This impressive list of achievements is nothing unusual, perhaps, for a 21st-century icon. But for the former Beatle, who lost his first wife Linda to breast cancer four years ago, his wedding marks the start of a new chapter as it cements his love for a woman about whom he has said, "As soon as I met her I knew she was the one for me."

He in turn has been described by his bride as "the most romantic man in the world", a fact borne out by the fairytale ceremony at the 17th-century Castle Leslie in County Monaghan.

Sir Paul's wedding cements his love for a woman about whom he said: "As soon as I met her I knew she was the one for me"

Heather was a beautiful bride in ivory lace as she married the legendary rock musician. The two exchanged vows in front of 300 friends and family members, including Ringo Starr, Sixties icon Twiggy, and tennis star Monica Seles

Heather, wearing an ivory lace gown she designed herself and clutching a bouquet of 11 McCartney roses, had kept Paul waiting for eight minutes before the ceremony, in line with tradition. The singer-songwriter stood patiently at the altar as Heather sailed to the church across the castle’s lake on a boat bedecked with white lilies.

The ceremony, which included a reading from Ringo Starr based on The Beatles’ hit, All You Need Is Love, began when the 34-year-old bride entered the church to the sounds of Heather, a song written for her from Paul’s Driving Rain album. The romantic nuptials came to a rousing end, finishing off with cheers from friends and family members as the happy couple shared a kiss, and wedding bells pealed for 20 minutes.

Guests then headed to three-flower-filled marquees for an Indian vegetarian banquet, along with beer and champagne, and tasted a £1,000 four-tier chocolate wedding cake for dessert. Entertainment followed the theme, with a troupe of Indian dancers, and music by ten-piece band Celtic Bangra.

The £3-million wedding, planned down to the last detail, was strictly a family affair – with the 300 invited guests including just a handful of celebs, including musician Jools Holland, The Pretenders front woman Chrissie Hynde, Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour, American actor Steve Buscemi, Sixties icon Twiggy, and tennis star Monica Seles.

Paul’s designer daughter Stella McCartney was on hand, as was his eldest daughter Mary, who revealed just before the ceremony she is expecting her second child. Other family among the congregation included Paul’s son James, his stepdaughter Heather, and the bride’s sister Claire.

“I’m very excited,” said one of Paul’s relatives, second cousin Sally Murphy. “Paul and Heather love each other to bits but they are just normal people like us – only with more money.” And gifts for the wealthy couple ran the gamut from a bread maker from Paul’s cousin Kate Robbins to donations to Heather’s land mine charity. One unique gift was a framed sketch of the couple. “What do you give a multi-millionaire?” said the artist, cousin Ian Harris, 64. “At least this is different.”

The reception came to an end around 2am, when Paul and Heather sailed back over the lake as fireworks went off overhead. They couple were then whisked away in a helicopter to the £17-million yacht Salperton, to start their honeymoon in a secret destination.

GLASLOUGH, Ireland, June 11 — Paul McCartney and fiancee Heather Mills had a little help from their friends — and the ex-Beatle’s own music — for their wedding Tuesday in a rambling castle under threatening Irish skies. The bride entered the 17th-century church to McCartney’s song “Heather” — which he wrote for his recent album, “Driving Rain.” As Mills, in a fitted ecru lace dress she designed, walked back up the aisle with McCartney, the organ played the “Wedding March.” McCartney wrote the song for the movie “The Family Way” in the 1960s.

