Ade Adepitan married Linda Harrison in a beautiful St Paul's Cathedral wedding, and we are taking a look back at the Climate Change: Ade on the Frontline star's gorgeous big day.
READ: Ade Adepitan postponed his wedding in 2017 for sweet reason
It was a traditional service for the Nigeria-born groom and Scottish bride, who brought together two families, two cultures and two countries in a celebration.
WATCH: 9 of the most stunning celebrity weddings
"Everyone says it’s the best day of your life but it was probably better than that," the sports pundit, TV presenter and wheelchair basketball Paralympian told HELLO!. "We were ordinary people in an extraordinary place and you could see everyone take a breath as they looked around at the grand surroundings. It was slightly overwhelming."
Ade Adepitan married Linda Harrison in 2018
Ade, 48, was able to marry Linda, 31, a singer who performs under the stage name Elle Exxe, in the quire of St Paul's. The MBE he earned in 2005 for services to disability sport gave him the right to wed there - although he likes to joke he slipped them a fiver. The Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer were married in the cathedral in 1981. "So no pressure," confessed Ade. "Friends were saying: 'People like us, where we come from, don't have weddings like that.' But Linda and I are both dreamers - we set our goals high."
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He was greeted with hugs from members of the congregation, which included friends soprano Camilla Kerslake and her rugby union star husband Chris Robshaw, Olympians Mark Foster and Christine Ohuruogu and TV presenter Anita Rani.
Ade opened up about their beautiful day
Linda walked up the aisle, looking beautiful in a bespoke off-white satin gown by YSA Makino for Kavelle Couture, with a sweetheart neckline and plunging back. Under her flounced skirt of ruffled organza she wore hand-beaded Converse trainers. "I looked around and saw Linda, and my heart was bursting out of my chest," said Ade. "She looked so, so beautiful. My eyes started watering, and quite a few of my friends turned their faces away as they didn't want to start crying, too."
The pair wed in St Paul's Cathedral
The pair were taken in a Rolls-Royce Phantom to Tower Pier where they and their guests, who'd been transported in old Routemaster buses, boarded a boat to Queen's House in Greenwich for the reception, with Tower Bridge opening especially for them.
As the champagne flowed on board, Ade, Linda, Euan and Ade's best men Dan McCaffrey and his brother Olu made speeches. "I said a few words rather than a speech," revealed Linda. "But I told Ade that I loved him and said how important it was for me to tell him I loved him in front of all these people. I also told him he was the best man I had ever met, the best man I would ever meet, and possibly one of the greatest men that's ever lived.
Ade shared an anniversary snap in 2019
"I knew that this was the woman I wanted to marry but I was a little bit overwhelmed. She was so beautiful and so cool – why would she want to marry me?" Ade knew Linda was The One as soon as they met. She was 19 and had gatecrashed the National Television Awards, which Ade was attending. I was pushing around looking at everyone and I saw this massive smile beaming out. She had an aura, something about her, so I made a beeline. I fell in love straight away."
The couple have been happily married for two years
Linda, who was studying for a degree at The Academy of Contemporary Music in Guildford, wasn't looking for a relationship but after six years they were living together, and Ade proposed while on holiday beside Lake Como. "I got the ring out and Linda said: 'I don't care if you're in a wheelchair, you need to get down on one knee.' But I don’t have the core strength or balance to go on one knee so I got down on two."
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