The groom wept, the bride wore Wang and everybody, even the sniffer dogs, sported security tags. The thoroughly modern marriage of Victoria "Posh Spice" Adams and footballer David Beckham took place at Luttrellstown Castle, Co Dublin, yesterday with all the hype of a royal wedding, but considerably less of the style.
In the end the royal theme was more prevalent than the fairytale atmosphere the couple had been so anxious to create. They sat on thrones receiving their guests, and a flag inscribed with their and their baby Brooklyn's initials was raised after the half-hour ceremony.
King David and Queen Victoria exchanged vows at 4 p.m. in a Doric temple beside a lake at Luttrellstown. "Will she promise to obey?" one reporter asked the wedding spokeswoman outside the castle. "No," she said. "Hey, this is Girl Power".
So Posh and Becks promised to love and cherish each other in the temple dubbed Queen Victoria's folly while the Manchester United star wept and their four-monthold baby looked on. The ceremony was attended by just 29 family and friends, including the three other Spice Girls. The Right Rev Paul Colton, a Manchester United fan, performed the ceremony.
Later, the rest of the 236 guests including most of the Manchester United team, and Sir Bobby Charlton arrived for a dinner that began at 8.30 p.m. Instead of red, the carpet of a newly constructed tunnel to the white marquee was a regal purple and filled with 3,427 metres of fabric including velvet, muslin drapes, taffeta and voile.
But despite the over-the-top nature of the wedding (bordering perilously on tacky) there were signs that deep down this was the marriage of a working-class boy and girl made very, very good. Vans delivering Monster Munch and Pot Noodle were reported at Luttrellstown during the week, and the expensive, but basic, wedding menu featured non-vintage champagne and sticky toffee pudding.