Agencies

London, Mar 3: After years of speculation, British model and actress Elizabeth Hurley finally married her Indian businessman lover Arun Nayar in a private ceremony at the Sudeley Castle in Gloucestershire on Friday, ahead of her planned wedding in Umaid Bhawan palace in Jodhpur in India.

The 41-year-old actress and her 42-year-old beau are expected to cement their civil ceremony with a service in the church next to the castle on Saturday evening. Though Hurley tried to keep the marriage under wraps, the St Peter's church vicar Reverend John Partington confirmed to the media that he would be involved in the wedding celebrations.

“Like any couple about to be married, I gather they are very excited. I am officiating at the celebration of the wedding. They wanted a nice private ceremony and they wanted to use Sudeley Church, so that is what they are getting,” he was quoted by media reports as saying.

Among those expected as guests at the wedding celebration are singer Sir Elton John, supermodel Kate Moss, fashion designer Donatella Versace, soccer star David Beckham and others. It is not clear if Hurley's ex-boyfriend Hugh Grant will be attending the celebrations but sources in Cotswold and Winchcombe said his car had been spotted in the vicinity.

The celebrations are being hosted by Henry Dent-Brocklehurst, the owner of the castle who happens to be the Bedazzled actress' close friend and the godfather of her four-year-old son Damien from a previous relationship with American film producer Stephen Bing. The wedded couple will proceed to India on Sunday, sources said, to host their lavish wedding ceremony in the Indian state of Rajasthan.

Meanwhile, Gloucestershire is all abuzz at the prospect of the celebrity wedding. Traffic arrangements are being made around Sudeley Castle to allow the celebrities their privacy. Some police officers will be assigned the responsibility of taking care of any disturbances in the guest entourage. “In order to minimize the possible effects on the residents of Winchcombe, we will be providing two officers who will respond to and deal with incidents as they arise,” the BBC quoted an inspector, Erik Sherwood, as saying. He added that the police was expecting onlookers and media to throng the village, the retail stores, restaurants and coffee shops of which are already displaying signs congratulating the bride and the groom.

The celebrations in India are also expected to be lavish, with Hurley reportedly wanting a traditional Indian wedding complete with camels and elephants, a mandap (holy pyre), colorful flowers, and females guests in saris and male guests wearing brightly colored turbans. The date of the Indian ceremony is not clear. This is Hurley's first marriage even though she was in a relationship with Grant for over 13 years. Nayar was earlier married to Italian model Valentina Pedroni.