weekend for her. Probably soon, right?
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Is Pratt gearing for political office in the future?
That being said, the menu sounds wonderful!
For some reason I get that same vibe, that political aspirations are there for him. I just get this feeling that she is perfect for him but her political ties helped seal the deal. Just a feeling. And I could be totally off base.
I wish them well. Sounds like a lovely gathering.
I don’t know if he is, but I can see how the office just fall onto his lap at some point – just look at how lucky the guys has been! Sure, he is funny and looks ok, but how many of those are in Hollywood? Yet, here we have someone who’s been making bank, dated some seriously accomplished women in the business, and now he is marrying Kennedy! It’s the case of someone who is neither gorgeous, not especially talented or well-connected from the start, who just gets really lucky.
I can see a divorce in the future.
Absolutely. They have to make it to the wedding first though.
Ray of sunshine. You.
She seems too sweet for him, like I’d see her w Tim Tebow. Seriously, this doesn’t have lasting power for this ray of sunshine either.
Ouch.
If the shower was 100, there’s no way the wedding will be under 200 guests. Not sure how intimate that is, unless intimate is the theme (aka lots of candle light)
I still don’t get them. He’s a squirrel killing/eating aw-shucks guy who used to surprise women on the set by going naked, and she’s a use my connections Kennedy to do mild charity to keep busy. Even religion which is what everyone says why they make sense together, she’s catholic and he’s a hillsong evangelist. I hope they work out. They seem genuinely happy. I guess opposites attract and I should leave it at that.
Yeah, if she’s catholic how does it work? He’s divorced, and his brand of protestantism usually dislikes catholics and is way more conservative.
They live together. Neither is super strict religious. Catholics marry outside their faith all the time, it’s a non-issue.
If my Catholicism class memory serves me right, as long as he didn’t get married in the Catholic Church the first time, he’s okay. The Catholic Church only recognizes marriages in the Catholic Church. So his first marriage, in theory, doesn’t count and he’s good to go.
Explaining this garbage, along with a lot of other things, is why I am a lapsed Catholic.
@Diane – not only explaining things made me a laspsed Catholic but the hypocrisy that exists was part of it. Also (and this may have changed), they may get married in the Catholic Church but will not be able to have the full mass, only the wedding ceremony. Of course, the Kennedy money could change that.
Chris is actually a very religious man; living together aside. He attends regular service and erected a huge cross on his property back in the day. His branch usually looks down on Catholics historically. I honestly see him as a lot more religious than her. I think they’ll marry at Hillsong or with that priest off site, not a catholic church.
I don’t think she’s really Catholic anymore. She seems to attend his evangelical church and seems way more “born again” than Catholic.
If you come from a large family and are close with aunts, uncles, and cousins, those numbers add up very quickly.
I had a 400 strong wedding because we both come from large families. And it was mostly family. I can not judge anyone on big weddings. But intimate, is probably not the best way to describe it. Although parts to my husband and I were intimate, overall, no.
I was astounded by how quickly guest lists balloon up when you actually sit down and write out near relations and close friends, even when I was trying to keep it minimal. So factoring in how big her family is, I agree that the wedding will have at least 200 guests.
They both go to Zoe Church. Her family may originally have been Catholic but her mum loves Zoe Church and used to have its founder / lead pastor, Chad Veach, over to her house all the time to teach her kids “the word of god.” Maria wrote an article on Veach as well. Chris isn’t Hillsong, as is commonly reported, he is Zoe Church. He and Katherine met through their shared church and likely through the machinations of her mother. Zoe Church is “friends” with Hillsong and Veach sometimes guest preaches there. Thus Chris has attended when Veach is guest preaching or when he can’t get to Zoe. Bieber attends Hillsong, Zoe and a bunch of others and has close relationships with Veach, Rich Wilkerson Jr (Vous Church – where the Kardashians go. He married Kimye), and Carl Lentz from Hillsong. Veach and Wilkerson even toured with him as spiritual advisors. I think that is where a lot of the confusion lies – people conflating all of the churches when they are actually seperate.
