True to tradition, the bride kept her 300 guests waiting before she entered Saint Salvator's, a 17th-century Protestant church on the remote Castle Leslie estate in Ireland. As an organ played a bridal march variation of "Heather" -- a song written for her by her betrothed -- Heather Mills, clad in a gown of ecru lace and attended by her sister Fiona Mills, came down the aisle. In her hands Heather carried a bouquet of 11 red-pink McCartney roses, so named in 1993 in honor of the man who waited for her at the altar: Sir Paul McCartney.
Just a week shy of his 60th birthday, the ex-Beatle had chosen the spot for its personal resonance: His mother, Mary Patricia, was born in County Monaghan. The June 11 ceremony was no less sentimental. English poet and friend Adrian Mitchell read a verse written in the couple's honor; guests sang traditional hymns while a soft rain fell outside. As Mills, 34, recited her vows, she was "overcome by the emotion of the occasion," says McCartney spokesman Geoff Baker. "She briefly faltered and wept tears of joy."
After the pair exited the church to the strains of another McCartney tune, "Wedding March," bells began to peal. When the ringing stopped, so did the rain. And, as if it was just one more extra in the elaborate, roughly $3.2 million extravaganza, two rainbows appeared. It seemed an excellent omen for the couple, whose three-year romance has been buffeted by a tough British press and some difficult moments with McCartney's children.
The guest list was made up mostly of long-time friends and family, with an eclectic bunch of stars sprinkled in, such as former Beatle Ringo, ex-model Twiggy and actor Steve Buscemi, whom McCartney met last October at the Concert for New York City. For many the wedding day began at a hotel near London's Heathrow airport, where guests gathered before boarding two chartered aircraft for the 90-minute flight to Belfast. From there 14 buses and vans chauffeured them the last 60 miles of their journey.
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