Dua Lipa and Callum Turner's wedding preparations have well and truly commenced, as event furniture was observed arriving at their venue in Sicily on Wednesday. The popstar, 30, and actor, 36, held their legal wedding ceremony at London's Old Marylebone Town Hall ahead of their three-day Sicily extravaganza later this week.
Legal Ceremony and Upcoming Celebration
Having exchanged vows, they are now legally wed, paving the way for their grand party in Sicily's capital Palermo, set to last from Thursday to Saturday. Insiders have hailed the couple's second nuptials as the 'showbiz wedding of the year', calling it Sicily's most high-profile marriage since Al Pacino's Michael Corleone wed Apollonia Vitelli in the 1972 classic The Godfather.
No expense has been spared for the big day, with the pair reportedly booking an entire floor of suites at the luxurious Villa Igiea hotel overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea. The ceremony itself will take place at the 17th-century Villa Valguarnera, perhaps the most sumptuous of the villas in Bagheria, an idyllic town ten miles from the capital.
Security and Preparations
Road restrictions around the Villa Valguarnera, which will host a Saturday evening party, came into effect at midnight and will remain in place until Monday. The baroque 18th-century villa, once used as a Mafia stronghold, has been ringed by security wearing black T-shirts and carrying walkie-talkies. Several vans were parked at the entrance to the villa in the suburb of Bagheria, a few minutes from Palermo, and workers were seen unloading furniture.
One worker told the Daily Mail: 'I can't tell you anything. It's for a private function - a wedding but you know who I am talking about, you don't need to be a detective.' Several blacked-out luxury event vans were also parked next to the entrance gates, and an organiser carrying a clipboard wandered up and down talking loudly into her handset. No parking signs were evident, and the restrictions were arranged by Milan-based events planners Fasten Seat Belt, with a receptionist at their offices refusing to reveal any details, stating: 'We can't discuss private events. Sorry.'
Venue and Guest List
The stunning 18th-century Palazzo Gangi, privately owned, will be the centre of the party on Saturday, with its spectacular Galleria degli Specchi (Hall of Mirrors) providing the perfect setting. Three hundred family and friends will attend the three-day shindig, which begins on Thursday, with private jet slots booked at Palermo's airport and a fleet of blacked-out limousines to ferry guests to various villas and hotels.
Sir Elton John, Mark Ronson, and Charli XCX are among the music stars billed to attend, along with Donatella Versace and Simon Porte Jacquemus from the fashion world. In advance of the wedding, Dua is believed to have travelled to Italy to meet Donatella to finalise details of the dress she is designing for the singer to wear on her big day. Because of her longstanding friendship with the designer, friends are convinced that Dua will wear a custom Atelier Versace gown.
