Discover details of Dua Lipa and Callum Turner's luxurious wedding in Italy
On a warm Saturday night in the heart of Sicily's capital, hundreds of guests packed Villa Valguarnera to celebrate the wedding of pop star Dua Lipa and actor Callum Turner.
The monumental gardens of Palermo's 18th-century palace were filled with chairs decorated with satin bows, sugared Sicilian almonds and hand-embroidered scarves emblazoned with the phrase "stay mad with me forever", in reference to the island's diverse traditions. Each chair was also adorned with a handmade fan to alleviate the late afternoon heat, according to the Italian press. Among those present were Charli XCX and Donatella Versace.
After a vow exchange ceremony, Elton John serenaded the couple with a special version of "Your Song." Guests then enjoyed a dinner prepared by Michelin-starred chefs, Italian media reported, before partying to the sounds of DJs Carl Cox, Martin Garrix, David Guetta and Peggy Gou, who were given permission to play beyond the villa's usual midnight curfew. The grand finale was a huge fireworks display seen throughout the city.
Not long ago, the palace - now owned by writer-princess Vittoria Alliata di Villafranca, the Italian translator of "The Lord of the Rings" whose inner circle famously includes Mick Jagger (and, in earlier times, the late Salvador Dalí) - served as a mafia hideout for decades, until it was restored in 2020 as part of an urban renewal plan.
More recently, Villa Valguarnera appeared in the opening credits of the second season of "The White Lotus", filmed in Sicily. The luxurious Villa Igiea, where rates cost €6,000 (R$35,800) per night and which belongs to the Rocco Forte group, hosted the newlyweds and several guests, in addition to serving as the setting for the HBO series.
The wedding celebrations, which lasted several days, gained momentum on Friday (5), when Dua Lipa, 30, wearing a white braided leather Bottega Veneta dress with ostrich feathers, and Turner, a 36-year-old British actor, organized a street party in the city center alongside several hundred of their closest friends, transforming the 18th-century Croce dei Vespri square into a vintage bookstore, in reference to the way they met while reading the same novel.
Guests were welcomed by a brass marching band and received golden bracelets with microchips that allowed access to several venues, including a private visit to the city's impressive Galleria d'Arte Moderna, which the couple rented for around €10,000 (R$59,700) for the night, according to CNN affiliate Sky24 and local press. They then headed to Palazzo Valguarnera-Gangi, where they had dinner and danced to the sound of a swing band in the same hall portrayed in the 1963 film "The Leopard", by Luchino Visconti.
The festivities took place a week after the couple tied the knot in a civil ceremony at Old Marylebone Town Hall in London on May 31. A representative for Lipa did not respond to a request for comment.
Local Sicilian press have been following the celebrations enthusiastically, describing the events as the most important wedding since Michael Corleone (played by Al Pacino) married on the island in the 1972 classic "The Godfather". And the event could very well rewrite the island city's history.
The celebrations in Palermo left an estimated economic impact of €268 million (R$1.6 billion) on the city's metropolitan region, according to a report by research institute JFC cited by the Italian news agency ANSA.
Several demonstrators protested before the party with signs that said "Palermo is not for the rich" and "Palermo is not for rent". Many of them were part of the same group that protested Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez's wedding in Venice last summer.
Palermo mayor Roberto Lagalla, who reportedly led Saturday night's ceremony, celebrated the three-day celebration. "There is an obvious return that leaves a lasting impression," he told La Repubblica newspaper. "I understand the disruption caused by events of this magnitude and I am sorry if anyone has to face temporary restrictions," he said. "We cannot forget the image boost that Palermo receives from occasions like this. The international visibility generated by events of this magnitude helps to strengthen the city's attractiveness and generate broad economic benefits."
The couple was seen in the city in 2025, around the time of their engagement, and the singer posted on Instagram about her love for the city, alongside selfies with Turner, at the time.
The only hiccup during the entire extravaganza was the alleged disappearance of a pair of shoes belonging to Dua Lipa's mother, Anesa Rexha, which remains missing.
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Source: CNN