McCartney ties knot at rock 'n' roll weddingJune 11, 2002
Sir Paul and Lady Heather leave the chapel after the ceremony.
Heather's tireless work to clear land mines in Croatia earned her a humanitarian award in December 2001. Part of the money she raised helped pay for new limbs for child war victims.
Op-ed
We congratulate Paul and Heather. Croatiaand all Croatians around the world can only be happy to have such, kind andauthentic artists, for friends. Even photos from the wedding will benefitclearing landmines in the world, as well as Croatian land from this silent anddeadly killer. I hope that we will know how to appreciate this.
NB
Sir Paul McCartney, Nenad Bach, LadyHeather McCartney-Mills
GLASLOUGH, Republic of Ireland -- Flowers petals fluttered and bells
pealed as ex-Beatle Sir Paul McCartney and his bride Heather Mills
departed St. Salvator's church Tuesday after their wedding ceremony.
The bride wore a lace dress designed with the help of two London
designers, who did not include McCartney's designer daughter, Stella. The
groom wore a three-piece brown suit. It was the second marriage for both.
A local priest presided over the Church of Ireland service, which was
closed to the press.
Former Beatles drummer Ringo Starr is believed to have given a reading
during the ceremony based on the group's song, "All You Need is Love."
Sir Paul's children, Stella, James, Mary and stepdaughter Heather, are
believed to have attended, despite reports of a rift between them and the
bride.
A single official wedding photo was made available to publications that
made a £1,000 ($1,471 US) an anti-landmine charity, Adopt A Minefield UK.
The couple turned down a £1.5 million ($2.2. million US) offer from a
celebrity magazine for exclusive coverage of the wedding. "An occasion
like this is for everyone," Sir Paul's spokesman Geoff Baker said.
The bride, who was by tradition slightly late for the ceremony, faltered
as she spoke in front of family, friends and celebrities, McCartney's
spokesman said. She carried a bouquet of 11 McCartney roses -- named in
honor of her new husband -- and two peonies, he said.
Mills entered the church to the strains of the song "Heather," which
McCartney wrote for his recent album. As the two walked back down the
aisle after exchanging vows, the organ played the "Wedding March"
McCartney wrote for the 1966 movie "The Family Way."
With reporters and camera kept out of the church, commentators took the
sound of ringing bells at the 300-year-old St Salvator's church as a sign
that the 34-year-old ex-model and the 59-year-old former Beatle were wed.
CNN's Richard Quest said the marriage was delayed by about 30 minutes on
Tuesday after a helicopter was heard hovering low over the church as Mills
was supposed to have approached.
"Organisers -- and we can only assume that is McCartney and Mills --
became very annoyed," he said. "It is said to have left a bad taste in the
mouth." (Full story)
Stars from the music and fashion world began flying into Belfast from
Heathrow, London, and Liverpool just hours before the ceremony.
Musicians Chrissie Hynde and Jools Holland and former model Twiggy and her
husband Leigh Lawson flew over on a chartered Airbus A-330. Other guests
thought to have attended are guitarist Eric Clapton, former U.S. President
Bill Clinton and John Eastman, brother of Sir Paul's late wife, Linda.
After the ceremony, the 300 guests moved from the church into three
marquees by the side of the lake to tuck into a vegetarian Indian banquet
and Champagne on the banks of the lake on the enclosed 1,000-acre estate
at Castle Leslie, Glaslough, in County Monaghan.
A covered walkway had been custom built between the chapel and the
marquees to prevent the possibility of the heavy rainfall of previous days
dampening the celebrations.
The guests were treated to a band playing Indian and Celtic music under
the strict instructions that mobile phones should be switched off or left
behind.
McCartney had said earlier that no dress code would be required and that
while the menu was vegetarian it would also be "very liquid and
alcoholic."
"It's a rock 'n' roll wedding," Sir Paul said. "We are going to have
family and friends and a lot of fun."
Thousands of flowers, including lilies and roses, had been delivered to
the site. Lighting effects were put in trees and floating pontoons laid
along the banks of the lake, possibly for a spectacular fireworks display
expected to round off the wedding, estimated to have cost $3 million.
Ringo Starr heads to Ireland for McCartney's wedding At some point McCartney and Mills are expected to take to a 40-foot yacht on the lake. McCartney and Mills arrived at the 17th-century estate on Sunday night by helicopter. Castle Leslie has no phones, clocks or televisions in its 14 rooms. McCartney and Mills, a model who lost a leg in a motorcycle accident nine
years ago, met at a charity function where she was raising money to oppose
the use of land mines. The couple announced their engagement last July.