Kardashian, Kanye wed at Florence fortress

FLORENCE, Italy (AP) ― Kim Kardashian and Kanye West are officially “Bound” to each other.

The celebrity couple, who have made a habit of over-the-top public displays of affection, got hitched Saturday in a decidedly private spot: a Renaissance fortress in Florence. The nuptials were confirmed to the Associated Press by Kardashian’s representative, who noted the reporting of E! Online, the news site from the network that carries her reality show, “Keeping up with the Kardashians.” E! Online reported the wedding party consisted of her sisters, while stepfather Bruce Jenner walked her down the aisle. Andrea Bocelli and John Legend sang for the couple at the reception.

The city’s mayor’s office had said a week earlier that the couple had rented Belvedere Fort for a wedding to be performed by a Protestant minister, adding a flurry of excitement in the entertainment world about the ceremony, which had been anticipated for months. In the days before the nuptials, the pair held court in Paris, parading in front of photographers for pre-wedding festivities. Kardashian posted a picture on the social media site Instagram of the gardens of fashion designer Valentino’s 17th-century Chateau de Wideville west of Paris, where one of their events was being held. The couple also toured the Chateau of Versailles.

The duo, who have one child together, were not shy about their romance; he briefly appeared on her reality show, and he gushed about his love for her in a talk show hosted by her mother, Kris Jenner. A topless Kardashian also starred in his music video for “Bound 2,” in which they simulated having sex on a motorcycle.

West, 36, proposed to Kardashian, 33, in October on her birthday. He rented out San Francisco’s AT&T Park to pop the question.

But when it came to the wedding, media was only able to get photos of the many celebrity guests at the wedding.

Among the notables sighted arriving in Florence ahead of the nuptials were Steve McQueen, director of Oscar-winner “12 Years a Slave”; Lala Anthony, wife of N.Y. Knicks basketball star Carmelo Anthony; Jaden Smith, the actor and teenage son of Will and Jada Smith; and Joe Francis of “Girls Gone Wild” video fame.

The nuptials drew crowds of fans eager to witness the glitzy event, but they were kept far away from the heavily walled 16th-century fortress, which offers stunning views of Florence and surrounding Tuscan hills.

The rapper was recently quoted in the Florence newspaper La Nazione as saying he and Kardashian had come here previously incognito and he believed that their daughter, North, was conceived “among the Renaissance masterpieces.” The baby was born in June 2013.

It is the first marriage for West, and the third for Kardashian. Her last marriage, to professional basketball player Kris Humphries, in 2011, lasted 72 days. That ceremony was featured in a two-part TV special.

The city’s mayor’s office last week had said that the 300,000 euro ($420,000) rental fee for the fort would help fund restorations of Florence’s art treasures.