By Mike Collett-White
LONDON (Reuters) - Former Beatle Paul McCartney married for the third time on Sunday, exchanging vows with American heiress Nancy Shevell at the same London register office where he wed his first wife Linda in 1969.
The beaming couple emerged from the grey-stone Old Marylebone Town Hall to confetti and cheers from dozens of fans who had waited hours to catch a glimpse of the music legend and his new wife.
Shevell, 51, wore a knee-length, long-sleeved white dress which reports said was designed by McCartney's fashion designer daughter Stella.
The bride also had a white decoration in her hair and carried a small posy of flowers, while McCartney wore a dark suit and light blue tie.
Despite his huge wealth as a key singer and songwriter for the world's most successful pop band, 69-year-old McCartney chose a modest civil ceremony before a small group of family and friends.
Ringo Starr, the only other surviving member of the "Fab Four", and his wife Barbara Bach were among the guests at the wedding. Another ex-Beatle John Lennon, who was assassinated in New York in 1980, would have been 71 on Sunday.
After the ceremony, which lasted just over an hour, the newlyweds returned to McCartney's home in St. John's Wood for an evening reception.
The property in the upmarket area of north London is just a few streets away from the Abbey Road Studios where the Beatles recorded many of their most famous songs.
Asked how he felt after marrying for a third time, he told reporters: "Terrific, thank you. I feel married. I feel absolutely wonderful."
SWEET SERENADE
McCartney's spokesman has declined to divulge any details of the wedding day, but celebrity-hungry tabloids in Britain, where the affectionately named "Macca" is hugely popular, have been poring over every detail.
According to those reports, McCartney has composed a song for Shevell on their big day.
He was also expected to perform "Let it Be", which he sang to Shevell on one of their first holidays together three years ago, and her favourite "Let Me Roll It", the Sunday Mirror said.
McCartney was married for 29 years to American photographer Linda until her death from breast cancer in 1998. He said at the time that he and Linda had spent just 11 nights apart during their marriage.
McCartney's marriage to former model and charity campaigner Heather Mills was less happy.
The couple wedded in 2002 in a lavish ceremony at Castle Leslie in Ireland estimated by celebrity magazines to have cost around $3.2 million (2 million pounds).
But four years later they confirmed they had separated, blaming media intrusion into their private lives, and in 2008 the couple divorced.
A judge had to rule on the size of the divorce settlement after the couple failed to reach agreement themselves, and Mills was awarded 24.3 million pounds, ending one of the most acrimonious breakups in showbusiness history.
McCartney has a son, two daughters and a stepdaughter from his marriage to Linda, and a daughter from his marriage to Mills. Shevell has a son from a previous relationship.
(Reporting by Mike Collett-White and Avril Ormsby Editing by Maria Golovnina)
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