And perhaps a bit triumphant as well. Eager for an intimate, private affair to celebrate the joining of the Ciccone and Ritchie clans, the couple -- at considerable cost and with a security force of 70 -- got what they wanted. Arriving at Skibo (purchased in 1898 by Scottish-born Pittsburgh steel magnate Andrew Carnegie) on Dec. 18 after booking all 51 bedrooms on the 7,500-acre Scottish Highlands estate for five nights, the couple and their guests spent the next few days indulging their inner aristocrats. Ritchie, who grew up shooting in Scotland with his dad, went duck hunting with Adam and Vaughn, while Madonna, who went clay pigeon shooting once, mostly strolled the castle grounds, did her yoga and watched displays of falconry with Paltrow, McCartney and Styler from the castle windows. At night, with roaring fires toasting the rooms, there were sumptuous dinner parties awash in expensive wines and traditional fare, including haggis, a hearty mix of lamb, oatmeal and spices. Madonna, says a friend, "had a new frock for every evening."

But upon this tableau of turn-of-the-century elegance, the Michigan-born Madonna left her own distinctive stamp. Inverting the traditional love-marriage-baby carriage sequence, she held an evening christening for Rocco the day before the wedding. As hundreds of well-wishers milled outside the 13th-century Dornoch Cathedral in north Scotland, about five miles north of Skibo, little Rocco, outfitted in a white, gold-embroidered gown designed by Donatella Versace, was baptized. After the baby's godmother, Styler, read the lengthy "Lorica" hymn, Sting sang "Ave Maria," while godfather Guy Oseary of Maverick Records looked on. "Rocco was simply marvelous, smiling and never crying once," says his grandfather John Ritchie. "It was very moving and quite a few people cried."

Invitations to the elegant highland fling that followed were extended only to close friends and family. (Madonna's pal Rosie O'Donnell couldn't make it because of the holidays; rumored attendees like Elton John, the Dalai Lama and Brad Pitt weren't there.) The bride's father, Tony, 69, and reportedly all but one of her seven siblings were in attendance. On Ritchie's side were his mother, Lady (Amber) Leighton, and his father, John, accompanied by stepmother Shireen Ritchie and Oliver, 21, her son from a previous marriage. "It means a great deal to Guy to get married in Scotland," says John, a retired advertising executive and former army officer who served in the Scottish Seaforth Highlanders, as did Guy's now-deceased grandfather. "We love the thought of it too."