Paul McCartney marries Heather Mills - June 11, 2002
From BeatlesWiki
| Event | |
| Date | June 11, 2002 |
| Short description | Paul McCartney marries Heather Mills. |
| Location | St. Salvator's Church, County Monaghan, Ireland |
Paul McCartney, 59, marries former model Heather Mills, 34, at St. Salvator's Church in County Monaghan, Ireland. The church was built in the 17th century and is located on Castle Leslie's 1000-acre estate. It began at 4:00 PM and was conducted by the Venerable Cecil Pringle, Archdeacon of Clogher. The church bells rang at 5:20 PM, signaling the end of the wedding. USA Today reported, "McCartney's brother, Mike, who was best man when Paul married Linda Eastman in 1969, was best man again Tuesday. John Eastman, Linda's brother, along with Paul's children, Stella, James, Mary and stepdaughter Heather, were on hand, but not part of the ceremony." Mike McCartney's 19-year-old son Joshua was in charge of rings. Mike McCartney told The Sun that "Over there I was just feet away from two people who love each other - that's all you want in life. If you're lucky and you both love each other, that is all anybody needs." He also said that Paul had been feeling lucky because he had spotted a double rainbow the day before and he had taken this as a sign of good luck. For extra luck, he wore a "magic buttonhole" to marry Mills. Mike McCartney also said, "Not only did he have a pink McCartney rose but he had a sprig from Dad's lavender bush and Mum's favourite flowers - two buttercups - in his lapel. That lavender bush came from our family home in Forthlin Road, Liverpool. All our lives we had lavender around us. Mum would put it in little sachets and leave it in drawers and Dad would burn it in his ashtray." Mills' dress was made of ecru lace and was designed by herself, with help from London fashion house Avis & Brown. Her hair was styled by Amanda Amos from Brighton and her makeup was done by Matthew Alexander of Michael John. Geoff Baker, Paul McCartney's publicist, descibed the ceremony as "joyful and moving. Heather captured the hearts of the congregation when, overcome by the emotion of the occasion, she briefly faltered and wept tears of joy whilst making her vows." Heather was given away by her sister Fiona Mills. Traditional hymns were used at the ceremony, such as "Praise My Soul," "The King of Heaven" and "Lord of All Hopefulness," but also "Heather," a song written especially by the ceremony by Paul was played while Mills entered with a bouquet of eleven McCartney roses. When they walked down the church aisle, the song Wedding March, written by Paul McCartney for the 1966 film The Family Way was played on organ. 300 people were invited. Besides McCartney family members, also appearing at the ceremony were Ringo Starr, George Martin, Pink Floyd front man David Gilmour, Jools Holland, 1960's model Twiggy, Chrissie Hynde, and actor Steve Buscemi. They flew to one of the Indian Ocean's archipelago private islands for their honeymoon on June 13. After the honeymoon ended, they planned to co-host the "Adopt-A-Minefield Second Annual Dinner" on September 18 at the Century Plaza hotel in Los Angeles. Paul McCartney is expected to give a musical performance while Jay Leno emcees the event.