Zoe church has VERY similar vibes to Hillsong (ew) – all those pastors are in the same clique and speak often at each other’s services. Believe me, I used to be part of Hillsong NYC/LA for years. I unfortunately know who these people are.
She is very very pretty and has a lovely smile. They look good together. I know he’s not loved around here but he seems like a nice dude.
As long as you’re not an elderly, special-needs cat, sure…
I find it hard to exclude. Not that I want to impress w numbers. I’d rather do it on the cheap and include everyone I ever knew
Fascinated that the shower was on the same day as the graduation of their half brother. Did anyone other than Arnold attend?
I’m not judging anyone and the family dynamics most be hard when something like this happens.
It is my understanding that his older children have and want zero contact with his son he had outside of his marriage to their mother. I can imagine it puts strain on all the relationships.
In all honesty if my father had stepped out on my mother and had a secret child I highly doubt I’d be close with them, let alone treat them like a sibling.
I don’t think they have to have a relationship with him, but I get the vibe all four of his Shriver kids have totally stonewalled the half-sibling. Like, kinda pretend he doesn’t even exist. I find it kind of hurtful. Like, no one says you have to be close or treat them like a sibling, but given their “we are so Christian” narrative, it doesn’t exactly follow.
And I say this as someone who has a half-sibling that I didn’t grow up with and didn’t meet until I was 15. We aren’t close, but there’s a way to manage having a friendly relationship without being a total b-hole about it.
He’s still their sibling. It would be more logical to have a relationship with him who is blameless than with Arnold.
ITA w Jac, they did know him when he was little so he wasnt a stranger. and they haven’t cut out Arnold, though I imagine he pays for everything so they can’t. seems inconsistent with the whole “we love Jesus” marketing vibe she’s got going
Eh, blood doesn’t necessarily make family.
Sadly, it fits exactly how a certain type of Christian would view and act towards a half-sibling outside of marriage by someone not in their social class. I’m not surprised at all.
I think it’s probably still at the point where they feel protective of their mom, and would see hanging out with their half-sibling as a kind of betrayal. That said-they still seem really close with their dad. If anyone should be on the “outside”-it’s him, since he’s the one who continuously cheated on their mother-and with their housekeeper too. They’re still fairly young-I would hope over time (for their brother’s sake) that they do develop some kind of relationship.
@Millenial I got that vibe too. I believe Joseph follows several, if not all, of his half-siblings on Instagram and none follow him back.
It must really sting that he’s the spitting image of Arnold too. However as JAC says it’s not the kid’s fault he exists and it seems very un-christian to ignore him because of it.
That’s not really surprising. I imagine they all felt incredibly betrayed when they found out and very angry on behalf of their mother. The Housekeeper was probably someone they were all quite close to growing up and then it turns out she was banging their dad behind their mum’s back and her kid is actually their half-brother. Of course their DAD is the one they should primarily blame; but it doesn’t often work that way. It is easier to blame the person who is not your parent and who you don’t love as much and who doesn’t make up half of you are as a person. Easier to shun than to face the fact that your dad is a sh*tty person. Perhaps as they get older and become more mature they will soften and see it all in a different light. Their half-brother is not to blame for his parents’ actions (and yeah, Arnold is most at fault; but sleeping with your employer’s husband and having a secret child with him under her nose for years is also a supremely sh*tty thing to do).
That part stuck out to me too, awkward!
The shower sounded nice though.
I agree, it seems really fishy that the shower was held on the same day.
But, if I were in Maria Shriver’s shoes, maybe I would want to be distracted by something so wonderful on a day that likely stirs up some painful memories.
Agree! Of all the days the wedding shower could have taken place, it’s shady AF it was on the same day as Arnold’s son’s graduation. Almost like Maria wanted to control the news cycle.
I thought it was slightly shady of her mom to purposefully have the shower the same day that Arnold’s son was graduating from college. The one he had with the maid he was having a affair with. Didn’t think they’d invite him but the date made it feel like it was a competition.
Shady is knocking up the maid in the first place.
Dad’s normally don’t go to showers. The other kids are not involved with their half- sibling. Why would Maria know when her ex husband’s sons graduation was? I’m thinking it brought a bad light to her, and she wouldn’t do that on purpose.
