A blurred snap taken by two Scottish electricians is the closest anyone but the elite band of 100 guests will get to the celebrity wedding of the year.

A £100,000 security operation kept the paparazzi at bay as Sir Paul and his wife Heather, who live in Hove, watched Stella McCartney, who grew up in Rye, tie the knot with magazine editor Alasdhair Willis.

The remote Scottish island of Bute was a virtual fortress, with celebrities including Madonna and husband Guy Ritchie, Kate Moss, Sean Connery, Coldplay frontman Chris Martin and actress Liv Tyler shipped in under a cloak of secrecy for Saturday's £2 million nuptials.

But two electricians who live on the windswept island managed to breach the cordon - and brought back the image to the waiting Press.

Sadly, their effort had the world's media wishing Stuart Reynolds and Robert Charker had stuck to their day jobs.

It is believed the couple, both 31, exchanged vows in a small chapel that makes up part of Mount Stuart, a Victorian gothic mansion set in a 300-acre estate.

Pretenders star Chrissie Hynde was one of the guests at the lavish reception.

Leaving the St Blane's Hotel in Kilchattan Bay last night, she said: "Stella was beautiful."

She then stepped on to a coach waiting to whisk her and Texas star Sharleen Spiteri to the ferry in Rothesay to take them back to the mainland.

Only Mr Reynolds, 35, and Mr Charker, 28, made it through security to stroll through sculpted gardens next to the house, owned by former racing driver Johnny Dumfries, the seventh Marquis of Bute, who is a family friend of the McCartneys.

They said they took pictures of wedding guests and saw a number of people drinking champagne on the lawn.

Mr Reynolds said: "We had heard there was all this tight security and I suppose we just dared ourselves to go in.

"We could see a marquee and men dressed in kilts and they all seemed to be enjoying themselves."

Earlier on Saturday afternoon, Sir Paul and Heather were seen on separate occasions on Bute.

About two hours before his daughter was due to get married, Sir Paul and Chris Martin were in a pub in Kingarth.

Bridget Crowhurst, a classroom assistant, went into the pub along with her ten-year-old daughter Lauren and a number of other schoolgirls who had been on a riding lesson.

She said: "I said to Sir Paul that I believed his daughter had been out riding yesterday.

"He said to me, 'Yes, she had a long ride thank you very much'.

"He looked very happy and well. He seemed very relaxed and in fact he looked a lot younger than I thought he would."

With the celebrations over yesterday, a number of Range Rovers with blacked-out windows headed towards the Caledonian MacBrayne Ferry.