David and Victoria Beckham celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary on 4 July, prompting many congratulations from their wealth of adoring fans.
Not only did the former England captain and Spice Girls singer slip back into their bright purple wedding reception ensembles, but Posh Spice also shared a slew of throwback photos from the lead-up to the wedding from the couple's personal archive to celebrate the occasion.
Until now the photos were unseen by the public - minus a few key players that is, who not only appeared in the A-lister's photos but can remember the lead-up to the big day personally. We tracked down Stansted Airport employee Andy Jeffrey, who told HELLO! about working with the Beckhams ahead of their big day and how a bridal dress crisis was averted.
© InstagramSuffolk-based Andy, 60, first took up employment at Stansted Airport in 1991, working for several airlines including Harrods Aviation which he worked for during the year the Beckhams tied the knot. At the time he was "the guy with the bat" as he puts it, seeing aircrafts in, dealing with the passengers and luggage then moving the plane to its parking stand or hangar.
© AlamyIn his role, Andy was used to working with A-list clients from heads of state to royals, footballers, Hollywood stars, and everyone in between. It was in the summer of 1999 that Andy played a part in getting everything shipshape to fly decorations and such from London to Dublin for one of the most high-profile weddings in history.
"The call comes over the radio that [the Beckhams] are here," Andy remembers. "Their car is escorted airside and they pull up at the side of the plane. David and Victoria get out along with some other members of their family. They are all in high spirits and excited about the upcoming wedding."
© InstagramA near-miss with Victoria's bridal gown
Andy helped to load boxes of wedding goods into the plane before it got to a certain, large, and highly important box - the vessel containing Victoria's Vera Wang champagne wedding gown.
© InstagramThe design became known as the "transatlantic dress" as the bodice, which was made by Mister Pearls, had been flown back and forth between London and New York during the designing and making process.
© InstagramAnd yet it was the final flight to Dublin for their nuptials at Luttrellstown Castle which proved most difficult. "The pilot and I started with the task of loading their bags into the hold," Andy recalls. "It was made clear that one box had her wedding dress inside and it wasn't to be damaged or crushed. A few abortive attempts and it was very clear that the sizeable box wasn't going in the hold or the cabin.
© InstagramWith an impending wedding due to be attended by Victoria's Spice Girls bandmates and Elton John, the bespoke designer gown being left on the runway in London was not an option.
The aircraft refueller reveals that there was talk of chartering a larger plane or sending the dress by DHL or FedEx. "Of course, this was a one-off, designer-made dress, and the thought of it getting squashed 'in the post!' or lost altogether meant that really wasn't an option," he admits.
© InstagramEver one for the practical approach after years of loading cargo on planes, Andy tells us that he suggested taking the dress out of the box to load it into the plane. Though the pilot was in agreement, Andy reveals the then 25-year-old superstar bride couldn't bear her husband-to-be seeing her dress before the big day.
Crisis averted
"Adamant that David shouldn't see the dress, Victoria said to him, 'David turn your back and cover your eyes'. Which he duly did," Andy recalls. "We then opened the box to reveal the dress and proceeded to carefully unpack it and place it in a small storage area (and lavatory!) at the rear of the cabin."
© Instagram"Problem solved! They all boarded but not before both David and Victoria both thanked me for all I had done and for getting the dress on board, disaster averted," Andy says, reflecting on the pair who he says were "a young couple excited to be going to their wedding and just so very friendly and polite, not at all rude".
© InstagramFor years following the wedding, Andy continued to work on A-list flights reuniting with the Beckhams, as well as having chats with Tom Cruise and the "amazingly nice" bandmembers of Iron Maiden, through to watching the Ryder Cup in the crew room with a former US president.
It was Andy's daughter Victoria who alerted him to the iconic fashion designer's wedding post featuring her dad carefully loading boxes of wedding decorations into a plane at Stansted Airport.
© Richard Young/ShutterstockDISCOVER: Bronzed Victoria Beckham could be a noughties bride in corseted mini dress
Though the photos offered brand new insights into the special day for Victoria's 33 million invested Instagram followers, those snapshots are fond memories for Andy and are part of an anecdote he keenly shares.
