In a HELLO! world exclusive, we can reveal that Made In Chelsea stars Sam Vanderpump and Alice Yaxley have married in a secret ceremony on 14 December. The couple, who are expecting their first child together, tied the knot in front of just a handful of family and friends inside the Kensington and Chelsea Register office in west London.
In an exclusive picture shot by Sophie Cranston of Sophotography and shared with HELLO! magazine model Alice, who is seven months pregnant, was glowing in a beautiful white gown by Caroline Castigliano while her new husband was smart in a dark suit with a hint of red from Endrick Clothing.
© Sophie Cranston, SophotographyThe couple have already revealed that they are expecting a son, who they plan to call Marmaduke, in February next year. They got engaged in February after a whirlwind romance of just seven months. However Sam, 28 – the nephew of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Lisa Vanderpump – recently revealed he had been diagnosed with irreversible end-stage liver disease, with his life expectancy limited to four to five years without a transplant.
© Sophie Cranston, SophotographySam Vanderpump shares his first wedding snap
He was born with the rare conditions congenital hepatic fibrosis of the liver and polycystic kidney disease, but they lay dormant until December last year when his organs began shutting down after developing sepsis. He is now waiting for a transplant and is hopeful it will be a success, saying: "In all truth, a liver transplant is extremely successful. So I'm going to be here for my son. I know that. And there are those fears. But you know, the context is I'm healthy now. My liver might not be good for four or five years. But I'm going to have this liver transplant and everything's going to be fine. I will live a long, happy life."
"I knew from the moment I met Alice that, if I was lucky enough, she'd be the girl I was going to marry"
The couple had planned a big wedding but decided to organise today's ceremony ahead of the birth of their son and while Sam was still enjoying good health.
"We were always going to have our big wedding that was going to take a few years to plan but the baby changed that," Alice, 24, has said. "I think it's nice that we'll all have the same last name together."
© Getty"I knew from the moment I met Alice that, if I was lucky enough, she'd be the girl I was going to marry but I felt you couldn't do that after six or 12 months," Sam has said. "But after nearly dying, it put everything into perspective. Any second, anything can happen in life. I love her to pieces. I want to marry her. Why wait two years?"
For all the details from Sam and Alice’s beautiful wedding day, including the dress, the flowers, the reception, the celebrity guests and the vows, pick up next week’s bumper double issue of HELLO! magazine, which is published on 22 December.
