He once said the world was sick of silly love songs, but when it comes to love stories Paul McCartney knows the world can't get enough. At the gates of Co Monaghan's Castle Leslie, where he is to be married to Heather Mills at 3.30 p.m. today, the former Beatle presented his fiancée with a red rose before kissing her twice on the eve of what is billed as the celebrity wedding of the year.
Even the rain held off so we could witness Macca in all his legendary thumbs aloft glory. Waving and winking at all around him, the former Beatle insisted that he was planning a quiet, family wedding, and the irony wasn't missed by the hundreds of fans and media gathered behind barricades in the pretty village of Glaslough.
Wearing a mauve top and grey trousers, he confirmed the wedding date and made a reference to Sir John Leslie, who had leaked the news. "As you know through Sir Jack, it's tomorrow but it's a secret," he said. The venue was chosen because his mother Mary was born in Co Monaghan, he added.
Thanking everyone for their good wishes and support, he admitted he was a little nervous about walking down the aisle of St Salvator's church, which nestles on the 1,000-acre grounds of the 17th century castle.
His fiancée, a former model, looked stunning in jeans, strappy sandals and a coffee-coloured sweater. She said she was excited as McCartney, in yet another exhibition of flower power, presented her with a posy thrown from the crowd.
The main street of Glaslough, where a love-heart banner welcoming "Sir Paul, Heather and guests" flutters in the breeze, has been closed as the first of 300 guests begin to arrive. Earlier, McCartney's affable spokesperson Geoff Baker wandered into the Pillar House Hotel, where the bar has been swamped by media for a week.
He revealed that the couple had been offered £1.5 million by Hello! magazine to cover the event. They turned that down because they wanted to give everyone "a fair crack of the whip". They will release a wedding photo to media outlets ,which will have to make a donation to anti-landmine charity Adopt- a-Landmine.