Get ready for other wedding of the year

On the morning of April 29, 22 million Americans tuned in to watch Kate Middleton marry Prince William.

The following week, the couple was on the cover of dozens of magazines, with people still poring over every detail of their royal "I do's."

But Kate's turn as a bridal cover girl would be short-lived.

Just three weeks later, reality star Kim Kardashian landed herself on the front of People magazine with a big ring (with a 20.5-carat diamond, for those keeping score) and the big news that she was engaged to NBA player Kris Humphries.

And with that, the other wedding of the year was under way.

Not convinced the Kardashian hoopla rivals the royals? According to several of the countless paparazzi hoping to get a shot of her wedding this Saturday, a high-quality candid photograph of the bride in her wedding dress could sell for the same price as a 2012 Porsche Boxster.

Kim, and her "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" co-stars/family members, will also have their own four-hour TV special -- yes, four hours -- to air on E! in two parts, on October 9 and 10.

Kim is our people's princess," Life & Style Weekly's editor-in-chief Dan Wakeford said. "People empathize with her. ... She's gone through relationship struggles, battles with her weight. Things haven't always gone as planned. [We're happy] to see her find her prince."

"Weddings do incredibly well for magazines," Wakeford said. "We'll look at a stranger's wedding photos and enjoy them and find them extremely irresistible."

But, Wakeford and other editors agree, the fact that it's Kim Kardashian's wedding is an added bonus on the newsstand.

Just look at Kim by the numbers: On Sunday night, 3.2 million viewers tuned in to watch the latest episode of E!'s "Keeping Up with the Kardashians." And according to Women's Wear Daily, Kardashian's cover of Shape was the fitness magazine's top seller for 2010. She was W magazine's second-highest and Allure's third-highest-selling covers of the same year.

Ipso facto, a cover shot of Kardashian's wedding could be the holy grail of the weekly tabloid world, which is why Life & Style, US Weekly, OK! and People all bid for rights to the exclusive story and photos, a source told CNN.

People magazine nabbed the exclusive rights to the wedding photographs for an unknown amount, though figures ranging between $300,000 and $1 million have been reported.

"Exclusive wedding photos can go for a lot of money," said Kelly Davis, a writer for celebrity photo site X17online.com. "It's so rare to get an exclusive -- so rare it's almost accidental."

When there's an exclusive deal in place, as there often is with Kardashian happenings -- Khloe's wedding, Kourtney's baby and now Kim's nuptials -- the photos are more valuable. But, Davis says, they're also harder to get.

"They'll likely have tents [set up] -- everything will be covered," she said. "You have to hope that event planners have left holes in walkways and that you happen to catch them at the right moment. It's a huge challenge. I wouldn't be surprised if no one gets a shot."

Davis added that depending on its quality, a photo of Kim on her big day could sell for more than $50,000.

If a magazine with an exclusive deal in place finds out that another photo agency has candid pictures, it might shell out big money to scoop them off the market, she added. "It's bad business to let a competing magazine run a candid shot."

Justin Smith, a sales manager at Fame Pictures, another photo news agency, says he's not sure if they're "going to go up in the air" in a helicopter to cover the wedding.

"It will be a game-time decision," he said, adding: "When push comes to shove, it's just not really worth it to shoot a grainy picture from hundreds of feet overhead and hope that you're circling the mansion ... when Kim and Kris are kissing."

Jill Stempel, the New York bureau chief at WENN, said the agency will send a couple of photographers to cover the event, but they won't be in "commando guerrilla army mode."

"We're sending a couple guys to get what they can, but we're realistic in that we don't feel it's worth a huge outlay of money to try and bust that exclusive," Stempel said, adding that talk of sending helicopters and a tank to cover the affair is a running joke in the office. "It's like a war."

Despite the fact that there was an exclusive deal in place for Khloe and Lamar Odom's September 2009 nuptials -- which about 3 million people tuned in to watch -- the wedding was really easy to shoot, Stempel said.

"They all but red carpeted that wedding," she said. At one point, she added, the entire wedding party took pictures from the top of a hill, making it really easy to shoot.

Though, photographers agree, getting the perfect shot most likely won't be as easy this time around.

"If it's tented, we can't shoot from the air. They'll probably cover them when they're walking. It will be a big game," Stempel said.

Magazines that don't want to spend the money [on wedding photos] will probably just use a shot of [Kim] in a white dress from the red carpet," she added. "Half the people won't know the difference."