28 AUGUST 2003
As a helicopter pad is marked out and hotels on the Scottish island of Bute reveal they are block booked, speculation soars over the possibility that Stella McCartney will tie the knot with her fiancé Alasdhair Willis this weekend.

Whether Mount Stuart House, a Victorian mansion on the 300-acre estate, will be the venue for the nuptials themselves or just the reception is not known. The estate has confirmed Stella is due to visit, but nothing more. "She is simply a friend of Lord Bute's wife Serena, whom she knows through the fashion world. It was not to do with a wedding," said a member of staff.

Meanwhile, the bride-to-be's father jetted back into the UK with his pregnant wife Heather following a shopping trip to New York. Dressed casually in low-slung trousers and a sheer polka-dot blouse, the former model was proudly showing off her bump. The couple are expecting their first child together in October.

Although relations between the former Beatle's wife and Stella are believed to be strained, it is understood that Heather will attend the ceremony. Much has been made of the possibility that Stella and Alasdhair might wed on the Mull of Kintyre, which was made famous by Sir Paul's 1977 hit and was a favourite getaway for the veteran rocker and his late wife Linda. There have been no signs of preparations for a big event in Kintyre, however.