PARO (Bhutan) - Actors Tony Leung Chiu Wai and Carina Lau's nuptials in far-flung Bhutan was a multi-million-dollar affair, topped off with the 12-carat diamond ring he gave his bride, said reports.

Apple Daily said it cost the couple more than HK$30 million (S$5.2m) to host the Hong Kong showbusiness wedding of the year, including the East-meets-West ceremony at the five-star Uma Paro resort on Monday.

Leung, 46, who is said to be a foodie, also had a three-Michelin-star chef flown in from The Oriental Hotel Bangkok to prepare the banquet.

Lobsters, caviar, oysters and matsutake mushrooms were on the menu for the nine-course feast, which cost about HK$1 million, said the newspaper.

The groom was generous to his bride too.

When Lau, 43, married him in a Buddhist ceremony at noon, she was wearing a red Bhutanese costume, five pairs of golden dragon-and-phoenix bangles and a big diamond from him, said Ming Pao Daily News.

The pear-shaped Cartier rock - dubbed a 'quail's egg' by the newspaper, in an allusion to another big diamond in his movie, Lust, Caution - is said to be worth more than HK$10 million.

After the ceremony, Lau re-emerged in a white Western wedding gown by designer Vera Wang and with a group of flower girls, including pop queen Faye Wong's daughter Jingtong, 11, and singer Kenny Bee's daughter Blythe, three.

Wong Kar Wai, who directed the couple in films such as Ashes Of Time and 2046, was one of the guests who spoke at the wedding, said Sing Tao Daily.

He said: 'These few days, I've been staying upstairs from the couple and two days ago, I saw Carina wearing socks, wearing a hat, waking up early in the morning to go trekking in the mountains with Tony.

'This wasn't the Carina Lau we usually see. When I watched them leave, I was so moved.'

In another speech, actor Ti Lung joked that he would have to call the groom 'Wai Gor' or 'Big Brother Wai' after his marriage. In Cantonese, Wai Gor also sounds like Viagra.

As for singer Wong - the bride's best friend in showbusiness - she left all the talking to her husband, actor Li Yapeng.

After Li spoke, Lau said: 'Faye Wong is so lucky to have married a well-spoken man, just as Tony Leung, who doesn't like talking, has married a well-spoken woman like me.'

Reports said about 100 guests, including former actress Lin Ching-hsia and former singer Stella Chang, turned up for the festivities.

Lau had asked her guests not to give her presents, but to donate the money instead.

But all the guests got mementos such as necklaces blessed by the Karmapa Lama and chopsticks engraved with the couple's initials, T and C.

This article was first published in The Straits Times on July 23, 2008.