Venice (AFP) - Hollywood
heartthrob George Clooney and Lebanese-British lawyer Amal Alamuddin
married in Venice on Saturday before partying the night away with their
A-list friends in one of the most high-profile celebrity weddings in
years.
"George
Clooney and Amal Alamuddin were married today (September 27) in a
private ceremony in Venice, Italy," Clooney spokesman Stan Rosenfield
said.
The announcement came
as a surprise as the pair were not expected to officially tie the knot
until Monday, though they are still tipped for a civil ceremony at the
town hall to officialise the marriage under Italian law.
Earlier
in the evening, a euphoric-looking Clooney swept up Venice's Grand
Canal to attend his wedding party, accompanied by some 20 boatloads of
paparazzi and the screams of adoring fans.
Hundreds
of camera flashes lit the water around him as the world's most eligible
bachelor prepared to break hearts across the world and exchange vows
with his beautiful dark-haired fiancee.
The
silver-haired actor and director, looking dashing in an Armani tux,
grinned and rubbed his hands in glee as he entered the seven-star Aman
hotel's grand entrance to celebrate with Hollywood chums who have flown
in from across the globe for the party.
Lebanese-born Alamuddin,
who stayed out of sight inside the hotel, looked dazzling in a gown by
red-carpet maestro Oscar de la Renta, according to a source.
Matt
Damon, Bono, Bill Murray, Cindy Crawford and her husband Rande Gerber
-- rumoured to be Clooney's best man -- glided up the canal ahead of the
groom with dozens of other guests, waving to the crowds and showing off
snazzy Versace, Gucci and Prada gowns.
Singing
gondoliers, who had spent the day showing off the romantic candle-lit
resort to snap-happy tourists, were swept aside in their wake as the
world's most famous waterway erupted with excitement.
Generous
George was even thought to have invited his Venetian taxi driver
Alessandro Greco along, after he was pictured in a tux hopping out of
his boat and entering the Aman with other guests.
Clooney's
36-year-old bride had been snapped Friday evening in a red gown at a
soiree with close friends including actress Ellen Barkin -- who threw
the human rights lawyer a hen party several weeks ago.
In a Cinderella moment,
Alamuddin lost her shoe after the stiletto heel got caught in a gap in
the slatted floor in front of the hotel, but she recovered in style.
- Lobster, wild mushrooms, figs -
Tantalising
details have emerged of the wedding dinner, with stars reportedly to
dine on lobster, wild mushrooms and figs at a banquet fit for the gods.
Clooney
said goodbye to bachelorhood Friday night with a stag party at his
favourite restaurant, just hours after sweeping into the floating city
with Amal aboard a water taxi dubbed "Amore".
After
shaking off the paparazzi, Clooney and his chums headed to Da Ivo near
Saint Mark's Square for the venue's prized Venetian and Tuscan
delicacies.
The feasting continued
Saturday evening in the garden of the 450-year-old Palazzo Papadopoli,
where guests were met with lashings of bubbly and canapes, including
polenta with wild mushrooms and prosciutto ham with figs, according to a
source.
The sumptuous five-course dinner was expected to include
lemon risotto with lobster and a sea bass main -- as well as a wedding
cake.- 'When I fall in love' -
The 53-year-old actor had 100 cases of his own tequila label flown in for his wedding and cracked open bottles of the award-winning tipple at the party after handing one over to thirsty-looking paparazzi loitering outside his hotel earlier in the day.
The Aman's
restaurant was transformed into a nightclub where they were set to dance
the night away, with Clooney dedicating the song "When I fall in Love"
to Alamuddin.
A string
orchestra and jazz trio are also expected to perform a number of songs,
including the uber-romantic "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes", a ballad made
famous by The Platters in 1958.
Clooney,
who has owned a home in northern Italy for years, was married once
before, to "Mad Men" actress Talia Balsam, but the pair split in 1993,
just before his breakout role in "ER" propelled him to the status of
global sex symbol.
Alamuddin's rights work has involved representing Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.
She moved to Britain as a three-year-old.
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