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| Ben Mulroney, 32, and his bride Jessica Brownstein, 29, leave St. Patrick’s Bascilica in Montreal after their wedding ceremony on Thursday Oct. 30, 2008. Mulroney, 32, is the son of former prime minister Brian Mulroney. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes |
MONTREAL - Ben Mulroney has never been one to conserve his words on camera, but the TV host uttered only one to describe his wedding on Thursday evening.
"Fantastic," the son of former prime minister Brian Mulroney said as he ushered his bride, Jessica Brownstein, from a Montreal chapel to a waiting limousine.
Mulroney, 32, and Brownstein, 29, tied the knot at St. Patrick’s Basilica in a mixed Roman Catholic and Jewish affair in downtown Montreal.
Mulroney wore a dark suit and dark tie, while Brownstein, a fashion designer and stylist, wore a white dress and white veil.
She was wrapped in a white fur cape when she arrived for the ceremony, but was not wearing it after the service when she stepped out of the chapel and into the two-degree weather.
"We’ve got to get her in the car," her husband said as he led her through a gauntlet of journalists.
Brian Mulroney said there were about 75 people at the private ceremony and expects 350 guests to attend a reception Saturday night.
"It was very moving, very impressive," he said.
The elder Mulroney said a rabbi blessed the ceremony and the priest conducted the service.
He also said the couple wrote their own vows, which he described as "poignant" and "lovely."
"He’s the oldest of three boys and he’s been a very good son and we love him dearly," Brian Mulroney said.
"We think that the best decision he’s made in his whole life is today, so we’re very pleased.
"He’s been a wonderful son forever. We’re very proud of him."
Ben’s aunt, Doreen Mulroney, had a big smile after the 30-minute ceremony.
"Beautiful bride, beautiful groom, they look so happy, we wish them a lifetime of happiness," she said.
The couple had been together for about six months when Ben Mulroney popped the question last year during lunch at a restaurant in the city’s moneyed Westmount suburb.
The pair, who both grew up in Westmount, have known each other since childhood.
Ben Mulroney is best known as the host of "Canadian Idol" and of CTV tabloid show "eTalk Daily."
The last time a Mulroney was married in Montreal was when the former prime minister’s daughter, Caroline, wed stockbroker Andrew Lapham in 2000.
That wedding attracted hundreds of on-lookers and more than 400 guests, including former U.S. president George Bush and his wife Barbara, former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher and talk-show host Kathy Lee Gifford.
Except for noted Montreal businessman Paul Desmarais, Ben Mulroney’s wedding guest list appeared to be a little more low key.
"I wish for them to be as happy as I have been with my wife for 55 years," Desmarais of Power Corp. said before the ceremony.
Ben Mulroney arrived at the church at the same time as his parents and showed no signs of the jitters.
"I feel great. It was my idea," he joked as he walked through a throng of media.
Asked before the service if he was nervous, Brian Mulroney, who was with his wife Mila, said, "No. I was 37 years ago," referring to his own wedding.
"Now it’s Ben’s turn."
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