I still have second hand embarrassment for Maria and her kids over that Arnold baby with the maid thing. Cringe for life. I wouldn’t be publicly embracing him either. And I guess there are regional differences here but I thought moms never give showers for their own daughters. Something other relatives/friends do for the bride to be.
I have a really hard time understanding why they don’t embrace him. He is their flesh and blood. I understand Maria but not the kids.Especially consodering they seem to be close with Arnold.
Really? So what. I have plenty of blood relatives I wouldn’t give the time of day.
I think it would be nice if they support the kid, too. It’s not the kid’s fault. Maria’s hurt and sense of betrayal probably plays the bigger role in their avoidance but it’s hurtful to the boy.
Would it be different if he’d had a child not by the Latina maid but by someone higher status and white? I wonder…
It’s not that they’re blood, but how do you forgive and stay close to Arnold who did betray their mum but then don’t even aknowledge the kid?
I agree, the boy shouldn’t take the brunt of the blame. Wait until one of them needs a kidney or bone marrow and Joseph is the only match. I bet they show up on his doorstep then.
Oh please. I totally get it.
He is a reminder of what their dad did. They want to be close to their father, but don’t want to think about his failures. And having his “other” kid around would be a constant reminder.
Plus it would hurt their mother.
Now, it would be lovely if they were to embrace their half-sibling and play happy families, but it rarely works that way. In fact, I know about 6 families like this (where the kids within the marriage pretend the other kid doesn’t exist) and only one where the kids all get along. So I get it.
I would agree with you, but what’s sad to me is that his kid with the maid makes legit attempts to reach out to them and be friendly and supportive, and they just shut him down completely.
I can understand if Maria Shriver doesn’t want a relationship with a child that was born out of her husband’s affair. But the kid didn’t choose this. He’s trying to do the right thing, but they won’t even give him the time of day, and that’s gotta hurt.
I could see them feeling he wants to reach out to be part of the Schwarzenegger limelight for personal gain/connections, rather than because he want’s to be family with them. Like right now he’s “the kid Arnold had when he banged the nanny”, which is not a fun way to be cast. “Katherine Schwarzenegger’s half-brother” or “Chris Pratt’s brother-in-law” is a much more appealing casting. Or maybe they’re wary of him getting friendly with them and then writing some tell-all account or embarrassing them in some other way. Or maybe they did meet him at some point and they were turned off for some valid reason. I don’t think there’s really enough info out there to know if they have “good” reasons for not wanting him in their lives or not.
It’s weird to me in the sense that affair-baby wasn’t responsible for being born, jfc. How can you blame the offspring? Blame the cheater, the mistress, but the kid? Cold.
I get the discomfort on the Shriver kids’ part, but it’s a discomfort that’s immature to indulge.
It sounds quite boring and fake… I don’t know if it’s just the fawning write up, but having your mum praising you on a microphone in front of Oprah? That sounds really performative. I understand it’s a social event and not a private one, but still… so cringeworthy!
And the whole “the had mini cakes – and chairs too, chic chairs!” is so performative middle class… Good grief!
Oprah’s a longtime family friend, so it’s in that context. It’s Kennedys. It’s different for them.
Can I just say that I have a bad feeling Katherine is making a huge mistake marrying Chris Pratt? There’s something about him I don’t like and don’t trust. I have no reason to believe this. I just do.
In a bland-to-bland face off, I favor Katherine and agree it’s likely a mistake for her. But, they’ll probably stick together through their political dynasty attempt (agreeing with the elected office prediction above). Still, I do wish them well.
He abandons his rescue animals. That’s all I need to know about him.
Agreed. I liked him until he made it big and suddenly his whole demeanor changed. He just seemed to take on this air of arrogance.
I remember when he upgraded Anna Faris’ engagement ring. They were asked about it on a red carpet and she was clearly uncomfortable talking about it but Chris looked smug as hell. And I thought “oh, divorce coming. She’s unhappy in the relationship and he tried to buy her happiness. He doesn’t know her at all.”
The only role I’ve liked him in was Andy in Parks and Rec.
I thought it was tacky for a mom to host a shower, bridal or baby, for a daughter? Or are there different rules for rich people?
