Church bells rang to mark Oscar-winning actress Nicole Kidman’s own special love story when she married country music singer Keith Urban in a traditional Catholic ceremony at a cliff-top chapel in Sydney yesterday.

Police and private security guards held back hundreds of well-wishers and international media as Kidman arrived for the twilight ceremony at a sandstone chapel set on a sprawling estate overlooking Sydney Harbor. She beamed and waved as she arrived in a convoy of cream Rolls Royce wedding cars just before 5 h 30 p.m. (0730 GMT). Church bells pealed across the estate about an hour later, with local media reporting the ceremony had been completed.

Kidman, 39, wore an elegant ivory-colored dress, reportedly designed by French fashion house Balenciaga, and sheer veil and carried a simple posy of white roses. Helicopters buzzed overhead as she drove from her ritzy Sydney harborside home. Australian television reported that Kidman’s friends, Oscar winner Russell Crowe and Broadway and film star Hugh Jackman were among the guests. Jackman, set to star beside Kidman in an upcoming World War Two movie, was to sing at the service and a string quartet also played.

Kidman was given away by her father Antony, a prominent psychologist. Her sister Antonia, 13-year-old daughter Isabella and niece Lucia were in the bridal party and her son Connor, aged 11, was an usher.

<B>Paul Tait</B>