Dua Lipa and Callum Turner are counting down the hours until their £1 million Sicilian wedding weekend gets underway. On Thursday morning, the couple, who legally married in London on Sunday, enjoyed some downtime together at the Villa Igiea Hotel on the outskirts of Palermo.
With their celebrations set to kick off later on Thursday, the couple made the most of a moment to themselves on the balcony of their £6,000-a-night five-star hotel, which will also play host to some of their guests during the weekend.
Dua, 30, who is reported to be wearing a bespoke Versace gown for her big day, dressed down in a pale blue shirt and a striped sarong and bikini bottoms. She added a backwards-facing cap over her dark locks, whilst Callum, 36, was spotted embracing the Sicilian sunshine in a brown shirt and shorts as they took in the spectacular view of the Mediterranean from their Donna Franca suite.
The couple's private jet landed in Sicily on Wednesday night, just before 10.30pm local time, following their two hour twenty-minute flight from Luton. Their guests are also set to arrive in the coming hours for the three-day extravaganza, and no expense has been spared, with the pair said to have booked an entire floor of suites at the hotel overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea.
Three hundred family and friends will be attending the three-day shindig, with private jet slots booked up at Palermo's airport and a fleet of blacked-out limos to ferry guests to various villas and hotels. Private security firms have also been doing a roaring trade, with teams of bodyguards hired, and all staff involved in the wedding have been made to sign non-disclosure agreements.
Earlier this week, a team of workers began closing roads around the venues in Palermo which will play host to celebrations this weekend. Insiders have been hailing the couple's second nuptials as the 'showbiz wedding of the year', calling it Sicily's most high-profile marriage since Al Pacino's Michael Corleone wed Apollonia Vitelli in the 1972 classic The Godfather.
Top showbiz names including Elton John, Olivia Dean, Mark Ronson, and Charli XCX will be among the guests for the rumoured £1 million bash. The Candle In The Wind star is even rumoured to be planning a mini concert for the couple, and talk of the celebrations has gripped the city of Palermo for days.
It was initially thought the wedding party would be in September, but the date has been brought forward as there are rumours the One Kiss sensation will be playing a gig in the Italian capital Rome then. The ceremony itself will take place at the 17th-century Villa Valguarnera, perhaps the most sumptuous of the villas in Bagheria, an idyllic town ten miles away from the capital.
Many will recognise this venue as it featured in the opening credits of the hit series The White Lotus, and the 18th-century building is a major historical landmark with ornate gardens and a sweeping grand staircase. Streets around the Villa are also expected to be closed off in the coming days, with convoys of catering vans bringing supplies in. Although guests may have to have an early night, as the venue is only licensed for outdoor music until 11.30pm, but they can move inside for an extra 90 minutes of dancing.
On Monday, workers began blocking the entrances to the historic Palazzo Gangi in Palermo's edgy Kalsa neighbourhood and erecting screens to prevent paparazzi getting shots. The stunning 18th-century Palazzo – which is privately owned – has a spectacular Galleria degli Specchi (Hall of Mirrors), and the ornate Baroque setting will be the centre of the party on Saturday. The venue was the setting for the classic ballroom scene in the iconic 1963 Sicilian film The Leopard, starring screen legend Burt Lancaster.
A second civil ceremony is expected, officiated by the Mayor of Palermo, Roberto Lagalla. No expense will be spared for the wedding, with the couple estimated to be worth more than £100 million thanks to Dua Lipa's singing success and Turner's acting career – he is lined up to be the next James Bond.
In advance of the wedding, Dua is believed to have travelled to Italy to meet Donatella to finalise the details of the dress she is designing for the singer to wear on her big day. Because of her longtime friendship with the designer, friends are convinced that Dua will wear a custom Atelier Versace gown.
A source in Palermo said: 'Everyone has been talking about this wedding for days. It's going to be so cool and glamorous with such a lot of showbiz stars. We all have a soft spot for Dua because she always speaks so highly of the city and loves wearing the football shirt of the city's club. But things are being kept very closely guarded with screens going up and people having to sign confidentiality agreements.'
On Sunday, the popstar and actor held their legal wedding ceremony at London's Old Marylebone Town Hall. At their intimate nuptials, Dua radiated bridal elegance in a custom Schiaparelli skirt suit, white gloves, a Bulgari necklace, and a wide-brimmed white hat, designed by milliner Stephen Jones. The singer clutched a bouquet of Icelandic poppies and wore white Louboutin heels while strolling out of the registry office hand in hand with her new husband. They were showered with confetti by a handful of loved ones who witnessed the 30-minute ceremony.
