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Elf Village Hosts Dream Wedding
Sue Fea

QUEENSTOWN — A former Queenstown makeup and hair stylist realised every little girl`s dream of a fairytale wedding when she was married in an elf village on a Lord of the Rings movie set recently.

Lord of the Rings hair and makeup co-ordinator Gail Wilson, who was born and raised in Queenstown, married Wellington fisherman Duncan MacKay on March 19 at Rivendell, the movie`s elf village set, an hour`s drive from Wellington.

The bride arrived in a white-finned cadillac wearing a long white satin gown, the bodice trimmed inantique gold tatting, and knee-length white boots.

However, details of the wedding and photographs were being kept under wraps amid the veil of secrecy that has surrounded much of the $360 million movie`s filming. About 80 guests, who attended, were believed to have signed confidentiality agreements before they could attend the movie-set wedding. Security was also believed to be tight at the event.

Lord of the Rings publicist Claire Raskind would only confirm yesterday that the wedding took place in the Kaitoke Wellington.

"It was a personal gathering — it was just a place where they got married," she said.

Photographs of the wedding were unlikely to be released until after the release of the Peter Jackson trilogy, expected to be around Christmas next year.

"A small girl was believed to have sung ann Italian song while Ms Wilson walked up the aisle with her father, Richard Wilson, of Queenstown.

Fifteen-year-old actress Kylie Kerrison was bridesmaid and Ms Wilson`s three-year-old daughter, Thalia, and seven-year-old son, Sergio, were in attendance as flower girl and page boy.