Luxembourg royals tie the knot

Under a canopy of soldiers' drawn swords as church bells tolled, Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg and Belgian Countess Stephanie de Lannoy emerged smiling Saturday from the tiny duchy's Notre Dame Cathedral after wrapping up a two-day wedding gala with a religious ceremony, The Associated Press reported.

With a celebratory fireworks show still to come, onlookers and well-wishers lined the super-scrubbed streets near the cathedral and roared with joy as the newlyweds looked down from a red velvet-covered palace balcony, and haltingly -- but deeply -- kissed for the crowd.

The church wedding of Prince Guillaume -- the 30-year-old heir to the throne and Luxembourg's grand duke-to-be -- and the Belgian countess drew a top-drawer guest list. It came a day after a civil ceremony at Luxembourg City Hall.

The bearded groom and his 28-year-old blonde bride were trailed by a procession of well-known royals, including Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel of Sweden, Prince Naruhito of Japan, and Britain's Prince Edward -- Queen Elizabeth's youngest child -- and his wife, Sophie.

For the wedding banquet attended by 800 people, Bocuse d'Or-winning chef Lea Linster -- herself from Luxembourg -- whipped up a buffet medley including Riesling-marinated pork and veal pate, lobster in gelee consommé, and sea bass in salted crust and thyme stuffing; dessert included Madeleine cakes, choux a la creme pastries, and creme brulee.

Stephanie plans to renounce her Belgian citizenship in order to -- one day -- become Luxembourg's grand duchess. The tiny country wedged between France, Belgium and Germany is an important financial center and still prospers despite Europe's economic trouble.

Stephanie wore a lace Elie Saab dress with a 5-meter-long wedding train during the ceremony, which was conducted in a mixture of French, German and Luxembourgish. It began with a minute's silence to honor her late mother, Countess Alix de Lannoy.