For her big day, "Katie wanted a simple, elegant dress," says Giorgio Armani. The Italian designer, who outfitted the entire wedding party, created an ivory silk wedding gown adorned with Valenciennes lace Photo by: Robert Evans
Tom & Katie Wed! | Tom Cruise
The first of many stunning moments at Tom Cruise's wedding to Katie Holmes came early: As guests – seated inside a converted 15th-century armory in Italy's majestic Odescalchi Castle – waited for the bride to walk down the aisle, the entire candle-filled room fell silent. "It was, by far, the most charged moment of the evening," says designer Giorgio Armani, who created Holmes's romantic off-the-shoulder gown. When the bride appeared on the arm of her father, Martin Holmes, "I saw the look on Tom's face and on her face," says actress Jenna Elfman, who was among the evening's more than 150 guests. "He was very proud. Her father looked so proud too."

While the groom, in a navy two-button Armani tux, "was beaming that Tom smile," there was someone else who couldn't conceal her delight: the couple's 7-month-old daughter Suri, dressed in an ivory silk tulle Armani frock to match her mom's and carried down the aisle by her 11-year-old brother Connor. "There were several choruses of 'Awww!' from the crowd," says Cruise's cousin, actor William Mapother. "And some wet eyes." At one point during a pause in the ceremony, "it was quiet, and then Suri cooed loudly," says a guest. "It was so sweet."
This week's cover

On Newsstands Now!

JOSH & FERGIE: ROCKED BY SCANDAL

Did he cheat with a stripper?

Married less than a year, the couple denies an Atlanta woman’s claims that she and Josh had a fling
Note that this week’s cover of PEOPLE may differ regionally

Save $1.00 off this week's issue. Click here for coupon