Nicole and Keith calm amid wedding mania

Australia's wedding of the year has hit town and, unless you're living under a rock, it's been difficult to avoid the hype.

A Hollywood darling and a Whangarei-born country music star will tie the knot in Sydney tomorrow. They're excited, and apparently they don't care much if the whole country knows.

Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban, their bemused families and friends have been blinded by flashbulbs this week and details of their not-so-secret nuptials have leaked quicker than the Titanic.

Unlike her overseas wedding to Tom Cruise more than a decade ago, a relaxed Kidman hasn't seemed obsessed with secrecy this time as the world's paparazzi flock to jostle for the wedding exclusive.

"Our Nic" has had a love-hate relationship with the media which came to a head last year when she took photographers to court for allegedly bugging her Sydney home.

But this week began as a mutual love-in as photographers and television cameramen staked out Kidman's waterfront abode.

As the throngs sang Happy Birthday through the intercom, Kidman emerged with the trademark coy smile, shyly peeking from under her famous blond locks, to say hello and thank you.

What's more, her assistants emerged with a case of that very Australian drop, Victoria Bitter, and some bottled water to soothe throats, parched from all that singing.

A note taped to the beer case said: "Enjoy! Nicole & Keith". The cameramen chugged their beer and emerged with a shot of Kidman and a quote about her birthday. A grin-grin situation, you might say.

But it got a bit more intense yesterday when Kidman was mobbed by photographers after a children's hospital visit.

She got as angry as Her Loveliness gets, pleading: "If everyone can just not get too dangerous ... and now, maybe give me a break guys, yeah?"

Meanwhile, competition reached boiling point nearby as two photographers brawled in the race for the best shot.

After the beer offering, Kidman didn't go so far as to invite anyone, or helpfully tell them where to park up on the big day, but there's been plenty of other well-meaning souls to do that for the front pages.

The venue was confirmed, by the papers anyway, as Cardinal Cerruti Memorial Chapel at St Patrick's in Manly, a gothic-style sandstone church overlooking the ocean.

A huge marquee spotted by eagle-eyed locals under construction on the estate's lawn, and the gruff security men outside who warned off media, gave it away.

This news deflated some excited wedding watchers who planned to rubberneck at the much more viewer-friendly Mary MacKillop Chapel on a quiet North Sydney street, the rumoured venue for weeks.

But, conspiracy theorists piped up, is this an elaborate hoax to warn off those pesky paparazzi with a cunning plan to be married somewhere else?

Then, sure enough, the friendly Catholic priest came to the party with details of the service.

Father Paul Coleman, a Kidman family friend for more than 30 years, revealed a string quartet, gospel readings and a lecture to the couple on the secret of keeping love alive would make up the 35-minute service.

Despite the fact Kidman is divorced and Urban, 38, isn't Catholic, Father Coleman told the Daily Telegraph: "I've got a good feeling about their chances".

Urban, a Kiwi baby for two years before the family shifted to Brisbane, then Caboolture, Sunshine Coast, has smiled politely when the cameras clicked this week.

He has cracked the American country music scene, and his colourful past includes a self-confessed cocaine addiction, a string of beautiful women and a photo shoot with Playgirl magazine. But in Australia he's fondly known as "Mr Nice Guy".

Urban's family flew in this week from Brisbane, with his father Bob, a colourful character, attracting the most attention. His handlebar moustache, earrings, silver chain and bulky rings got him a full page Telegraph photo under the heading "Hey Nic, meet your new father-in-law".

Big-name guests include King Kong star Naomi Watts, everyone's favourite rugby league club owner, Russell Crowe, and fellow actor Hugh Jackman, who this week responded to journalists' questions with the words, "What wedding?"

Kidman's sister Antonia and cousin Angela are expected to perform bridesmaid duties, and father Antony will walk the Oscar winner down the aisle as her family and friends watch.

The happy couple have kept it traditional and spent time apart this week, with Kidman's hens' night at Antonia's place reportedly a quiet affair, not including raucous drinking or strippers, but instead recipe swapping. Seriously.

While the tabloid Telegraph has led the way with its wedding updates, the broadsheets and television channels have picked up the pace as the big names arrive in town - including Kidman's two adopted children accompanied by Cruise's sister.

The Sydney Morning Herald kept its dignity, even when contacted by a woman calling herself Helen, purporting to be a friend of "someone who knows all about the hens' night and wedding", and offering to sell it for A$2000 ($2412).

"The Herald politely declined," it said.

THE BRIDE

* Born in Hawaii on June 20, 1967
* Brought up in New South Wales from the age of 4
* Appeared in several Australian movies during the 1980s.
* Her Hollywood break came in Days of Thunder in 1990 starring opposite Tom Cruise, whom she married. Their marriage dissolved in 2001
* Won Academy Award for best actress for 2002 movie, The Hours.
* She is one of Hollywood's leading actors who commands $10 million a movie

THE GROOM

* Born in Whangarei on October 26, 1967
* Raised in Caboolture, a farming town about an hour north of Brisbane
* Signed with EMI and recorded his first solo album, which produced four No 1 country hits, in 1990.
* Moved to Nashville in 1992. Self-titled album propelled him to fame in the US in 2000.
* Last year named one of People magazine's Sexiest Men Alive.

- NZPA