George Clooney and human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin were married today in a private ceremony in Venice, Italy, the actor's representative said. Clooney's celebrity pals joined the couple to celebrate the ceremony in the luxury Aman hotel overlooking Venice's spectacular Grand Canal. Clooney and friends had coolly sipped champagne before gliding up the majestic Grand Canal in the evening, waving to hundreds of well-wishers on shore and a flotilla of photographers chasing a glimpse of what presumably were his final public moments of bachelorhood.
His water taxi was the last of a procession of a dozen that brought guests including Cindy Crawford, Bill Murray, and Matt Damon from the five-star Cipriani hotel opposite St. Mark's Square up the Grand Canal. With the pink sunset casting a gleam on Venice's most picturesque canal, Clooney rubbed his hands in sweet anticipation, and disappeared into the Aman's tent-covered pier. There were no signs of the bride, who was last seen publicly yesterday riding a water-taxi down the Grand Canal with Clooney. (More George Clooney stories.)