Armfuls of delicate blush-coloured roses and white hydrangeas have been delivered. The marquee has been erected and bottles of bubbly are chilling. And if there was any doubt that Sir Paul McCartney and Nancy Shevell were planning to seal their four-year courtship by tying the knot on Sunday then you only had to look at the couple's giddy smiles for confirmation. No official statement was released. But on Saturday the Beatles legend did tell wellwishers outside his home in London's upmarket St John's Wood district: "Hi guys. Thanks for coming. We're looking forward to it. See you guys."
Macca and his bride spent the day before their wedding at a local synagogue marking Yom Kippur - the elegant brunette is Jewish. The ceremony was due to take place, with just 30 family members and close friends present, at Marylebone Register Office, a short distance away from the three-storey pad the pop star bought for £40,000 in 1965. It was here four years later that Macca, now 69, married his beloved late wife Linda, to whom he was happily married until her death from breast cancer in 1998.
Perhaps, the choice of venue is Nancy's way of acknowledging her memory. The 51-year-old New Yorker, who is on the board of her family's million-dollar trucking business, knew Linda, who was also American. She and her former husband Bruce Blakeman were friends of the McCartneys for many years. Sunday's celebration is a compromise between his and Linda's low-key wedding and the £1.5 million extravaganza that marked his second marriage to Heather Mills.
Then 300 guests were entertained in a sumptuous Irish castle, reportedly sipping vintage Cristal and Laurent Perrier, costing £180. This time, after a service costing just £1,540, a reception will be held at his home. Dumagin Grande, a little known but delicious brand of champagne, will be served at a cost of £26.50 a bottle. Some hundred chairs are now standing in the marquee and an awning has been erected at the entrance to the property. Guests making their way through this will, of course, include the happy couple's children.
Nancy has a 19-year-old son named Arlen from her first marriage. Meanwhile, the groom is father to adopted daughter Heather, Linda’s daughter from a previous relationship, photographer Mary, fashion designer Stella, musician James and Beatrice, his seven-year-old girl with Heather. They are ecstatic that after a stormy few years, the superstar will have a beautiful new wife and of course, She Loves Him, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah...
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