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Bride: Danielle Spencer (Australian singer)
Groom: Russell Crowe (Actor)
Venue: Nana Glen, Australia
Date: 7 April, 2003
Hair: The bride: Styled up and smoothed back from a side parting and secured
just below the veil which was placed high on the crown.
The groom: Long bleached blond, flat against his head and pulled back into a ponytail at nape of neck.
Vows: The wedding took place on Russell’s 39th birthday. A three-day celebration
took place at his 560-acre cattle farm. The vows were exchanged in a domed chapel
on the farm, which had been built for his brother Terry, the year before.
Danielle reached the chapel on the arm of her father, through a series of covered walkways. She walked down the aisle to the sound of a violist playing Mendelssohn’s “Wedding March”. An Australian singer, Wendy Matthews, then sang “The Water is Wide”.
The couple were married by Phillip Higgins a Melbourne priest.
Russell had tried and failed to impose a no-fly zone over the ranch where the ceremony was taking place. He was said to be concerned because of the attendance of Rick Perry, governor of the US state of Texas.
The actor had also attempted to limit media access and his PR Wendy Day said news crews’ efforts to cover the wedding were “over the top”. Photographers and reporters had been hovering over the Oscar-winner’s ranch in helicopters, trying to catch a glimpse of the preparations.
Dress by: Giorgio Armani – ivory Valencien lace gown, plunging back, central
thigh-high split and a white translucent long organza veil by the same designer,
satin sandals.
Bouquet: A large spray of white flowers
Jewellery: Cartier – wedding bands for the bride and groom
Groom’s attire: Giorgio Armani – light black morning suit, the long jacket
embroidered with the crests of the Crowe and Spencer families. He also wore a
single breasted black waistcoat, white shirt and black bow tie.
Wedding cars: The groom and his attendants arrived in a motorcade of Harley
Davidsons. Followed by the bride in a Mercedes. Each attendant was given a £25,000
bike from the groom as a thank you gift.
Reception: A reception was held in a tent on the property and the Australian
Chamber Orchestra played during the dinner. Russell’s band “30 Odd Foot Of Grunts”
provided dance music later and Abba cover band B’jorn Again.
The meal included two wedding cakes, a four-tier traditional cake and a smaller one made from profiteroles.
Honeymoon: Three weeks spent in Mackay and Rockport on the East coast of
Queensland.
Cost: The cost of the wedding has been quoted as “phenomenal”. The chapel
cost £92,000 to renovate (used for the marriage of Russell’s brother Terry the
year before).
Most of the couple’s guests stayed at the luxurious Novotel Pacific Bay Hotel at Coffs Harbour, where the actor booked 80 rooms.
Number of guests: 80
Special guests: Ridley Scott (director Gladiator movie), Shane Warne. Messages
of goodwill were sent by: the then US President George W Bush, Kerry Packer, Elton
John, Sting and Catherine Zeta Jones.
Engagement: Russell carried a £40,000 diamond ring around with him for
three days, before he found the right moment to propose to Danielle. He eventually
proposed at Darcy’s their favourite restaurant in Sydney, Australia. He had already
sought the permission of Danielle’s parents, by phoning them in England two days
before.
Russell’s publicist at the time, Wendy Day said he had bought the Cartier ring because “He wanted it to be a flawless diamond - he thought it would be a good omen for their future marriage.”
Russell had been involved in brawl at a London restaurant the previous month and the ensuing publicity appeared to give the actor a wake-up call, that his behaviour could loose him his long-term girlfriend. The previously untameable Aussie went on to utter one of the most romantic lines a guy could say…
“I feel a great need to wake up with her as many days of my life as I can.”
Where did they meet? Met on the set of the 1990 film “The Crossing” – their
relationship had its ups and downs for over 13 years (he dated Meg Ryan in 2001),
before they finally tied the knot.
History: It is the first marriage for both.
The couple now have two children Charles and Tennyson
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