It's Fiji For Kidman, Urban Honeymoon
Australia's hottest celebrity couple, Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban, jetted out of Sydney on Monday, likely bound for a secluded honeymoon getaway on the golden sands of the South Pacific.
The Oscar-winning actress exchanged vows with the Grammy award-winning country music star in a tearful, candlelit ceremony overlooking the Pacific late Sunday.
The newlyweds kept a low-profile Monday, emerging only to have lunch with family at a luxury waterfront hotel.
Kidman, 39, appeared relaxed in a black and white dress topped with a black cardigan, while the 38-year-old country music superstar wore jeans and a light blue T-shirt.
The couple was spotted boarding Kidman's private jet on Monday evening, prompting frenzied media speculation about where they might spend their honeymoon.
Mark Steines, co-anchor of "Entertainment Tonight," told Early Show co-anchor Hannah Storm on Monday that the couple are going to Fiji for their honeymoon.
Kidman and Urban have been tight-lipped about their immediate post-wedding plans.
Several reports have suggested the pair have spent up to $183,000 to hire out Fiji's exclusive Wakaya Club Resort for a week.
The island resort is a preferred destination for superstars seeking to avoid the prying eyes of paparazzi and celebrity gawkers. It is also where Rolling Stones rocker Keith Richards injured his head after reportedly falling out of a palm tree in April.
However, Fiji was once a favored vacation spot for Kidman and her former husband, Tom Cruise, prompting speculation that she and Urban will opt instead for a luxury resort on Tahiti's Bora Bora island.
Kidman, who was born in Hawaii to Australian parents, exchanged vows with Urban, who was born in New Zealand but raised in rural Queensland state, by the light of around 1,000 candles at a small chapel overlooking Sydney's iconic Manly beach.
On The Early Show Monday, Steines said Kidman was "breathtaking" in a gown by Balenciaga, complete with a traditional, billowy white veil and drop pearl earrings. Urban wore a black suit with a white vest and black tie.
Steines says the glamorous evening began at about 4 o'clock, Australian-time, as Kidman and Urban's guests — including the groom's parents — were loaded into white vans at the Hotel Intercontinental.
At the chapel, some of the couple's famous friends, such as Hugh Jackman and wife Deborrah-Lee Furness, thrilled the crowd, waving from their limos.
Aussie movie stars Russell Crowe and Naomi Watts were among other big names on the guest list. Australian-born media mogul Rupert Murdoch also attended with his wife, Wendi Deng.
"Moulin Rouge" director Baz Luhrmann was in charge of the wedding video, according to Steines.
At approximately 5 p.m., Nicole made her way to the wedding. Helicopters buzzing above tracked the bride-to-be from her home, across the Sydney Harbor Bridge, and to the Cardinal Cerretti Chapel at the St. Patrick's Estate in Sydney.
More than 1,000 fans and well-wishers turned out, as did hundreds of paparazzi, for what was the wedding of the year.
About 20 minutes later, Nicole's sister, Antonia, the Matron of Honor, arrived with her daughter, Lucia, and Nicole's daughter, Isabella, 13, both looking pretty as princesses, according to Steines.
Right behind Antonia was Nicole, in her cream-colored Rolls Royce. She thrilled onlookers with a wave out the window. Clutching a bouquet of white roses and sitting next to her father, Antony, she was the picture of perfection. Cameras from helicopters above captured the glowing bride as she exited the car and made her way into the church.
The ceremony, which lasted about 90 minutes, was held in a cliff-top chapel. Nicole's father walked her down the aisle. Isabella, son Connor, and Lucia were also in the wedding party.
The longtime family friend and pastor who married the couple, Rev. Paul Coleman, told ABC's "Good Morning America" that Kidman and Urban were both teary-eyed.
"But she got through her vows beautifully and so did Keith, but it was just such a human, touching, solemn, uplifting moment. That is the best way I can describe it," he told Australia's Nine television network.
The couple followed a traditional script with their vows, according to The Sydney Morning Herald newspaper, each promising to love and honor the other "in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health."
"After they had kissed, and I said we'll congratulate them as husband and wife in the normal fashion, the whole place erupted in a great round of applause with some cheers and joyous sounds," the priest told ABC. "It was an explosion, really, and a wonderful moment."
The end of the "I do's" were marked with church bells ringing out.
After the wedding Urban serenaded Kidman with an acoustic rendition of his song, "Making Memories of Us," which brought even more tears to the actress' eyes.
"Everyone was sitting round at their tables and he just walked up onto the stage unannounced and pulled out his guitar and sang this beautiful song," television personality Jessica Rowe told the Nine network on Monday morning.
"I don't think there was a dry eye in the house. She cried, everyone cried."
"I can personally tell you, I've never seen her looking happier," says Steines, who has known Kidman for more than 11 years.
It was Urban's first marriage. Kidman and Tom Cruise were married 10 years before divorcing in 2001.
Kidman won the best actress Oscar in 2002 for "The Hours" and Urban took home a Grammy this year for best male country vocalist.
Kidman has said she and Urban will set up home in Nashville, Tenn., when they return to the United States.