Tuesday, December 12, 2006

Tom & Katie’s post-wedding party

As you all know Tom & Katie threw a post-wedding party this Saturday, for friends and family who didn’t make it to their wedding in Italy. I’ve combined some articles together so you get all the info at once



The day began with both of the in-laws cheering on Tom´s daughter Bella at her local soccer game, where Tom’s sister Cass, mom Mary Lee and Katie’s parents – all in town for the party – laughed and kicked the ball around at half-time (Tom’s mom Mary Lee even showed off some fancy footwork). When the sun began to set, the Holmes´ stopped for appetizers at the Beverly Hills Hotel´s Polo Lounge before making their way over to the home of Tom’s producing partner Paula Wagner and her husband, CAA agent Rick Nicita, where the big fiesta was held.



Police cordoned off the area around the home in the early evening, threatening the dozens of reporters and video and still photographers with citations if they clogged the streets.

The seven-hour affair began at about 6 p.m., with Mr. and Mrs. Cruise, along with daughter Suri, arriving in a three-vehicle armada of tinted-out black SUVs around 6:40 p.m. Connor and Isabella followed in a Bentley.



Light appetizers were passed at the start of the evening, with heavier fare like short ribs, mashed potatoes and couscous served as more of the 300 or so guests filed into the bash, including Steven Spielberg and wife Kate Capshaw (arriving in a Bentley), Jerry Bruckheimer, Oliver Stone (silver Porsche), Last Samurai director Ed Zwick and producer Marshall Herskovitz, Morgan Freeman, Kirsten Dunst, James Caan, Adam Sandler, Robert Duvall, Orlando Bloom (yellow VW Bug), Dakota Fanning, Cuba Gooding Jr., James Van Der Beek, Diane Sawyer, Larry King, Derek Luke, Denzel Washington, Christian Bale, Catherine Bell, Ben Stiller and wife Christine Taylor, producer Brian Grazer and former Paramount studio boss Sherry Lansing, Variety’s éminence grise Army Archerd and ex-girlfriend Penélope Cruz.

Brooke Shields and husband Chris Henchy (with their two children), Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony, who attended the Bracciano wedding, also came to the bash.



E Online: “Ostensibly, the party was a celebration for those who couldn’t make it to Rome for the couple’s Nov. 18 nuptials and a who’s who of Hollywood royalty descended upon the affair in style”. E Online also has a video of the arrivals, click here.



There was a four-hour caviar bar, complete with pink ice and imported coral. A dessert bar featured strawberry apéritifs and chocolate cigars with a hint of mint. Imported French linen napkins were custom-dyed chocolate brown, and also shipped in from overseas was the crushed cork that covered the party’s two bars.

Sisal rug was laid in the backyard, and three tents were erected to protect well-wishers from the night’s rainfall. Table centerpieces featured cream roses, peonies and amaryllis in smoke-mirrored glass boxes. A chandelier of 50,000 Swarovski crystals decorated the center tent.

A jazz trio performed throughout the night. “It wasn’t the kind of party with dancing,” one partygoer said. “It was more of an elegant cocktail party for socializing.” While the band was only booked until 11 p.m., I’m told they were asked to continue for an additional two hours, when it became clear the party would last longer than expected.



Said one guest, “Tom seemed really proud, parading Katie around his guests.” Any tension with his ex? No way! “There was so much love in the air that it seemed like a family reunion.” Dakota Fanning, Toms co-star in last year’s Spielberg-directed War of the Worlds, told People Sunday at the premiere of her movie Charlotte’s Web, “They were really happy. It was a fun party, it was great.”



An insider said the cost of the evening was estimated to be about $400,000. Event planner Damon Pease and Ikus Productions coordinated on the party, and Salt of the Earth Catering created the menu, according to the partygoer. Katie wore a simple pale pink dress, and Tom was in a dark suit, the partygoer said.

 

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