Longoria, Parker Wed In Church Of French Royals, Followed By Chateau Bash Outside Paris

Saturday, July 7th 2007, 2:16 pm

By: News On 6

PARIS (AP) _ The sun smiled on Tony Parker and Eva Longoria's wedding day, breaking through after days of gray Paris skies. Their VIP guests, though, were concealed by big black umbrellas.

Glamour and security went hand-in-hand as the NBA champion and star of ``Desperate Housewives'' exchanged vows Saturday in a church across from the Louvre Museum.

The Roman Catholic ceremony at the Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois Church _ frequented by French royalty in centuries past _ was stage two in a weekend wedding extravaganza.

First, the mayor of Paris pronounced Parker and Longoria husband and wife in a civil ceremony Friday. Then a priest married them Saturday afternoon. Next up: an exclusive bash at a storied French chateau.

Stars of all stripes _ actors, athletes, musicians _ joined the couple for their nuptials.

Longoria's fellow ``Housewives'' garnered the most attention from several hundred mostly French fans outside the church, who booed bodyguards for blocking their view.

Teri Hatcher, in a silky blue gown, came with her 9-year-old daughter Emerson Rose. Felicity Huffman, in a beige dress with ruffled v-neck collar, brought husband William H. Macy. Nicolette Sheridan wore a strapless pink gown.

Marcia Cross, who stars in the series as Bree and recently gave birth to twins, was not expected to attend.

Sheryl Crow and the head coach for the San Antonio Spurs, Greg Popovich, were among guests who didn't stay concealed behind the huge black umbrellas bodyguards used to shield them from public view.

Police also erected 10-foot-high wooden panels in front of the church, and the bride and groom kept well out of sight.

After the guests and wedding party left in red buses and a black Rolls Royce, fans stormed the church, grabbing up the white lilies spread out across the large medieval hall.

The Rev. Dominique Schubert told The Associated Press that he formally married the 25-year-old Parker and 32-year-old Longoria in a full Catholic wedding ceremony. He gave no details.

For the civil ceremony, Parker, who was born in Belgium and grew up in France, asked Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe to officiate. Parker's friends translated when Delanoe gave a speech calling the basketball star a model in the fight against racism.

``I married a friend to the woman he loves. It was touching, moving, very warm and at the same time very relaxed,'' Delanoe said on RTL radio Saturday.

And romantic, he added: ``They kiss all the time.''

He praised Longoria's choice of dresses and designer _ she wore a pink Chanel mini dress on her way into the town hall, but changed into a white dress in the district mayor's office. French law requires a civil ceremony even when couples marry in a church.

Saturday started gray but the skies cleared by the time the wedding guests arrived at the church. Fans stood through drizzle and shine.

``I love the series and I came out today for the chance to see Eva, the 'American in Paris,''' said Lola Michot, a 16-year-old high school student from the eastern French city of Besancon. She waited outside the church for hours for a glimpse.

Heather Biehl, a 34-year-old English teacher from San Francisco now living in the southern French city of Aix-en-Provence, came across the hubbub with her mother and very excited 8-year-old daughter.

``The atmosphere was crazy out here. I thought maybe it was (French President) Nicolas Sarkozy,'' she said.

The couple and their entourage have given very few details about the wedding, but media reports said they were to follow the religious service with a bash at Vaux-le-Vicomte, a 17th century chateau 35 miles southeast of Paris.