February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
By Andrew Bushe
DUBLIN — Pin-up Manchester United midfielder David Beckham and Spice Girl Victoria Adams tied the knot recently in what was billed as the celebrity wedding of the year at a romantic Dublin Castle.
A single white dove was released as the golden couple exchanged vows. The intimate ceremony was only attended by family and close friends as the Church of Ireland Bishop of Cork Paul Colton presided.
A Spice Girls spokeswomen said it had been joyful and romantic with a few tears shed.
Afterward, there was a lavish reception at the French-owned Luttrellstown Castle retreat for the rich in Castleknock.
No expense was spared for the nuptials between the multi-millionaires Beckham, 24, and Adams, 25, better known as Posh Spice.
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The celebrity pair, who are reported to be jointly worth an estimated £20-25 million, are already young parents. Their son, Brooklyn — apparently named after the New York borough where he was conceived — was born in March.
Dubbed the "people’s royal wedding" by the tabloid press, exclusive media rights to the showbiz affair have been bought up by glossy magazine OK! for a reported £1 million.
The weddings of stars has become a lucrative business in the cut-throat circulation wars between the glitzy magazines that follow the lives of the rich and famous.
Another Spice Girl, Mel B, sold the rights of her wedding to dancer Jimmy Gulzar and the result is reported to have been a record sale of 800,000 copies for OK! last September.
Beckham and Posh exchanged wedding rings within a tight ring of security around the wooded 560-acre estate.
Crowds gathered at the entrance hoping to catch a glimpse of hundreds of showbiz/soccerbiz guests on their way into the medieval castle but many traveled in smoked-glass limousines or people carriers.
The guests included other members of the Spice Girls group Baby Spice Emma Bunton, Sporty Spice Melanie Chisholm and Scary Spice Melanie Brown, Manchester United team-mates and Sir Bobby Charlton.
Geri Halliwell, the former Ginger Spice, who quit the group 13 months ago, was not there. She sang at an outdoor concert to a 100,000-strong crowd in London’s Hyde Park, held to benefit Prince Charles’ charity, the Prince’s Trust.