Newlywed Clooneys set to officialize ‘perfect’ wedding

George Clooney, left, and Amal Alamuddin arrive in Venice, Italy, Friday. AP

VENICE – Newlyweds George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin are expected to hold a civil service at Venice town hall on Monday to officialize their star-studded “more than perfect” marriage.

The Hollywood heartthrob and his wife cut an elegant pair at the prow of a vintage water taxi on Sunday when they led a flotilla of boats down the Grand Canal, after dancing nearly till dawn during a star-studded overnight ceremony and party.

“The wedding was more than perfect,” Amal’s father Ramzi Alamuddin told AFP, describing the festivities as both “grand” and “simple.”

He added that the couple were a great match and “very happy” about how they were welcomed in Venice.

“It is very good news among the bad news we are living now,” he said, referring to the unrest in the Middle East and on the borders of Lebanon, where the bride was born.

Human rights lawyer Alamuddin, who moved to Britain when she was three, looked effortlessly graceful in a long-sleeved white lace dress covered with pink and red flowers in her first public appearance as Mrs Clooney, while the US actor was suave as ever in a finely cut grey suit.

During their brief public outing 53-year-old Clooney was begged by the crowd to show off his ring, a wide band in white gold – and jokingly looked at his right hand in surprise.

Alamuddin’s ring was more delicate and looked like it featured a band of small diamonds.

They are expected to spend their honeymoon in Morocco’s former imperial city of Marrakech, according to a source.

The pair said “I do” late Saturday at a private ceremony in Venice’s palatial Aman Canal Grande hotel, before celebrating with a star-strewn guestlist in one of the eagerly awaited celebrity weddings in years.

There were wolf-whistles and cheers as the actor scooped his new wife into his arms for a nuptial kiss, and his hands were shaking so much that he did a botched job cutting the wedding cake, a source close to the hotel said.

Attendees including Matt Damon, Bill Murray, Cindy Crawford and her husband Rande Gerber – rumored to be Clooney’s best man – reportedly danced well into the early hours to tracks by Blondie, Jackson 5 and Daft Punk.

Rumors among paparazzi staking out the hotel in speed boats were that the Clooneys may ditch their guests at some point for a romantic gondola ride through the City of Canals, with a possible stop at the historic Bridge of Sighs, where legend has it lovers secure themselves eternal bliss with a kiss.

Despite having already exchanged vows, the couple are tipped to officialize their marriage under Italian law at a civil ceremony at Venice town hall, the grand Palazzo Cavalli, on Monday.

Singing gondoliers

On Saturday at sunset, a euphoric-looking Clooney made his wedding evening entrance by sweeping up Venice’s Grand Canal, accompanied by some 20 boatloads of paparazzi and the screams of adoring fans.

Singing gondoliers, who had spent the day showing off the city to snap-happy tourists, were swept aside in their wake as the world’s most famous waterway erupted with excitement.

The silver-haired actor and director, looking dashing in an Armani tux, grinned and rubbed his hands in glee as he entered the fresco-adorned Aman.

Alamuddin, 36, who stayed out of sight inside the hotel, reportedly wore a gown by red-carpet maestro Oscar de la Renta.

Clooney was thought even to have invited his Venetian taxi driver Alessandro Greco along, after the man was pictured in a tux hopping out of his boat and entering the Aman with other guests.

As journalists clambered up drain pipes to try and get a glimpse over the walls of the 450-year-old Palazzo Papadopoli, guests downed champagne and canapes, including polenta with wild mushrooms and prosciutto ham with figs.

A source said the sumptuous five-course dinner included lemon risotto with lobster and a choice for the main between sea bass and a mouth-watering Chianina steak.

Clooney reportedly dedicated the song “When I fall in Love” to Alamuddin, before a string orchestra and jazz trio performed a number of ballads including “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes.”

Clooney, who has owned a home in northern Italy for years, was married once before, to “Mad Men” actress Talia Balsam, but the pair split in 1993, just before his breakout role in the TV series “ER” propelled him to the status of global sex symbol.

Alamuddin’s rights work has involved representing Wikileaks founder Julian Assange and the pair met in Rome at the end of last year, before getting engaged in April.