IN KEEPING WITH tradition, the bride was eight minutes late for the 4:30 p.m. ceremony, performed by Cecil Pringle, archdeacon of Clogher. Mills, her hair styled by Amanda Amos of Brighton and her makeup by Mathew Alexander of Michael John, was given away by her sister Fiona Mills. She carried a bouquet of 11 McCartney Roses and two peonies — in 1993 roses growers named a red/pink rose in McCartney’s honor — and she briefly faltered and wept while saying her vows.
McCartney, with his brother Mike serving as best man, wore a three-piece suit with a McCartney Rose buttonhole. Hymns at the 30-minute service were “Praise My Soul,” “The King of Heaven” and “Lord of All Hopefulness.”
Not long after the appointed wedding hour of 4:30 p.m. (11:30 a.m. ET), a story on the BBC News site reported that the pair had married, though its cover page was at first more cautious, noting that the two “are thought to have married.”
The BBC also reported that the castle’s church bells rang out at noon ET, “to indicate that the couple had taken their vows.” There was no official word from inside Castle Leslie, but fans outside took the ringing of bells — and the reported appearance of a rainbow — to mean they’d tied the knot.
Two security guards who would not give their names said the service was over, and that the newlyweds had left the chapel for a reception on the grounds. The festivities featured a feast of Indian food, music, dance and fireworks.
Earlier in the day, McCartney’s spokesman confirmed that former Beatle Ringo Starr, Beatles producer George Martin and Pink Floyd frontman David Gilmour were among the 300 guests for the ceremony, where the dress code was casual, and the food strictly vegetarian. Women in Indian costume were seen heading to the castle grounds and were expected to dance or serve the food, which was accompanied by crates of champagne and 150 kegs of Ireland’s celebrated black Guinness stout.
Former Beatle Ringo Starr arrives at Belfast on Tuesday, to attend the wedding of Sir Paul McCartney and Heather Mills.
Starr, dressed in a frilly white shirt and jeans, arrived at Belfast International Airport on Tuesday on his private jet and was chauffeured to the castle. About 90 relatives and friends of the former Beatle arrived at the Belfast airport on a chartered flight from Liverpool and were met by a fleet of coaches and limousines to carry them to Castle Leslie in County Monaghan. Veteran British actress Joan Collins and composer Tim Rice were reportedly on the flight.
Musicians Chrissie Hynde and Jools Holland and former model Twiggy arrived later on a chartered flight from London’s Heathrow airport. Pop veteran Sir Elton John was rumored to be on his way. Guitarist Eric Clapton and former U.S. president Bill Clinton were also expected.
Cars passing through the estate gates Tuesday ran a gauntlet of cameramen, and a group of bewildered caterers were mobbed by reporters.
British musician Chinmaya Dunster said he and his eight-piece band would entertain the wedding party with a blend of Celtic and Indian music for 90 minutes between the service and the meal, which was to be Indian style. He said McCartney had contacted him after hearing his album “Celtic Ragas” and asked him to perform.
“There are elaborate decorations in the marquee, including Indian silks and luxurious cushions,” Dunster said. “It is sort of like a chill-out lounge at a dance party. All the guests will either have their mobile phones turned off or will have had them taken away from them as it is a relaxing period between the service and the meal.”
Fairy-tale day for rags-to-riches Mills
On Monday, McCartney kissed Mills and handed her a red rose to the cheers of hundreds of fans gathered outside the remote 17th-century castle. The couple stood at the heavily guarded estate gates as cameras flashed and journalists from around the world jostled for position.
“As you know there is going to be a wedding tomorrow, but it is a secret,” joked McCartney, who was dressed casually in gray trousers and a blue long-sleeved T-shirt.“Ten people at the wedding you have heard of and the rest will be family and friends,” the former Beatle said.
Former model Twiggy arrives at Belfast International Airport on Tuesday, en route to Castle Leslie.
“If it had to leak, it leaked in the best way,” he added as he clutched his fiancee’s hand and kissed her several times for the cameras. He revealed little about the ceremony at the wedding chapel within the walls of Castle Leslie or the party afterward for about 300 guests. “We’re not going to worry about the weather, we’re just going to have a great time,” McCartney added.
The public is likely to see little of what actually occurred behind the castle’s high stone walls. Security guards had been patrolling the perimeter for days and Irish police cordoned off Glaslough’s main street.
McCartney’s children, Stella, Mary and James, and his stepdaughter, Heather, arrived at the castle on Monday.

