Sydney:

Hollywood superstar Nicole Kidman and her fiance Keith Urban are “very much in love” and “thrilled” to be getting married, the Catholic priest who will conduct the service said on June 22.

Father Paul Coleman, who has known Kidman for more than 30 years, said the ceremony — to be held on Sunday at a gothic-style chapel overlooking the ocean — would be simple but sincere.

“They are very much in love with each other and looking forward to the marriage ceremony,” Coleman told AFP. “They are thrilled and happy to be getting married,” added Coleman, who declined to say where and when the Oscar-winning actress and the country music star would tie the knot.

But there was no mistaking the venue, as a giant marquee was erected in the grounds of St Patrick’s College in the picturesque Sydney beach suburb of Manly. The service will almost certainly be held in the college’s Cardinal Ceretti Memorial Chapel — an ornate sandstone church with parquet flooring, stained glass windows, pipe organ and vaulted ceiling. A string quartet from the Sydney Symphony Orchestra will reportedly play as Kidman walks down the aisle on the arm of her father Antony.

“It is a simple Catholic marriage and will not be overly long,” Coleman said. “It will be the traditional prayers, quite simple but very sincere.”

Kidman, 39, and Urban, 38, met in January 2005 at a black-tie dinner in Los Angeles sponsored by the Australian government. She confirmed their engagement last month.

The star of The Hours and Eyes Wide Shut is well-loved in Australia and Sydneysiders view her with particular affection. But Urban, one of the hottest country stars in the US where

he has lived since 1992, is a comparative unknown at home.

Coleman, who has met Urban only once, was impressed. “I think he is a very good type of person. He is very much in love with Nicole and that is the big thing for their marriage,” he said.

King Kong star Naomi Watts, a close friend of Kidman, flew into Sydney airport on June 21 but gave nothing away. “I’m not at liberty to discuss that,” she told reporters, when asked about the wedding. “But I am very excited for my friend.”

Kidman’s two adopted children from her 10-year marriage to Tom Cruise, Isabella, 13, and Connor, 11, flew to Sydney airport on Thursday. Urban’s parents, Bob and Marienne, arrived in town on Wednesday from Queensland accompanied by the musician’s older brother Shane.