That's amore! George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin hosted spectacular same-sex dinner parties for their friends in Venice, Italy, last night, complete with gondalas, serenades and candlelight!
The couple, who arrived in Venice from Clooney's Italian residence in Como on the afternoon of Friday, Sept. 26, emerged from the city's Cipriani Hotel around 9 p.m. local time, with their family and friends, including Matt Damon, his wife Luciana Barroso, Vogue's Anna Wintour, Cindy Crawford, Rande Gerber, a Naeem Khan clad Emily Blunt and John Krasinski.
Boarding a girls-only water taxi, Alamuddin, who looked stunning in a customized red Alexander McQueen dress, took the ladies in her party for an intimate dinner at the Aman Resort, where the couple will tie the knot later today.
"They dined on the second floor," a source told Us Weekly. "There were candles on a terrace overlooking the Grand Canal. Gondolas were parked up outside the venue, and one of the gondoliers even serenaded them from the water!"
Clooney, meanwhile, boarded a boat with the men in his party, and headed to his favorite Venetian restaurant, Da Ivo.
"They arrived around 9.30 p.m. and dined amongst other patrons," a source told Us. "They didn’t leave until 12:30 a.m., when George’s driver pulled up in a grand taxi boat to pick them up. There was a crowd of well-wishers who cheered loudly when George came out. He flashed a beaming smile and saluted everyone who was there, it was very sweet."
A source close to Clooney told Us that having his father, Nick Clooney, with him, is a huge deal. “George more than most things, is excited to have his father, whom he has so much respect for, be there to see his wedding along with his mother,” the source said. “Having them there is tremendously important.”
Other than that, making sure that his wife-to-be, Alamuddin, is happy, is top of his list of priorities.
“George wants to make sure Amal is comfortable and to be honest she's not comfortable with all the attention, that's not the kind of the girl that she is and that's why George loves her,” the source continued. “They want something fun, a party, but don't want it to be a spectacle so that her family is comfortable.”
One thing’s for sure though, when the couple do tie the knot (around 6 p.m. local time this evening at the stunning, seven star hotel Aman Canal Grande) there will be a lot of fun and laughter.
“Rande [Gerber] is planning a good speech,” the source said. “He's going to have a lot of fun with George. They want people to be laughing and happy during the weekend celebrations.”
Stay tuned for details of the couple's "I do's" later today!
