When Paul McCartney first got married, tears from lovelorn Beatles fans who pined for “the cute one” could’ve rivaled the Thames. Still, 30 years later, McCartney’s marriage to Heather Mills left nary a dry eye in the castle.
The 59-year-old former Beatle wed Mills, 34, just after 5 p.m. Tuesday (June 11) in Glaslough, Ireland, according to Reuters. The private ceremony took place at St. Salvator’s Church on the 1,000-acre estate of Castle Leslie, a 17th century castle that now functions as 14-room luxury hotel near the Northern Irish border.
Following the ceremony a grand reception was thrown for the newlyweds’ 300 guests, including Ringo Starr, the Pretenders’ Chrissie Hynde, 1960s fashion icon Twiggy, Pink Floyd guitarist Dave Gilmour, Elton John and former Beatles manager George Martin.
In a novel barter that speaks of Mills’ philanthropy, photos of the wedding were released to the media in exchange for a contribution to her anti-landmine charity.
News of the wedding’s specifics surfaced last week, despite attempts by the couple to keep the function on the down low.
“As you know there is going to be a wedding tomorrow, but it is a secret,” McCartney joked to reporters gathered in front of the castle Monday.
The couple met at one of Mills’ anti-landmine charity functions in 1999 and announced their engagement in July. The bride was married once before, in 1989, and was almost wed a second time 10 years later, to documentary cameraman Chris Terrill, though the engagement was broken two weeks before the wedding.
McCartney has three children and a stepdaughter from his marriage to photographer and animal-rights activist Linda Eastman, who died of breast cancer in 1998.
Prior to the wedding, McCartney had wrapped up his first tour in a decade in May, promoting his latest solo album, last year’s Driving Rain. More recently he joined Ozzy Osbourne, Ricky Martin, Phil Collins, Elton John and Brian Wilson, among others, in honoring England’s Queen Elizabeth during the queen’s Golden Jubilee weekend.
