SURROUNDED by bodyguards, helicopters and a magazine determined to protect their six-figure exclusive, Jennifer Hawkins married her beau of eight years, builder Jake Wall, in a dramatic Bali wedding.

Touted as the biggest celebrity nuptials of 2013, the couple were wed before an intimate gathering of about 50 friends and family overlooking the ocean at the cliff's-edge villa resort Semara, in the islands quiet area of Uluwatu.

Guests began arriving around 4pm Tuesday (6pm AEST) for the sunset ceremony, with the stunning bride, resplendent in a meringue-style strapless dress with her hair down, walking down the aisle an hour later.

Mr and Mrs Wall were flanked by two bridesmaids - dressed in pale pink and one of them believed to be Hawkins's sister, Kristy Vitnell - and two groomsmen.

The three-day affair came to a head with an all-white reception held inside an elaborate white marquee, with a party lasting until the wee hours.

Reports that singer and long-time Hawkins' mate Guy Sebastian was booked to perform were unfounded, with Sebastian last night performing a concert in Maryborough, Queensland.

Since becoming engaged 18 months ago, following a romantic proposal in New Zealand, the Myer supermodel has maintained she wanted a low-key wedding where guests can kick their feet up.

"I just want everyone to have fun and that's the joy of going overseas - it makes it special for everyone else too," she told The Daily Telegraph earlier this year.

The Miss Universe Australia darling and long-term love, who met in their late teens at a Newcastle nightclub, were at the centre of a major bidding war between New Idea and Woman's Day magazines in the lead-up to their big day, with both magazines fighting through cheque books for the rights to cover the event.

Woman's Day came out the victor, paying a rumoured $350,000.

While a long way from the record-breaking $1 million said to have been paid to Lleyton and Bec Hewitt for their Opera House extravaganza in 2005, it's the believed to be the largest sum paid for a celebrity wedding in as many years.

Last year Braith and Jodi Anasta, who also married in Bali, were reportedly paid $150,000.

Plenty of paparazzi were unsuccessful in trying to get a photo of Hawkins inside the super-private resort.

Her villa was just a short walk from the wedding site.

Wall and his friends were said to be staying at the Oberoi Hotel in Semanyak in the days before the nuptials.