Second marriage for McCartney
The rock legend said the wedding on Tuesday would be “for all our family and friends.”
He admitted to being nervous despite rehearsals for the ceremony having gone “brilliantly.”
McCartney’s mother hailed from County Monaghan.
McCartney and the former model had arrived on Sunday by helicopter on the castle’s 1,000-acre estate where elaborate preparations have been under way for days.


“They are very smiley, very happy,” McCartney’s spokesman Geoff Baker said. “They look like a couple of teenagers about to be wed.”

JUST ONE WEDDING PHOTO
Baker said the British magazine “Hello” had offered 1.5 million pounds ($2.2 million) for exclusive rights to photos of the event but that the couple had decided to sell pictures for 1,000 pounds each through an agency and donate proceeds to the charity Adopt A Minefield UK.
McCartney said a single photo of the wedding would be released to media organizations, in return for a small contribution to Mills’ anti-land mines charity. Media outlets are allowed to use the photo for just 24 hours.
On Monday, as organizers put the finishing touches on decorations, some villagers in Glaslough near the Northern Ireland border complained that the celebrity bride and groom weren’t supporting the local economy, and criticized them for importing items for the ceremony.
Florist Aileen Scott complained that flowers, including lilies and roses, had been specially shipped from Holland.
“They are sourcing nothing at all at local level,” she said. “Even the castle staff have been sent away so that they can bring in outsiders.”
Monaghan Chamber of Commerce executive director Joe Heron told the Dublin-based newspaper Ireland on Sunday: “We would like the goods to come from local suppliers. The castle is a significant part of the local economy.”

PHOTOS TAKEN
However, three enterprising youngsters said they’ve already profited from the nuptials by sneaking into the estate with disposable cameras that journalists had given them and photographing the preparations for 25 euros, or $23, each.
“We did not know who they were,” 14-year-old David Bellow said of the reporters with whom he and his two friends struck a deal.
“But it was easy money so we did it. The journalists wanted a picture inside the marquee but none of us had the guts to go on the other side of the lake and get that,” said Bellows, who added that he’d heard of the Beatles, but preferred rave music.

Security staff guard the entrance to Castle Leslie in the small town of Glaslough in County Monaghan, Ireland.

Shelley Smith, who works in a local store, said most villagers were thrilled by the wedding taking place in the tiny community.
“We really like the fact that they came here to get married, given what a famous person he is,” the 27-year-old said.
Castle Leslie, which is now a luxury hotel, has been the center of frenzied media activity since reports of the wedding emerged last week. A giant tent and dance floor were constructed next to a lake, and a pontoon was built with a luxury boat moored alongside.

NO PHONES, NO CLOCKS
The estate also boasts a helicopter landing pad, but the castle has no phones, clocks or televisions in its 14 rooms.
McCartney and Mills — a model who lost a leg in a motorcycle accident nine years ago — met at a charity function where she was raising money to oppose the use of land mines. The couple announced their engagement last July.
Before her accident, Mills helped set up a refugee crisis center in the former Yugoslavia. Later, she established the Heather Mills Trust to raise money for young disabled victims of war and provide artificial limbs for land mine victims. The recipient of several humanitarian achievement awards, she campaigns for a ban on land mines and counsels amputees.
Mills was married briefly in 1989. In 1999, she’d planned to marry documentary cameraman Chris Terrill, but the wedding was called off two weeks before the ceremony.
McCartney, who was knighted in 1997, has three grown children and a stepdaughter from his marriage to Linda, an acclaimed photographer and crusader for vegetarianism and animal rights who died of breast cancer in 1998.
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The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

Paul McCartney's not looking so good. In fact, he's suffering from powdery mildew. At the same time, Barbra Streisand is bursting with good health -- green and glossy.

Of course, it's not Paul and Barbra themselves that provide such a contrast, but rather their two namesake roses in a San Francisco garden. That's because regardless of whether you prefer "Yesterday" to "The Way We Were," the McCartney rose is less resistant to fungal diseases than the Streisand rose.

