Sam plays it again for Kate in sun island secret wedding

ACTRESS Kate Winslet and director Sam Mendes have married in a very small ceremony whilst on holiday in the West Indies.

A spokeswoman for the couple was unable to give any further details of the wedding.

A friend of the couple said: "They just wanted to have something small and simple." Mr Mendes's past loves have included actresses Jane Horrocks and Rachel Weisz and he had a fling with Ally McBeal star Calista Flockhart.

The pair have managed to keep a fairly low profile

despite their fame. They made their first British

public appearance together last year when they attended the premiere of Mr Mendes's second film, The Road To Perdition.

Ms Winslet, 27, and her partner arrived arm in arm at the event in London's

Leicester Square. But asked then whether they had any plans to tie the knot, she said: "Get out of here".

The couple have homes in London and a country retreat in the Cotswolds, thought to be worth over £3 million.

It is Ms Winslet's second marriage. She was married for little over three years to assistant director Jim Threapleton, but they

divorced in December 2001. Their daughter Mia was born in October 2000.

She and 37-year-old Mr Mendes, who like her hails from Reading, near London, became an item within two months of her split from Mr Threapleton.

Ms Winslet has said of her relationship with the Oscar-winning American Beauty director: "We are very happy, unbelievably happy."

Mr Mendes who made his reputation on the stage carried off three Laurence Olivier awards earlier this year and said it was his love for Ms Winslet which had inspired him.

Accepting the prizes he said: "I want to say thank you to my partner Kate,

because these are two plays about love and it helps when you direct them to have personal experience."