Rio Ferdinand and Kate Wright have shared details from their lavish three-day wedding celebrations after marrying in Marmaris, Turkey, on Friday.
Former TOWIE star Wright wore an embellished fishtail gown by Berta with a floor-length veil for the ceremony at the D Maris Bay hotel, where they were joined by close friends and family.
The former footballer’s three children from his first marriage to Rebecca Ellison, who died of breast cancer in 2015, all played important roles in the ceremony, with Tia, eight, acting as Wright’s maid of honour and Lorenz, 13, and Tate, 11, walking her half way down the aisle.
Describing the emotional moment in an interview with OK! magazine, the sports pundit joked that he had to keep his sunglasses on during the ceremony to hide his tears.
“I cried as soon as the day started,” he said. “Seeing Tia walk up the aisle before Kate set me off. It was just so emotional.
“There was no going back on the emotion, that’s why I had to keep my shades on! Seeing Tate and Lorenz walk Kate down the aisle was particularly poignant and we wouldn’t have wanted to do it any other way.
“They were so proud and they couldn’t wait to do that, they felt important.”
He added: “We decided the children would have major roles at the wedding, it was so important to us. Kate was adamant she wanted the kids involved and that is a true reflection of how she is.”
Wright revealed that the lead up to the wedding had been a “total nightmare” for her as her original wedding dress “wasn’t made right,” meaning that she had to have a completely new gown made within a week.
“I had been having a dress made since January but it all went wrong and it just wasn’t made right,” she said. “A week before we flew to Turkey, I still didn’t have a dress. It was a total nightmare and I was stressed!
“I had to have an entire new dress made by The Wedding Club and fitted within a week.”
Luckily, Wright “adored” the new design and “preferred it to the original.”
Mehmet Oktay, the Mayor of Marmaris, told Demiroren News Agency that he officiated the ceremony on Friday night.
“Both the couple and the guests told me that they enjoyed Marmaris a lot,” he said. “Ferdinand said they will visit Marmaris in the years to come.”
Ferdinand and Wright kick started their wedding celebrations last Thursday with a brunch at the Turkish resort’s Nusr-Et Steakhouse, hosted by famed chef Nusret Gokce, who has gained viral fame – and the nickname ‘Salt Bae’ – thanks to his unique method of salting meat.
Speaking to MailOnline after the wedding, Wright’s mother Jacqueline described the celebration as “a beautiful occasion,” telling the publication: “We’ve had a wonderful three days. The ceremony was on Friday.
“I’ll never forget it, it was one of the best days in my life. We took the whole hotel over and it was quite a party.”
Read the full interview in this week’s OK! Magazine, out on Tuesday, October 1.