A smart green gardener wouldn't plant a McCartney rose in San Francisco's fog belt, because black spot, rust, and powdery mildew are typically controlled by spraying fungicide. And roses that have been weakened by disease will also be more susceptible to attacks from other garden pests. That's why it's best to choose the right rose before you plant. Here's what you need to know:

Do your research. First do a little research to find out what kinds of roses do well in your climate. As a rule, all roses like lots of sunlight, but some varieties will tolerate partial shade as well as cooler, wetter environments better than others. Rugosa roses -- which include a wide number of varieties -- are particularly well-known for their disease resistance. Also, older varieties tend to be hardier (and better smelling) than newer ones. Miniature roses are also good.

Water smarter. Roses need lots of water, but it's important to do it right. Wet leaves can lead to blackspot fungus, so use a soaker to do a deep slow watering. This will also encourage deep roots and a healthy plant.

Air things out. Wet leaves don't contribute to powdery mildew (although a damp climate does). Keep plants that might be susceptible to this fungus healthy by pruning them so that they get plenty of air circulation. Plenty of sunlight and airflow is the goal.

Show some restraint. If black spot or powdery mildew appears on your plants in spite of all your precautions, don't immediately reach for the fungicide. For one thing, the fungicide won't "cure" fungus -- it's only effective as a preventative and to prevent spreading. First, remove all diseased leaves from the plant to stop the spread of disease. Then try spraying with a baking soda mixture to change the pH of the leaves. Combine 1 1/2 tablespoon baking soda and either 2 tablespoons horticultural oil or a few drops of Ivory liquid with 1 gallon of water. Mix well and spray both sides of the leaves once a week.

Love, Love They DO!

By Stephen Williams, Staff Writer

June 12, 2002

First he was just Paul, then a Beatle, then the Walrus, then, for months, he was dead. Now he's remarried.

As church bells pealed in Ireland's County Monaghan yesterday (more than a few locals thought it was to celebrate Ireland's 3-nil win over Saudi Arabia in the World Cup), ex-Beatle Paul McCartney and ex-model Heather Mills tied the knot at a 300-year-old church.Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr, Pink Floyd's David Gilmour, Elton John and producer George Martin were on hand as witnesses and joined some 300 guests in a post-nuptial lakeside vegetarian buffet on the grounds of Castle Leslie, a 17th Century estate in Glaslough.

The menu was also described by a caterer as "very liquid and alcoholic." Witnesses reported that, along with thousands of lilies and roses, crates of champagne and dozens of kegs of Guinness stout were stocked in.

The much-heralded $1-million-plus event was slightly soggy, but no heavy rain fell. The ceremony was reportedly delayed a short time when a couple of helicopters, ostensibly occupied by paparazzi, hovered above the church. Thousands of fans and reporters were jammed outside the estate's grounds, watching as limos with darkened windows glided past.

Bells rang just after 5 p.m. (about noon in New York) signaling the hour-long ceremony was done.

Mills, who is 34 -- 25 years younger than "Macca," as her husband is called in his homeland -- had entered the church to the strains of "Heather,” a new song by McCartney. She wore a fitted ecru lace dress she helped design, and she carried a bouquet of roses and peonies. As the pair walked down the aisle, an organist played a wedding march McCartney composed for a 1966 movie, "The Family Way.”

McCartney allowed few photographers at the wedding. Newspapers and news outlets, including Newsday, were asked to pay $1,500 to run the picture of McCartney and Mills. The money was to be given to charity.

Despite reports of friction with Mills, McCartney's four children, including his fashion-designer daughter Stella, arrived at the castle Monday. McCartney's brother, Mike, was once again his best man.

Sir Paul and his first wife, Linda, who died of breast cancer in 1998, never spent a day apart in their 29-year marriage, McCartney has said. The Daily Mail reported the couple would spend last night in the castle's Red Room.
Copyright © 2002, Newsday, Inc.


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