I think the official etiquette is that it’s a no-no but lots of people ignore it now. My family and friends are solidly middle class and almost every shower I ever attended has been thrown by the bride’s mom, sisters, or aunts and nobody thought twice about it.
I agree. It’s super tacky to have a bridal show hosted by a mother. And you would think a Kennedy would know better (or maybe not!). Maria’s not looking good in this. She throws the shower and has it the same day as her (ex/estranged) husband’s love child’s graduation. And then she invites (and names to the press) which of her famous friends attended. (Like the daughter is friends Oprah. Please. And it wasn’t Oprah running to E! News and People that she attended the shower. This info came from the bride’s side/mother). And if a person is invited to a shower, then they should be invited to the wedding. So, there’s no way a person has 100 people at a shower and then just close friends and family at a wedding. All of this is so poorly executed.
How was Maria supposed to know that it was her ex-husband’s love child’s graduation day?
Maria Shriver has been friends with Oprah since before she was married. They were newscasters together in Baltimore when they were right out of college. Her long time friendship isn’t anything new. Oprah attended Maria and Arnold’s wedding way back in the day and was close with Maria’s whole family.
Yeah the Oprah and Maria friendship is real and many many decades long. They were friends before Oprah was famous, in the 70s, like @MaryContrary says they met working in Baltimore at a TV station. Maria might have met Oprah before she even met Arnold.
Agreed on almost all points except:
– I doubt Maria knew anything about the graduation. Arnold may have mentioned it but Maria certainly wasn’t going to plan around it.
The rest of it, I agree. Its surprising that Shriver, who so closely cleaves to being part of the “old guard” chooses to disregard the old rules about hosting a shower. And running to the press is definitely not a good look. And YES anyone invited to the shower MUST be invited to the wedding!
That was my first reaction, it should be aunt or someone else.
Maybe it’s her sister “giving” the shower, but having it at their mother’s house?
Really? Tacky? Never thought much about it either way.
Going to a mom-hosted bridal shower this summer myself. Maybe with the increasing sense that mothers and daughters can be “friends” things are changing. I like the inter-generational aspect.
It’s not that the mom isn’t invited, it’s that the mom shouldn’t organize and host it. The different view points are interesting. To each their own.
Who cares who hosts? If it’s a nice day out to celebrate the bride, why not have the mother throw the shower? Like it matters who hosts.
Some of these “traditional” rules are the tacky things in my book.
Sounds like a lovely day for the bride put together by someone who loves her. Bless.
I feel like this generation is more formal about marriage than mine was when we are all getting married in the 1970’s. I was frankly shocked when I found out that most of the male kids I know did the calling up dad for his “permission” thing before they asked their girlfriends to marry them and the never ending showers and bachelorette parties were not a thing at all. And don’t get me started on the elaborate Instagram ready proposals. So much money being spent…
It’s about the gift-giving aspect of the shower. Bridal showers were traditionally a way of providing the Bride with the things she needed to set up house if her parents couldn’t afford to do it for her.
So, a mother of the bride hosting a shower was considered tacky, because if she could afford to host an event she should be able to provide the necessities her daughter would need and not rely on others to gift them.
What LTW00 said. When family hosts it, it looks grifty. Trumpian, rather.
These two bore me.
I only want to see Caroline Kennedy at the wedding. She’s so classy and a perfect mix of Jackie and JFK
Something about this just screamed OTT to me, and at first I thought it was because Maria Shriver was trying to compete with her Kennedy cousins and one-upping them by trying to be the mom of the year.
Then I read the bit about how Schwarzenegger didn’t show up until after it had started because his other kid was graduating university and he wanted to be there and uh, the whole overly emotional speech about how Katherine was “born to love and be loved” makes so much more sense.
She seems sweet and harmless but I get the feeling that this will be a starter marriage for her. Don’t know why. She will have two kids and divorce within 10 years as a result of a failure at a political career for him. She will then marry someone really really rich like a billionaire and be a real socialite.
Ok I am going to sleep now. To much thinking for today
Very thirsty and graspy for the brides mother to throw the shower. Katherine should have worn black patent shoes.
All I have to say is that she is extremely pretty.