Vacation Herald

Eva Longoria star of “Desperate Housewives” and Tony Parker NBA basketball champion held their celebrity wedding in France. The civil ceremony was conducted by non-other than the mayor of Paris on the Friday. The couple held their religious ceremony on the 7th July 2007 at a 16th century cathedral opposite the Louvre.

A castle wedding is becoming incredibly fashionable and they are now all the rage following the weddings of Madonna, Tom Cruise, David Beckham and Eva Longoria and Tony Parker. But you do not need to be a celebrity to get married in France. Anyone can rent a chateau and get married in France and have a fairytale french wedding.

Eva and Tony held their wedding reception at 17th Century Chateau Vaux-le- Vicomte one hour south east of Paris. This luxury privately-owned chateau near the village of Maincy is said to have inspired Versaille. Louis XIV had its creator Nicolas Fouquet imprisoned for the rest of his life, because he did not like the guests applauding someone else, or visiting a home more luxurious than his old palaces. This envy fuelled his desire to destroy his then finance minister who wound up spending the rest of his life imprisoned.

There is a famous saying about Nicolas Fouquet by Voltaire regarding the opening of Chateau Vaux-le-Vicomte in 1661: “On 17 August, at six in the evening Fouquet was the King of France: at two in the morning he was nobody.”

The privately owned chateau was shielded from prying eyes by 8 miles of high stone walls. A small troupe of guards were called in to lock down the sprawling, 1,235-acre grounds, and a public road leading to the chateau was sealed off for the wedding reception.

Tony booked Eva’s favourite singers, Lionel Richie and Jamie Foxx, to perform at the ceremony as a surprise It’s the second time this month that Lionel has filled the role as wedding singer having sung at the wedding of English captain John Terry last weekend. Other guests at their big day included Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones and Eva’s Desperate Housewives co-stars and Tony’s Spurs team mates.

After the ceremony there was a fountain show within the French style gardens. When darkness fell guests admired the spectacular views of the Chateau and the surrounding grounds by candlelight. More than 2,000 candles were lit throughout the Chateau and gardens to create the romantic effect.

OK! secured the exclusive deal for the wedding at a reputed cost of 2 million dollars. But do not despair, you do not need to be able to sell your wedding photos for 2 million to have a fairytale french castle wedding.

Chateau Vaux-le-Vicomte is where Kirsten Dunst’s Marie Antoinette film was shot. It is also where of Indian steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal’s daughter was married at what has been claimed to be the most expensive nuptials of all time at a reported $55 million.

Typically three weddings a year are held at the chateau. Renting the facilities for five hours will set you back upwards of $47,596. Eva and Tony have contracted a two-day rental so that the massive crew of construction workers, decorators and security guards could get everything perfect for the big day. Eva’s lavish wedding was splashed on the pages of OK! magazine for a reported 2 million dollar exclusive deal which will helped cover the costs of their nuptials.