Around 11 p.m. the group reassembled in a makeshift disco in the castle basement, where Madonna appeared in a white ivory pantsuit, also designed by McCartney, and flashing millions of dollars' worth of diamonds on loan from Harry Winston. She was "decked out in diamonds," says Ronald Winston, who designed Madonna's wedding cross. With Miami deejay Tracy Young in charge of the music -- which included a judicious mix of Madonna and Sting tunes -- the guests danced into the wee hours.
The festive mood lingered at least through Christmas, which Madonna and Ritchie spent at Sting and Styler's sprawling country house in Wiltshire, England. On Christmas Eve they reportedly stopped in at a local pub for a drink and later sang carols during midnight mass at the local church. British bookmakers say the chances are 1 in 3 that the newlyweds' union will last five years. Friends are more optimistic. "This is a very different Madonna we are seeing," says a longtime pal. "They seem really happy together, but it is a real grown-up sort of love. It is lovely to see."
-- JILL SMOLOWE
-- PETE NORMAN, JOANNE FOWLER, CARIS DAVIS, TIM DAWSON and PETER MIKELBANK in Dornoch, MICHELLE CARUSO in Los Angeles and EILEEN FINAN and SIMON PERRY in London
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
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