Stella McCartney gets her secret wedding

Published on Saturday 30 August 2003 01:00

STELLA McCartney has won a special dispensation from the Registrar General for Scotland to marry in a secret beach ceremony on or near her family’s beloved Scottish estate.

The rare permit has allowed Ms McCartney, the daughter of Sir Paul McCartney, to avoid publishing details of her nuptials at a Register Office.

But if the fashion designer hoped to keep the world guessing about her marriage to Alasdhair Willis, the game appeared to be up yesterday, as the rich and famous descended on Bute.

The bridegroom, 31, a magazine publisher, was spotted on a yacht off Bute on Thursday. And the actress Liv Tyler was seen being chauffeured in a silver Jaguar to the isle’s Mount Stuart House. Madonna and husband Guy Ritchie arrived last night.

It is expected that Ms McCartney, 31, will marry today in a ceremony, possibly on Saddell beach, at her father’s estate on the Mull of Kintyre. The wedding party is then expected to travel to the Mount Stuart stately home, where staff are preparing a reception for 200.

Among those expected to attend are Kate Moss, Sadie Frost and Gwyneth Paltrow. It is believed Ms McCartney will be given away by her father.