Kanye spent 4 days editing wedding photo after Annie Leibovitz pulled out

U.S rapper Kanye West attends the Cannes Lions 2014 61st International Advertising Festival in Cannes, southern France, Tuesday, June 17, 2014. (AP / Lionel Cironneau)

Kanye West spent four days editing his wedding photo.

The 37-year-old rapper admits he and his wife Kim Kardashian, 33, wasted almost half of their honeymoon trying to perfect the first official photograph of their nuptials after top photographer Annie Leibovitz pulled out of shooting their big day at the last minute.

Speaking at the Cannes Lions film Festival in France Tuesday, he said: "She [Kim] was exhausted because we worked on the photo so much - because Annie Leibovitz pulled out of the wedding, because I think she was scared of the idea of celebrity."

However, the 'Bound 2' hitmaker still wanted the adorable snap, which sees the newlyweds kissing at the altar in front of a stunning wall of roses, to look like Leibovitz's work.

He explained: "Because Annie pulled out, I was like, 'Okay, I still want my wedding photos to look like Annie Leibovitz'' and we sat there and worked on that photo for, like, four days because the flowers were off-color."

Despite spending a large amount of time perfecting their official photo, which was released on Kim's Instagram account, West believes it was well worth the wait.

He said: "The fact the number one most-liked photo [on Instagram] has a kind of aesthetic was a win for what the mission is, which is raising the palette."

The couple, who have 12-month-old daughter North together, tied the knot in Florence, Italy, on May 25 in front of their family and friends.