jay blades smiling© Photo: Rex

The Repair Shop's Jay Blades' unconventional beach wedding bucked all traditions

The couple had an intimate Barbados ceremony

Deputy Lifestyle Editor
December 8, 2022

Jay Blades and his wife Lisa Zbozen threw out the rulebook for their Barbados wedding.

The couple had hoped to tie the knot in the UK but couldn't find a venue big enough for their guest list. Instead, The Repair Shop star and the fitness trainer travelled to the Caribbean island for an intimate ceremony with just 15 of their closest friends and family, which didn't include Lisa's ill father or Jay's three children. 

WATCH: Exclusive: Jay Blades marries Lisa Zbozen in romantic wedding

From no decorations to Jay's last-minute best man, take a look at all the secret details from Jay and Lisa's unconventional wedding…

"Once you get to a certain age, you realise what’s actually important on the day – and that is having the people around you that love you for who you are," Lisa told HELLO!. "So we made the day our day."

DISCOVER: The Repair Shop star Jay Blades' bride's last-minute change of heart with 'oversized' wedding dress

The TV star and the fitness trainer got married in Barbados

Their rule-breaking mindset began even before their big day began! Instead of spending the night apart, as is tradition for brides and grooms, Jay and Lisa had a usual evening together before waking up and heading to the gym for a couple's workout.

After breakfast, Jay had a last-minute haircut at the barbers and only gave himself half an hour to get ready ahead of the ceremony. Jay explained: "We were getting married at four o'clock and the guests arrived at 2pm. I didn’t have a shower until 3.30pm as I was making sure everybody was all right and having a good time."

© Photo: Instagram

Family friend Gerald Bailey was Jay's best man and his daughter Beaux was Lisa's bridesmaid

And he took the same laid-back approach to appoint his best man, who was his "second mother" Thelma Dunlop's son Gerald Bailey. "I gave him the rings and he said: 'What [are] these?'" said Jay. "I said: 'Well, you have to give them to me when we get married.' And that was that."

While Lisa opted for a traditional white wedding dress from Romantic Dreams Bridal in Birmingham, she kept it casual by ditching wedding shoes to go barefoot. After exchanging vows in the garden of the five-bedroom beachfront Onyx villa – which did not boast any decorations – the newlyweds and their guests enjoyed dinner at the restaurant Lone Star, where they had a cup of tea followed by shrimps and sea bass.

In the absence of decorations, a huge wedding venue and a specific wedding breakfast, we imagine the money they saved on their low-key nuptials came in handy for their week-long honeymoon in Barbados.

TRENDING: Exclusive: The Repair Shop's Jay Blades and bride Lisa in tears during 'emotional' tropical wedding

Planning your wedding? Sign up to HELLO!’s Bride Guide newsletter for expert advice, budget help, wedding inspiration and real life stories delivered straight to your inbox.

Sign up to HELLO Daily! for the best royal, celebrity and lifestyle coverage

Email Address

By entering your details, you are agreeing to HELLO! Magazine User Data Protection Policy. You can unsubscribe at any time. For more information, please click here.

More Weddings

See more