George Clooney Talks Wedding at Charity Event in Italy

"I will be marrying, in a couple of weeks, in Venice, of all places," says the groom-to-be

Published on September 7, 2014 06:30PM EDT

So much for the veil of secrecy!

Set to receive a Humanitarian Award, George Clooney, like any excited man on the verge of getting married, just couldn’t help but dish a little bit about his impending big day.

The scene was the recent Celebrity Fight Night in Tuscany, Italy, where guest of honor Clooney, 53, who attended with fiancée Amal Alamuddin, 36, let slip during his award acceptance, “I met my lovely bride-to-be here in Italy, whom I will be marrying, in a couple of weeks, in Venice, of all places.”

The black-tie affair was being held in support of the Andrea Bocelli Foundation and The Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center and took place for the first time outside of the U.S. at the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence.

Clooney and Alamuddin sat at a table with Bocelli and his wife, Veronica Berti, along with Jimmy Walker, founder of the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center.

When Clooney took the stage he turned to his fiancée and said, “I would just like to say to my bride to me, Amal, that I love you very much and I can’t wait to be your husband.” The video of his public declaration has been removed from YouTube.

In fact, throughout the evening, Clooney had one main focus: Amal. He kept putting his arm around her shoulder, and whenever her flowing locks flew out of place during one bout of laughter or another, he carefully brushed them back.

During the event, which was also attended by Lionel Richie and Ronnie Dunn, guests drank Champagne and feasted on pasta al pesto while participating in a successful auction that included such items as a dinner with Billy Crystal and Robert De Niro, a nine-day stay on the Salvatore Ferragamo family yacht, and a George Clooney-autographed Ermanno Scervino white crocodile handbag.

Reba McEntire also auctioned off a memorable dinner with herself and Ronnie Dunn in Nashville.

After dinner, attendees were also treated to an intimate performance by Bocelli, along with the orchestra of Maggio Musicale Fiorentino.