George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin's 2014 Venice wedding sparked a frenzy both in the city and around the world as one of Hollywood's most eligible bachelors married a non-celebrity international human rights lawyer in a whimsical fairytale soiree on the Grand Canal.
Dripping with romantic opulence, A-list guests and undeniable beauty, the couple's nuptials were held at the Aman Canal Grande and drew in the globe's paparazzi as they craned their cameras to catch a glimpse of the newlyweds.
Meeting in Italy, George ran into his now-wife and the mother of his twins, Amal, during an impromptu visit to his Lake Como villa by a mutual friend, who brought the barrister along before heading to Cannes in July 2013.
A year later, in September, they returned to the country in which it all began for an intimate ceremony in The Floating City.
© AFP via Getty ImagesA behind-the-scenes look at the wedding of the century
After vows were exchanged, a star-studded reception was held at the lavish seven-star 16th-century palazzo on the Grand Canal, and a welcome dinner at the Belmond Hotel Cipriani followed.
Providing the soundtrack to the Clooneys' magical day, DJ Sam Young, the son of renowned celebrity photographer Richard Young, who shot Princess Diana and Freddie Mercury, exclusively told HELLO! what it was really like on that day over a decade ago.
Reflecting on his encounter with the Ocean's Eleven actor, he had nothing but praise for the low-key, "down-to-earth" man who was once in Sam's very own shoes.
"It was a lovely weekend in Venice, two days," the 46-year-old Londoner explained. He continued: "I spoke to him very briefly that weekend, and the first thing he actually said to me was that he used to be a DJ before he was an actor."
Sam revealed: "He comes up to me on the first night, and I'd just done the obvious mix of like good times, and then I mixed in Sugar Hill Gang's 'Rapper's Delight'.
"So he comes up to me, and he's like, 'Oh, I used to do that mix when I was younger. I used to be a DJ before I made it with acting in ER'.
"And I was just like, 'Oh, cool', and then we had a little chit chat. 'Rapper's Delight' is George's all-time favourite song."
Sam, who has also DJed at Idris and Sabrina Elba's wedding and Elton John's 60th birthday bash, shared what he felt was the "best thing about that wedding". He said: "George obviously just had a great time. He's a very normal guy when you're with him, there's no airs and graces, like, 'Oh I'm this big Hollywood guy'. You can chat to him about pretty much anything."
"He definitely had a good time, and it wasn't as many A-list guests as you would expect. It was more friends, family, probably like Matt Damon was his best friend. I think that was the first wedding where it was like a big deal for Venice."
After thrilling the crowd, Sam was asked back to the Clooneys' household to DJ at one of their Christmas parties, years later. He remembered: "A couple of years after that, I did a Christmas party for him, and that was probably a bit more personal than the wedding, and a lot smaller. He's just a really nice guy, very friendly and down to earth!"
© AFP via Getty ImagesA party to remember
Dancing the night away to Sam's beats, the guests enjoyed sipping on fine wine and tequila from George's own company, Casamigos. Best Quality Designer Handbag reported at the time that George joked: "Well, it's Italy, so of course, but we thought we'd fly a little of our tequila out as well."
Joining Matt Damon on the list of famous faces were Bill Murray, U2 singer Bono and George's best friend, Rande Gerber and his model wife, Cindy Crawford.
Bono said: "It was very emotional and lovely. The party was great. It's still going on – in some people's minds."
© Getty ImagesSpeaking about his own wedding day, George told Best Quality Designer Handbag : "It's such a small group, we felt that they were all part of the ceremony."
A family friend added: "The ceremony was so touching. It was a very intimate yet vibrant affair with just close family and friends. The room was small but very full; it was like a melting pot of different nationalities and cultures. Everyone was dressed beautifully, like stars in their own way, and all got to know each other very quickly."
