Six months after her elopement to Gretna Green, Carrie Hope Fletcher, 30, married her husband Joel Montague, 36, for the second time in front of their family and friends.
Carrie's brother, McFly star Tom Fletcher, and sister-in-law, author Giovanna Fletcher, were among the 93 guests who gathered at Marleybrook House near Canterbury on 6 August 2023.
"Because we’re performers, I didn’t want to say my wedding vows in front of anyone else, I wanted to focus on making my commitment to Joel privately," explained the star of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cinderella, who shared her wedding photos exclusively with HELLO!. "So having a second wedding and everyone there to witness it and celebrate with us felt like a nice conclusion."
Inside Carrie Hope Fletcher's fairground wedding
Once home to US singer and actress Eartha Kitt, Carrie's wedding venue Marleybrook is now home to the UK’s largest private fairground. The happy couple exchanged vows in an outdoor ceremony in front of a wooden bandstand before making the most of the rides.
They spent two hours riding on the vintage dodgems, carousel, big wheel, rollercoaster and waltzer. "Our first ride was called Sky Dancer, which looks harmless but is like a Ferris wheel with spinning cages that get faster and faster," said Carrie. "It was amazing, but we still felt dizzy half an hour later."
The bride's autumnal wedding dress
After wearing a Phase Eight bridal white dress for her Scottish wedding, Carrie chose a more bold, colourful second wedding dress by Rosie Dennington. The autumn-inspired layered lace gown was made of green and orange material and was embroidered with some of the bride and groom's favourite quotes, including the Finding Nemo line: "When I look at you, I’m home."
The bride, who recycled her Gretna Green floral headpiece and dried flowers, explained: "I wanted something that was very autumnal. I love autumn – I was born in October and already have my Halloween decorations up!"
Carrie's gown clearly left an impression on Joel, who gushed: "I knew the dress was going to be extremely extravagant, but it was more magnificent than I expected."
Meanwhile, Carrie's bridesmaids, including Giovanna, wore burnt orange dresses that coordinated with the groomsmen's Marc Darcy outfits. Giovanna and Tom's sons Buzz, nine, Buddy, seven, and Max, five, also had special roles as pageboys, firing bubble guns as they walked their aunt up the aisle wearing cute blue, green and red outfits that were chosen as a nod to Carrie's nickname for them – Donald Duck’s mischievous nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie.
Tom Fletcher's emotional wedding performance
While Carrie and Joel took a break from performing on their wedding day, they enlisted the help of Tom Fletcher, who sang Dancing in the Moonlight and I’d Do Anything from the musical Oliver!.
"Tom was very nervous and there was definitely a wobble in his voice," Carrie recalled. "Seeing Tom get married was emotional for me, but I think seeing your little sister get married comes with a whole different set of emotions."
Honeymoon plans
Following their big day, Carrie and Joel are both returning to the West End to perform in The Crown Jewels and Hamilton respectively. The couple will take a break from work in October to honeymoon in Disneyland, visiting Los Angeles, Hawaii and Las Vegas in the process.
MORE: Exclusive: Carrie Hope Fletcher reveals spooky event that almost exposed secret wedding
To read the full article, pick up the latest issue of HELLO! on sale now. Subscribe to HELLO! to get the magazine delivered free to your door every week or purchase the digital edition online via our Apple or Google apps.