In a heartwarming ceremony filled with love, Lady Pamela Hicks’s granddaughter Maddison May Brudenell said: "I will" at a 15th-century village church in one of the most extraordinary society weddings of the year – and HELLO! was there to witness this historic occasion.
The bride, whose "grandmama" was a lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth II and a bridesmaid at the then Princess Elizabeth’s 1947 wedding to Prince Philip, looked suitably regal as she glided gracefully – and unaccompanied – up the aisle in her exquisite white gown, her tiara shimmering in the sunlight, to meet her handsome beau, Bret Kapetanov.
As she passed their beaming guests, who were seated in pews festooned with natural green foliage kindly gifted by friends and neighbours, she radiated happiness.
She carried a bouquet of hydrangeas and white and pink anemones as she followed her bridesmaids, flower girls and pageboys, who included her two-month-old baby boy Michael, as well as her children Daphne, seven, Phebe, five, and three-year-old Moses from her previous marriage.
Then came the moment two very different worlds joined in unison. A young British aristocrat, a great-granddaughter of Lord Mountbatten of Burma, pledged everlasting love to her Canadian millwright and welder. And it took place in St Mary the Virgin, the very church where former Ralph Lauren model Maddison was christened.
"I felt really nervous and excited," says the 30-year-old newlywed, who is a third cousin of Princes William and Harry.
Moving ceremony
Speaking of her solo bridal walk, she adds: "I decided I’m a mum of four now and my own woman. I can walk myself down. Once I was there at the front with Bret, I felt safe. I kept looking into his eyes and everything was fine."
Looking dashing in a classic three-piece morning suit in Italian fabric, with black tailcoat and a top hat from Hawes & Curtis – the same tailor that dressed Lord Mountbatten – Bret says: "I was almost ready to cry. It was happening and my beautiful wife was walking towards me."
Then, as the service began, the couple held hands and, brimming with emotion, listened to readings from Bret’s parents Darren and Nicole, and his grandparents, as well as Maddison’s godmother and family friend Sarah Jane Gullick.
Bridesmaid and actor-singer Laura Andresen Guimarães took the congregation’s breath away with her flawless rendition of At Last by Etta James and Be Thou My Vision by Audrey Assad.
As the bride and groom exchanged vows in a ceremony conducted by the Rev. Mel Stanley, Maddison could hardly hold back the tears.
She recalls: "I was struggling to speak. It’s such an overwhelm of joy – if I’d let my tears go it would have taken a minute."
Then Bret tenderly slipped the wedding ring he had secretly designed onto her finger. While her 18-carat gold engagement ring, which he also designed, contains three diamonds that represent her older children, her gold wedding ring contains another diamond for their baby, Michael.
"It was so special, I couldn’t believe it," says Maddison. "I’m obsessed with my ring, and I love Bret’s as well."
As the couple were pronounced husband and wife, they shared a kiss to cheers from their family and friends – while baby Michael slept throughout.
To read the full exclusive interview, pick up the latest issue of HELLO! on sale in the UK on Monday. You can subscribe to HELLO! to get the magazine delivered free to your door every week or purchase the digital edition online via our Apple or Google apps.
Photos: Sven Arnstein
Bridal styling: Lily Lam
Groomsmen's styling: Phil Tarling
With thanks to Aeon Black, Amy Layen, Babylon Flowers, Enamel Copenhagen, Jade Soar, Melissa Hadland, Monsoon, Sif Jakobs and Susi Smither
Photobooth: booth-fairy.co.uk
Additional photography: Francesca Ellis
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