WEDDING bells finally rang for Hong Kong pop star Kelly Chen yesterday.

The 36-year-old married her long-time boyfriend, businessman Alex Lau, 35, at a lavish celebration at Hong Kong's InterContinental yesterday.

Kelly tied the knot with her beau of 16 years, decked out in an elegant Karl Lagerfeld wedding gown with a 9m-long train.

In the afternoon, she met briefly with the media before the traditional Chinese tea ceremony.

At the media briefing, Kelly and Alex kissed, drank champagne out of each other's glass and cut a five-tiered wedding cake the bride had personally designed.

The events were followed by the wedding dinner, where guests were treated to a slideshow played to an adaptation of one of Kelly's songs.

It was a star-studded event, graced by many of Kelly's showbiz friends including Kenneth Yee, Tony Ching and Patrick Tse. Kelly had tearfully announced her wedding plans to throngs of fans at her concert in Hong Kong earlier this year.

In an interview before her wedding, Kelly said her preparation for the event was relatively simple.

She said: 'I rested, had a facial and went for a spa treatment.'

She added that she had planned a series of small challenges for the groom and his groomsmen before the wedding.

She said: 'They're just some small games meant to be fun for them.'

On her post-marriage plans, Kelly said she is now considering having children. She said: 'I used to put my career first, but I feel that I may be missing out if I don't have children. I'm not stressing out about it though. It's fine whether or not I have children.'

Reflecting on her 16-year courtship with Alex, Kelly said what she most appreciates about her husband is his devotion to her.

The busy celeb recalled: 'At times during our courtship, his friends would be out in pairs, and they would tease him about his 'invisible girlfriend'.

'But he was always there, taking care of me.'

This article was first published in The New Paper on Oct 3, 2008.