Venice , Italy ( CNN ) -- George Clooney , long considered Hollywood 's most eligible bachelor , married British human rights attorney Amal Alamuddin Saturday in a private ceremony in Venice , Italy , his publicist , Stan Rosenfield , told CNN . Clooney arrived by motorboat at a star-studded bash at the Aman Canal Grande Venice resort , housed in the 16th-century Palazzo Papadopoli . `` George , auguri ! '' Venetians could be heard offering their best wishes as Clooney waved . `` Auguri ! '' Celebrities , paparazzi and the world 's media have been congregating in Venice for the widely anticipated nuptials . The actor and his then-fiancÃ©e were photographed Friday cruising the sun-dappled canals of Venice ahead of their big day . Clooney , 53 , and Alamuddin , 36 , looked happy and impeccably glamorous as they were carried around the city in a motorboat appropriately named `` Amore , '' or `` Love , '' passing bemused tourists in gondolas as they went . The bride-to-be was dressed in a stylish black-and-white dress , while Clooney wore a sharply tailored gray suit and white shirt with dark sunglasses . The first celebrity guests to arrive were also caught on camera in the city famed for romance , notably actor Matt Damon , American Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour and supermodel Cindy Crawford . `` I guess this is , as Dean Martin put it , 'That 's Amore , ' the land of love , '' said a tourist visiting Venice from Canada , referring to the late crooner 's signature song . `` Yes , my heart is broken but I 'm excited , '' his partner said with a smile . `` He has made the right choice , '' an Italian woman said . `` Because Venice is one of the most beautiful cities in the world . '' It 's not been confirmed exactly how the wedding weekend will play out . But a notice from the city authorities said that because of George Clooney 's marriage the city hall area will be closed on Monday from 12 p.m to 2 p.m. local or later if necessary -- presumably for a civil ceremony . Paparazzi throng canal side . Clooney revealed earlier this month at a celebrity charity event in Tuscany , Italy , that he and Alamuddin would be tying the knot in Venice . According to People magazine , Clooney was receiving a humanitarian award at the black-tie gala , and said during his acceptance speech , `` I met my lovely bride-to-be here in Italy , whom I will be marrying , in a couple of weeks , in Venice , of all places . '' Plenty of paparazzi , cameramen and photographers were on the docks facing the Aman Canal Grande . Others were going up and down the Grand Canal on taxi boats . Power couple . The nuptials of Clooney and Alamuddin come hot on the heels of the long-awaited marriage of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie last month . The Hollywood power couple went for a low-key ceremony at their estate in France , in which each of their six children had a part to play . Clooney and Alamuddin seem set to make more of a public splash with their event , although since they became engaged in the spring , they 've been largely protective of their relationship . When a Daily Mail report claimed that Clooney and his Lebanese future mother-in-law Baria were at odds , Clooney blasted the publication with a first-person piece in USA Today , and then refused to accept the Daily Mail 's subsequent apology . CNN 's Erin McLaughlin reported from Venice , Laura Smith-Spark wrote and reported in London , Ray Sanchez wrote and reported in New York , Rachel Wells reported from Los Angeles . Journalist Livia Borghese contributed to this report .
NEW : George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin are married in Canada . Italian cheer Clooney as he arrives by motorboat for star-studded bash . They were photographed Friday on a motor launch cruising Venice 's canals . Actor Amal Alamuddin and George Clooney , a human rights lawyer , got engaged in Friday .