Tonight's the Night Rod Stewart Marries

Los Angeles (E! Online) -

Rod Stewart and Penny Lancaster married on Saturday. And it's about time.

In a ceremony nearly eight years in the making, the whiskey-throated British rock star and leggy blonde model swapped vows in a 17th-century villa in Santa Margherita Ligure, on the Italian Riviera.

A handful of witnesses assembled for the half-hour civil ceremony, which was conducted by a town official.

The bride wore a white satin dress, while the groom kept it casual in blue pants and a white jacket.

Afterwards, Stewart, 62, and Lancaster, 36, retreated to a local restaurant to rendezvous with their 19-month-old son, Alastair. The newlyweds posed for pictures at the harbor before being shuttled to Stewart's yacht docked offshore.

Other family members, including Stewart's daughter Kimberley, were spotted at a pre-matrimony ceremony Friday night.

This is the first marriage for Lancaster and third for Stewart.

The couple hooked up following the demise of the "Forever Young" singer's union with Sports Illustrated swimsuit icon

Rachel Hunter in 1999, and became engaged atop the Eiffel Tower in March 2005, four months after Alastair's birth.

But the wedding plans had to be put on hold because Stewart and Hunter remained legally married. They finally got around to finalizing their divorce last November, paving the way for Saturday's nuptials.

Before that the Grammy-winning Rock and Roll Hall of Famer was married to another blonde babe, Alana Stewart. In all, he has seven kids from his various relationships.