Eva and Tony's nuptials remain shrouded in mystery

MAINCY, July 6, 2007 — -- Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria and NBA champion Tony Parker will marry in Paris Friday, the first of two wedding ceremonies that will culminate with a lavish reception at a 17th-century castle here Saturday.

Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoë will officiate the private civil ceremony at City Hall, to be attended by a few close friends and family, People reports.

Longoria, 32, and Parker, 25, will exchange vows again Saturday in a religious ceremony at the Saint Germain l'Auxerrois church in Paris, across the street from the Louvre museum.

About 250 guests have been invited, including Housewives co-stars Teri Hatcher and Felicity Huffman (Marcia Cross is staying home with her 4-month-old twins), Jessica Alba, and Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones, People says.

The celebrity wedding of the year has been shrouded in mystery. The couple and their publicists have deflected questions about the plans. Employees involved in the ceremony have been sworn to secrecy.

About the only thing known for sure is that the reception will be held at the Chateau Vaux le Vicomte, 30 miles southeast of Paris. Blame Parker, who spilled the beans about the location to France's Canal+ television network last month.

"We signed a confidentiality agreement, so we can't say anything about the wedding," says Jean-Charles de Vogue, whose family has owned the chateau since 1875. "We have never had such press coverage before. If this increases visitors to the chateau, we will be very happy." De Vogue relies on entry fees for upkeep of the 1,200-acre estate.

The castle's Grand Salon, which can seat 220 people, was closed off to the public for about an hour while workers were taking measurements and photographs Thursday. Its domed ceiling is painted to look like a blue sky, with a gray dove with its wings outstretched in the center. The room is lit by candles.

Unlike the circus atmosphere that surrounded last year's Tom Cruise-Katie Holmes wedding near Rome, the Longoria-Parker party appears sedate.