Congratulations Kevin and Christine
September 27, 2004

After saying "I do" in an elegant, western-themed wedding, Kevin Costner and his gorgeous bride, Christine Baumgartner, rolled up in a chauffeured truck to tell "Extra" all about their big day.

"This was our celebration," said Kevin. "We just did it with our friends so we don't get too blown up about it. We feel lucky that it happened."

But what may be a private celebration for Costner and Baumgartner was certainly a star-studded bash for the rest of us. Oprah, Jack Nicholson and Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones were all on the guest list for the weekend affair, which included a welcome barbeque, a softball game and even an impromptu duet from Don Johnson and Bruce Willis at the rehearsal dinner.

"It was a wedding like anybody else's," Kevin insisted. "But we chose to do it here and we tried to make it like recess, like the fifth grade, so it'd be fun for everyone."

And the happy couple certainly achieved their goal. As the celebrities prepared to party, half of Aspen also got ready for the big day: florists and chefs worked overtime and additional workers were bussed into the 165-acre ranch. Downtown, the store owners were selling and star gazing. "You can feel the excitement, it's palpable," one merchant said.

Come Saturday afternoon, Kevin boarded a horse-drawn wagon with his wedding party to meet his bride, who arrived by way of Kevin's vintage Chevy truck, to the music of the Rolling Stones. But that wasn't the only thing vintage about the bride -- Christine also donned a 19th century antique ring that Costner gave her.

"I'm like a crow, if it's really shiny or it's like a little piece of glass, I put it up in my nest," Kevin told us. "I like shiny things; it doesn't really matter, marbles or diamonds, it doesn't matter."

After the ceremony, the couple trucked over to their favorite pond where Christine, who was still in her extravagant Monique dress, joined her husband for a romantic canoe ride.

"I looked at her, and I saw her white dress and I said, 'Do you want to get in the canoe?'" Kevin remembered. "You know, because we're always doing that anyway, and she's so game for anything, and that beautiful white dress against the blue water and that green canoe, it was more for me than for anyone else."

Sunday morning brought a post-wedding brunch, which even got Tim Allen out of bed early. "It was wonderful, beautiful, great, fun, sunny, mountains," Tim told us of the wedding.

Yes, everyone was gushing about the celebrity wedding of the year, but the bride told us it was a private moment with Kevin's kids that stole her heart. "Kevin's kids blessed me last night," she revealed.

All in all, the couple told us it was the perfect weekend, but Kevin admitted he's ready for it to be over. "All my friends don't leave," he laughed. "I'm encouraging them to leave. In fact I hope they see this -- you've got to leave!"

And Kevin and Christine will be doing some leaving themselves, as they're looking forward to their honeymoon. They'll reportedly jet to Scotland for, among other things, a golf tournament -- but first, Kevin told us, he has to go back to work to finish a movie.


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