Introducing Mr. and Mrs. Tom Cruise

updated 11:49 a.m. ET Nov. 20, 2006

BRACCIANO, Italy - Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes exchanged vows Saturday in a lavish, star-studded wedding celebrated in a fairy-tale setting: a glowing 15th-century castle in this medieval lakeside town.

Richard Gere, Jennifer Lopez and Jim Carrey were among the more than 150 relatives and friends at the union of “TomKat,” whose relationship has created a media firestorm since the superstar couple announced it little more than a year and a half ago.

Giorgio Armani, who designed the clothes of the entire wedding party, was there too, as was Brooke Shields, who has patched up a very public rift created when Cruise criticized her for using prescription drugs to treat postpartum depression.

Oil-fed torches and tiny candles flickered from the battlements and windows of the Odescalchi castle as the couple and guests gathered for the evening wedding in the town about 27 miles northwest of Rome. The ceremony was performed by a Scientology minister, the couple’s publicists said.

Bride dressed in ivory silk
The couple’s baby, Suri, came dressed in white and in her mother’s arms, seven months after her birth created a sensation of its own.

The wedding party included Cruise’s two children, Isabella and Connor, from his previous marriage to Nicole Kidman, the publicists said in a statement. The best man was Cruise’s best friend David Miscavige and the matron of honor was Holmes’ sister Nancy Blaylock.

Holmes wore a black dress and boots before she changed into an off-the-shoulder ivory silk gown designed by Giorgio Armani for the ceremony. Her father, Martin Holmes, walked her down the aisle and she carried a bouquet of flowers made by Armani including calla lilies.

Cruise, who sported dark shades and waved to fans as he rode through the castle gates in a van, wore a single breasted navy blue Armani handmade suit, with an ivory silk French collar shirt of the same fabric as the bride’s gown for the wedding.

Armani told The Associated Press that Cruise, then Holmes, walked down a stone ramp lined with flag bearers in medieval costumes and to the roll of drums.

‘Surprise and awe’
They exchanged vows in a former stable decorated simply with white flowers.

“For the Americans, this was very special because Americans do not have this kind of thing back home, and they dream of such things in our beautiful country, and you can see the surprise and the awe on their faces,” Armani said.

He added that the 20-minute ceremony ended with “a never-ending kiss” that prompted some of the guests to shout “stop, stop!”

Italian singer Andrea Bocelli serenaded the couple at the reception and the bride and groom cut a five-tiered white chocolate wedding cake. Fireworks later burst above the castle, but the view was marred by a foggy night.

Other famous guests included soccer star David Beckham’s pop star wife Victoria, formerly known as Posh Spice of the Spice Girls.

Cruise and Holmes arrived separately to the castle earlier Saturday, with pouring rain forcing Holmes and her daughter to take shelter under large, green umbrellas as they left their limousine. The sun was shining on the castle when Cruise arrived in a van from Rome, where the family had been staying in a luxury hotel near the Spanish Steps, with some fans shouting, “Tom, Tom!”

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