Ex-Beatle McCartney to wed Tuesday

Paul McCartney and fiancee Heather Mills

GLASLOUGH, Ireland (CNN) -- Former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney and his fiancee Heather Mills arrived by helicopter Sunday evening at Castle Leslie where they are to be married Tuesday, according to Geoff Baker, McCartney's spokesman.

About 300 guests have been invited to Tuesday afternoon's ceremony in the church on the castle estate.

The "big event" is expected to cost about $3.3 million. Tight security is already in place at the castle, a hotel in County Monaghan near the border with Northern Ireland.

Much of the cost will cover flying guests, including show business celebrities, from London's Heathrow Airport, where they have been told to turn up with a passport.

A giant marquee and dance floor have been set up on the side of a lake and a pontoon has been built with a luxury boat moored alongside. Canopies covered a walkway from the castle to the church. Lilies and roses were among the flowers that have been delivered.

The Church of Ireland, a branch of the Anglican Church, confirmed that Mills, a 34-year-old divorcee, would be permitted to marry inside the chapel.

McCartney, who turns 60 on June 18, is a widower, having lost his wife Linda to breast cancer in 1998.

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McCartney met Mills three years ago and they became engaged last July. A former model, Mills lost a leg in 1993 when she was hit by a police motorcycle. She is involved in the campaign against land mines.

Castle Leslie, owned by Sir John Leslie, 84, was chosen because McCartney proposed to Mills there. It has played host to a number of celebrities over the years, including Mick Jagger and the Corrs.

The hotel has around 1,000 acres of grounds and a helicopter landing pad -- but no phones, clocks or televisions in its 14 rooms.

At the local church Sunday parishioners watched in amazement as security men guarded the service under the eye of the world's media, watching from a distance.

At the chapel inside the grounds of Castle Leslie, villagers celebrated the christening of a girl. The service was open only to about 25 regulars.

Security was tightened at the front gates, while guards patrolled the perimeter of the estate in four-wheel drive vehicles.

Inside the grounds, more guards were on horseback and some patrolled on foot as a helicopter hovered overhead.

The Irish police force, the Garda, began to deliver crowd control barriers to the church ahead of suggestions that the couple might pose briefly for photos after the ceremony.

According to locals, most parishioners usually walk the short distance through the castle gates to St. Salvator's Church, but Sunday nearly all were in their cars.

After the 50-minute protestant Church of Ireland service, pensioner George Woods told the UK Press Association: "It's quite amazing that our little service is the center of so much attention.

Security is tight at the 17th century Castle Leslie

"It's very exciting, and the church looks lovely although we couldn't see any of the preparations from where we were."

Last week, British newspapers reported McCartney and Mills would wed at the Long Island, New York, home of John Eastman, brother of McCartney's late wife.

Skeptics had suggested that the activity at Castle Leslie might have been an elaborate ploy to divert the world's attention, allowing the couple to tie the knot in private.

McCartney and Mills arrived about 7:30 p.m. (2:30 p.m. ET) Sunday. They were expected to hold a news conference Monday.