WAGs wedding weekend: four England footballers get married

The ‘wives’ contingent of the WAGs group has grown considerably after four England footballers married their girlfriends over the weekend.

England captain John Terry kicked off the string of nuptials on Friday when he married Toni Poole at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire. They were followed by Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard and Alex Curran at Cliveden House Hotel in Berkshire around 2pm on Saturday afternoon. Manchester United star Gary Neville went next, marrying Emma Hadfield at Manchester Cathedral around 3pm, followed shortly afterwards by his club teammate Michael Carrick and Lisa Roughead at St Peter’s Church in Wymondham, Leicestershire.

John and Toni

Childhood sweethearts John and Terri are thought to have spent around £800,000 on the event - paid for by the sale of exclusive coverage to a magazine. Guests were even asked to change to mobile phones without cameras in them in order to avoid any photos being leaked.

The couple, who are parents to one year old twins Georgie and Summer, are now thought to be honeymooning on John’s boss at Chelsea Roman Abramovich’s super yacht moored off the French Riviera.

Steven and Alex

Steven and Alex chose celebrity-favourite Cliveden House Hotel in Berkshire for their nuptials and are reportedly to have earned around £800,000 by selling snaps of the day to OK magazine.

Alex wore a diamond-studded off-white gown designed by Elie Saab for her walk up the aisle, accompanied by the couple’s daughters Lexie and Lilly Ella in miniature versions of the dress. Alex’s dress is rumoured to have cost around £60,000 and £150,000 and guests described it as “breathtaking” and “absolutely gorgeous”. Not to be completly outdone, Steven wore a £50,000 diamond stud in his ear.

Guests at the reception included a range of football stars and their respective WAGs including Michael Owen, Peter Crouch, Rio Ferdinand, Theo Walcott, Jamie Redknapp, Harry Kewell and Ashley Cole. Ashley’s wife Cheryl Cole also took along Girls Aloud bandmate Nicola Roberts.

Thankfully the wedding cake was big enough to go around - it was seven-tiers tall and is thought to have cost around £20,000. Guests were also treated to a spectacular fireworks display at the end of the evening.

Gary and Emma

Gary and Emma met in 2004 and are said to have turned down offers from Hello and OK magazines in order to keep their nuptials private. But private doesn’t mean low-key when you’re a footballer.

The couple are said to have decorated Manchester Cathedral with a dozen 20ft long flower arrangements and treated guests to Louis Roederer 1997 vintage Cristal champagne costing over £200 a bottle before the ceremony began.

For the nuptials themselves, Emma wore an ivory Amanda Wakeley gown and Gary a brown suit, with the bridesmaid’s meeting inbetween in coffee-coloured gowns.

The wedding reception was held in the grounds of the couple’s mansion near Bolton. An enormous marquee was erected on the lawn to avoid interruptions by the un-June-like weather of late but the guests stepped outside at one point though to enjoy a 15-minute aerial display by two light aircrafts.

The couple are expected to honeymoon at their holiday home on the Maltese island of Gozo, where Gary originally proposed.

Michael and Lisa

Michael and Lisa chose a Norman church in the Leicestershire village of Wymondham for their wedding and the service was carried out by Rev Mary Samuels of the church. Lisa wore an ivory Christian Lacroix gown with a 10ft train with her bridesmaids in dusky pink.

The couple were serenaded by the London Community Gospel Choir as they walked up the aisle and as they left the church.

As many of their friends were already tied up elsewhere, the couple decided to wait until today for their reception: holding a large scale barbecue in the grounds of Stapleford Park Hotel this afternoon.