NEWLY-WED supermodel Claudia Schiffer has done little to endear herself to her new Suffolk neighbours. In what turned out to be a farcical wedding escapade on Saturday, the 31-year-old beauty found herself unmistakably rejected by the hundreds of villagers who had turned out to wish her well.

By Debbie Watson

NEWLY-WED supermodel Claudia Schiffer has done little to endear herself to her new Suffolk neighbours.

In what turned out to be a farcical wedding escapade on Saturday, the 31-year-old beauty found herself unmistakably rejected by the hundreds of villagers who had turned out to wish her well.

Far from cheering the official union of Schiffer to film producer Matthew Vaughn, the German millionairess was instead booed by the expectant Suffolk crowd.

And well they might.

After all, Schiffer had made no secret of her desire to live in our increasingly-popular county. She had searched long and hard for her matrimonial home – and eventually settled upon the beautiful Tudor mansion, Coldham Hall.

She had also hand-picked Lavenham's quaint Swan Hotel for her last night as a single woman, and had arranged that the vows of her extravagant ceremony be heard in Shimpling Church.

One might clearly think that the bride had taken our county firmly into her heart.

So why, indeed, did she so boldly shun the affections of her fellow Suffolk residents?

Arguably, an alleged £450,000 fee may have in fact had something to do with Schiffer's coy behaviour.

It is said that the beautiful bride had sold photographs of her big day to a celebrity magazine – perhaps responsible for her constant attempts to hide herself from view.

Shrouded in blankets and umbrellas, Schiffer left the Swan Hotel through a service-yard, and proceeded toward the church in a ridiculous display of 'cover-up'. It was anything but glamorous, and anything but romantic.

In fact, it was a wonder that those who had started out as Schiffer's Suffolk well-wishers could even muster the enthusiasm to boo her. Instead, they might more appropriately have laughed at the pompous shenanigans.

Given Schiffer's usual love of the camera, Saturday's pathetic run-up to the wedding was all the more farcical.

It is, after all, the camera that helped the supermodel on the way to a fortune which now allegedly stretches beyond £30 million.

And secondly, it is the enthusiasm and the attention of the Great British public which helped the undeniably attractive 31-year-old to claim her great status and acclaim.

Yet, on her own £100,000 wedding at the weekend – Schiffer refused to accept the attentions of either.

The bride, however, is unlikely to feel she missed out on the fussy excessive attention from other quarters.

She had made every effort to ensure she was the usual 'centre of attention' come Saturday's event, and, dressed in an ivory silk dress, she was surrounded by attentive security men – and various specialists charged with ensuring her absolute best appearance.

Her hair had been styled by David Adams of Aveda hairdressers, and the designer of her dress, Giovanni Valentino, stayed at the Swan Hotel – presumably in case last minute adjustments were necessary.

But for all the great effort that went into this matrimonial 'operation', it only appears to have blighted Schiffer's reputation in the eyes of Suffolk folk.

They might have been wishing the newly-weds the very best on their future today – but instead, Mrs Claudia Vaughn steps into the matrimonial world with little in the way of congratulations.

Clearly, she may well come to take comfort in the financial gains of that farcical 'big day', because, in the eyes of many, it was far from the romantic and celebrated event it might have been.