ITALY: First picture of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes following their marriage in a medieval castle near Rome

It may have been the celebrity wedding of the year, but people in the Italian medieval town that hosted Tom Cruise's star-studded marriage to Katie Holmes saw none of it -- and they are not happy. Cruise and Holmes wed on Saturday (November 18) in a Scientology ceremony whose details were kept secret until Cruise's U.S.-based publicist released a statement. Tom Cruise arrived at the Odescalchi castle in Bracciano on Saturday afternoon waving briefly to crowds as he passed by in the car. Katie Holmes had arrived several hours earlier - needing maybe a bit more time to get ready than her husband-to-be to prepare for the big day. Holmes's mother was seen peering from a window checking on the weather. But even a light downpour wasn't going to put off the hundreds of onlookers waiting to catch a glimpse of the happy couple. The wedding was celebrated by a Scientology minister because twice-divorced Cruise, an ardent follower of the church founded by science-fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard, cannot marry with a Catholic rite. Holmes was raised a Roman Catholic. As dusk settled over the castle, famous guests who have been invited to the TomKat wedding left their hotel in Rome to travel to the medieval castle. It was a like a surreal fashion parade of top Hollywood names as each one came out in stunning evening wear before the world's media. Victoria Beckham wore a tight strapless black dress with a large slanted hat. A smiling Will Smith and wife of Jada Pinkett Smith also left with Smith joking to reporters saying: 'We're going to give it to them right now' in a joking aggressive fashion. Actress Brooke Shields wore a flowing red gown and happily posed for pictures. Jennifer Lopez was the last to leave on the arm of husband Marc Anthony wearing a dusty pink floor-sweeping gown and white fur wrap. Other guests attending include Jim Carrey and Jenny McCarthy and "Mission: Impossible III" director J.J. Abrams. John Travolta, who shares Cruise's belief in Scientology, was also expected to attend. But, by evening, the mood of Bracciano's residents was rather sour after spending the whole day waiting for a chance to see Holmes and Cruise and instead being treated to a stream of cars with darkened windows whizzing past them. Many residents waited from the early hours of the morning along the roadside leading up to the Odescalchi castle and in the central piazza outside sure to be treated to a wave or a thank you from the couple who's presence has besieged their town. People were still waiting into the night sure that the couple would come out onto the balcony of the castle and give a joint wave. But as the hours passed some of the residents found other ways to entertain themselves bored of waiting. But the newly wed couple were not the only ones on everybody's mind. As the night hours ticked past, people remained on the streets contenting themselves that it was worth staying for a firework display that had been promised. But, it seemed even the weather was playing difficult with a foggy night creating low visibility for the fireworks. With many once hopeful fans worn out by the long day of waiting, the fireworks display put an end to a week of Hollywood mania that swept Italy and transformed the sleepy town of Bracciano into a hotbed of media activity.

ITN Source | November 23, 2006

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