Avril And Deryck Say "I Do" To The Soothing Drone Of Helicopters

07/17/06 5:30pm

by Scott Bryson (CHARTattack)

Pop songstress Avril Lavigne and Sum 41 singer Deryck Whibley tied the knot at a private residence in Montecito, California on Saturday.

As ChartAttack reported last week, the celebrity couple moved up their original August wedding date and had friends and relatives fly to the west coast in preparation for the big day.

According to People magazine, the pair's non-denominational nuptials were unexpectedly traditional. Lavigne was walked down the aisle with her father while wearing a white Vera Wang gown and carrying white roses.

Canadian Press reports that the couple exchanged vows beneath a crystal chandelier and a four-post gazebo covered in white roses.

"It was a short, classy ceremony with the sound of helicopters droning overhead carrying photographers trying to get a shot of the newlyweds, and most of the people there were friends and family," said a guest who asked not to be identified. "They both seemed really happy."

Sum 41 drummer Steve Jocz was Whibley's best man, while Lavigne's bridal party consisted of her sister and some old friends.

People reports that the ceremony was followed by an outdoor cocktail reception and dinner with a light jazz band playing. The happy couple's first dance was apparently to "Iris" by the Goo Goo Dolls.

It had been previously speculated by numerous publications that the party would include circus performers and rock bands, but no such acts were present. Reports from various sources had Whibley taking the stage to perform during the course of the evening, as did Butch Walker, who's producing Lavigne's third album.

No information has been revealed about the couple's honeymoon.

Now that their wedding day is behind them, the two musicians will have to focus on juggling their marriage with their respective careers. For Whibley, married life with Lavigne may prove to be a greater challenge than when his band was pinned down by gunfire in the Congo.

The oft-intoxicated singer has reportedly cleaned up his act since hooking up with Lavigne, but the good old days of shagging girls on tour buses could prove difficult for the young man to leave behind.

"Well, when you're on a tour bus, it happens," Whibley once told Playboy. "A lot of times me and Steve [Jocz] have to do the two-beds, two-babes, two-feet-apart-from-each-other thing.

"It's really not that weird. I don't care, and the girls usually don't care. They get into it. You try not to stare at each other, but if it's happening, it's not a big deal."

Global TV's recently minted gossip trough, Entertainment Tonight Canada, won a reportedly pricy bidding war to acquire exclusive rights to Saturday's ceremony. ET Canada will air a post-wedding interview with Lavigne and treat viewers to 50 bride-selected and approved photographs of the big day on Monday evening's show.

"I'm used to going on stage and stuff, but this was totally different — I felt a little nervous," Lavigne said of putting on her wedding dress to host Cheryl Hickey over the phone, according to a release from the show.

"It was more exciting. It was the biggest moment of my life. I had my mom, my sister and my grandma come in and help me put my dress on. I wanted it to be very traditional."