The Hook-Ups and Breakups of '06

Dec. 30, 2006 — -- In 2006, celebrity weddings were glamorous and garish, while breakups ranged from surprising to predictable.

Yet the year ended on a high note with one of the most sensational Hollywood weddings ever -- Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise saying, "I do."

"I would say certainly that Tom and Katie's wedding was the storybook romance of the year," said Galina Espinoza, senior editor of People magazine. "For starters, you had more celebrities attending their wedding in Italy than you would see even at the Oscars. It added glitz and glamour to the event. The setting was fairy-tale perfect."

Half a world away, Cruise's ex-wife Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban threw an Australian wedding that was nearly as prestigious.

"There were throngs of fans as Nicole's car drove her to the wedding site," Espinoza said. "They were cheering for her. She rolled down her window to wave."

Other couples stuck together but left the walk down the aisle up in the air.

Desperate housewife Eva Longoria is planning her dream wedding at a French castle to NBA star Tony Parker.

While they say no marriage right now, the cameras can't get enough of Brangelina -- Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie -- and their ever-growing brood.

But 2006's fairytales were eclipsed by horror stories. In typical Hollywood fashion, headline-making breakups seemed to outnumber hookups.

The award for shortest celebrity marriage went to Pamela Anderson and Kid Rock -- her husband of just four months.

The roller coaster love life of pop star Britney Spears was impossible to forget.

"We had newlyweds like Britney Spears and Kevin Federline breaking up," Espinoza said. "But we also had long-time married people like Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown or Heather Locklear and Richie Sambora splitting up as well."

Reese Witherspoon tried to "Walk the Line" with Ryan Philippe for seven years, but it didn't pan out. The longtime couple split in the fall.

"Reese had been very open about talking about her marriage as a real thing, not some perfect fairy tale that Hollywood had created," Espinoza said.