Mary Berry, 88, has an estimated worth of around £20 million, but the cooking legend chose to stick to a very strict budget when it came to her wedding day with her husband Paul Hunnings in 1996.
According to reports, the Great British Bake Off star spent no more than £5 on her bridal gown, which costs less than half the price of The Great British Bake Off: Kitchen Classics, retailing for £11.
Featuring a bateau neckline, long sleeves, a sparkly waist, a column skirt and a long train, Mary's gown looked much more expensive than its modest price. "My dress was bought in the sale - £5 you know, bargain wasn’t it?" she said to Paul in Mary Berry Everyday, while he sweetly described his bride as "slim and stylish."
© Nick Harvey/ShutterstockShe held a small bunch of lilies and layered pearl necklaces around her neck, styling her blonde cropped hair into glamorous Hollywood waves topped with a veil. Paul, meanwhile, kept it classic in a morning suit with striped trousers, a waistcoat and a tailcoat as he posed in the meadows near Charlcombe Church in Bath.
Unearthed black and white photos also share a look at Mary's wedding cake, which she had unsurprisingly concocted herself. Fitting in with her low-key theme, her confection was a one-tiered, white-iced cake displayed on a large stand with one elaborate decoration on top.
"I baked my wedding cake myself - I’ve always loved baking for special occasions. On the morning of the wedding, I was decorating the cake with my best friend and I went into the garden and picked up some of the greenery and placed it all the way around the cake’s two layers," she added.
© Comic ReliefMary previously admitted that she didn't immediately jump into a relationship with Paul, joking she liked to "keep my options open." But it was her brother who ultimately played matchmaker.
"My husband’s a great sportsman and knew my brother, who encouraged me to leave all the people I was involved with," she told the MailOnline.
© Richard Pohle/WPA Pool/Shutterstock"My brother thought I should have been down at the rugby club. He said, 'Come on, he’s a good chap.' I wasn’t sure to begin with, but after a lot of persuasion... we’ve been married for 46 years and are still great mates. He tolerates me when I say I’ll be home to do supper and I’m not."
She has since made a few gushing remarks about her husband, with whom she shares son Thomas, daughter Annabel and late son William, who sadly passed away in a car crash at the age of 19.
Opening up about her family values, Mary said: "I remember my father [Alleyne, a surveyor and Mayor of Bath] saying, 'Marriage is for better or for worse, and you’ve got to work at it.' He was a difficult man but he did love my mother.
"I went into marriage knowing I wouldn’t dare not be with the same person for all my life – it was forever, whatever happened. I’ve been very lucky."
Speaking to the Daily Mail about her lasting marriage, Mary said: "Marriage does get easier with time, though, and we are of a generation who were brought up to believe that it wasn’t all about the perfect wedding day, it was all about the vows: 'For better or worse, till death do us part'. I feel very fortunate to have such a wonderful husband and family."
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