Skip to main contentSkip to footer

EXCLUSIVE: Penny Lancaster, Sally Wood and other stars relive their wedding days in exclusive photoshoot

A host of stars open up about their special day to mark HELLO!'s 30th birthday

hello magazine wedding
Share this:

If you want to read about all the best weddings – you have come to the right place! HELLO! has been invited to share in the marital joy of celebrities and royalty over the past 30 years and we have reported on some incredible settings from cathedrals to clifftops and palaces to piazzas. We have captured every confetti-filled moment of the celebrations, and our coverage is the icing on the cake at some of the world's most memorable weddings. We have marked some of our favourite weddings for an extra-special photoshoot and our brides lift the lid on their momentous days.

PENNY LANCASTER

Kicking off with Penny Lancaster exchanged vows with rocker Rod Stewart – now Sir Rod – on 16 June 2007 in a beautiful medieval abbey at La Cervara near Portofino, Italy, in front of 100 of their dearest friends and family. The special day started with a civil ceremony which was attended by just the bride and groom and two witnesses. The couple renewed their vows on their tenth wedding anniversary, under an ancient beech tree in the grounds of their Essex home and in the presence of sons Alastair, and Aiden. Speaking about the day, Penny reflected that Rod gave her a lot of control. "Rod always wanted me to have my dream wedding. He said: "I'll take care of the band and the booze, but the rest is up to you." She added: "I loved organising every little detail, from the linen on the table to the flowers. It was the same for our tenth wedding anniversary. I love putting on a party. Even up to the last minute when guests are arriving, I'm still the party organiser, making sure everyone has drinks." The day was quite emotional fest. Penny remembered: "Because I was so involved in the preparations and rehearsed it in my head 100 times, it all went so perfectly and I didn’t feel nervous, although I did keep Rod waiting as I was a bit late. I had told him: 'You will know when I arrive because I am such a blabber'."I cry at absolutely anything, but it was Rod who was crying before I even got to him."

hello magazine wedding

Eight celebrity brides open up about their special days

SALLY WOOD

It was hailed as the rock’n’roll wedding of the year when theatre producer Sally Humphreys married Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood on 21 December 2012. The intimate ceremony at London’s Dorchester hotel saw Rod Stewart and Sir Paul McCartney play best men. The couple went on to have twin daughters Gracie Jane and Alice Rose, who will turn two this month. "I was talking to Ronnie just the other day about our wedding and I told him I enjoyed the way that we did it, without the big dress, the wedding cake, the long guest list – and the stress. I wanted to get married because I love Ronnie, not for the big day. It was a very small wedding – short and sweet," said Sally. "We only had about 30 guests. It started at four in the afternoon as Ronnie is not a morning person at all. And I think it was all finished by about six. We went for dinner with Rod and Penny, to the Ritz, and there was a live band so I remember we got up and danced with everyone else who was on the dancefloor, but it wasn’t really a first dance." Sally is a big fan of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and even had a party to celebrate their wedding in 2011. "I love weddings. I actually buy bridal magazines. I always look a bit unhinged coming back from the shop with three wedding magazines every month but I love looking at the photos of flowers and cakes."

RELATED: Flashback Friday - Ronnie and Sally Wood's wedding day

MELANIE WALCOTT

In the romantic setting of Castello di Vincigliata in Tuscany, Melanie married footballer Theo Walcott on 15 June 2013. The couple have sons Finley, four, and Arlo, 17 months. "One of the most special memories is when Theo and I first walked out together after the ceremony, just the two of us. That is a very intimate moment, the first one we shared as husband and wife. Our wedding day was such a big point in our lives, a celebration of where we had got to together. I loved every second of it, and the location was so beautiful." Speaking about her bridal dress, Melanie said: "I knew from the moment I first put on my dress by Suzanne Neville that it was the one. It is wrapped up in a box at home. I hope to have a daughter one day who might like to wear it." The couple celebrate their anniversary every year without fail. Melanie said: "In 2015 it was really special as Theo arranged for us to go back to the castle in Tuscany and have the same dinner that we had at the wedding – I don't think either of us ate much on the actual day. The table was set with all the candles like at our wedding so we got to experience it again, just the two of us. We always look back at the photographs in HELLO! Our family and friends loved seeing all the photos in the magazine."

HELEN GLOVER

On a spectacular Cornish clifftop, double Olympic rowing champion Helen Glover married wildlife TV presenter Steve Backshall in a humanist ceremony on 10 September 2016. They are expecting their first child in July. "I remember standing on the clifftop with Steve looking out to endless sea and blue skies, and behind us was the little village where I grew up. Then, when we scrambled down the cliff and walked towards the marquee, all the people that we love were there in that one place, all together for that one time in our lives. That was one of the most amazing moments. It made it really special to have our wedding in HELLO!. I am pretty sure that everyone at the wedding still has their copy – it is such a nice keepsake."

RELATED: Helen Glover marries Steve Backshall in beautiful wedding ceremony

More Weddings

See more