Venice shines on George's amore

Amal Alamuddin and George Clooney leave the Aman hotel. Photo / AP

City nearly upstaged by newlyweds as they take launch trip up the Grand Canal in first public appearance.

Newlyweds George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin emerged from the Aman hotel on the Grand Canal in Venice on Sunday and cruised through the heart of the floating city in a launch in their first public appearance since marrying on Saturday night.

Alamuddin, who has become a worldwide celebrity since her relationship began with Clooney, looked every inch the movie star, while her husband had the assured look of a leading man in one of his romantic comedies.

But the real star of the show was Venice - its pastel-coloured palazzi were splashed with sunshine and its cupolas, bell towers and spires were framed against a cloudless blue sky.

Wearing a lacy white dress embroidered with pink and red floral motifs by Italian designer Giambattista Valli, Alamuddin, a 36-year-old human rights lawyer, waved to the crowds. She wore a diamond-encrusted ring on her finger.

By her side stood the man nicknamed "Gorgeous George", in a grey suit, a blue and silver tie, and sporting the look of a man who could not be happier, despite vowing 20 years ago that he would never remarry. Clooney wore a plain platinum band on his wedding finger.

The couple's water taxi was surrounded by a small armada of craft, including police patrol boats and motor launches carrying paparazzi and television crews.

Watch: Raw: Water taxi ferries Clooney to wedding

Today the couple are expected to travel back up the Grand Canal for a formal civil wedding ceremony at the 13th-century town hall to make the union legal under Italian law. They will arrive at the town hall near Rialto Bridge as council workers stage a protest over salary cuts. Protesters, who have written to the movie star, hope Clooney may help publicise their grievances.