With a private island as the backdrop, exclusive guests including Hollywood royalty and a father worth an estimated £2.6 billion, Sir Richard Branson's daughter Holly gave a whole new meaning to the term 'dream wedding' when she tied the knot. The Virgin tycoon gave away one of his most precious assets to shipbroker Fred Andrews in a ceremony on Necker Island – his beautiful 74-acre island home.
In a touching twist, it was the same date and location as when the billionaire himself married Joan Templeman in 1989.On that occasion he made his entrance swinging from the bottom of a helicopter. There had been some doubt about whether Holly and Fred's wedding would go ahead after the island was ravaged by fire in August. But Richard was determined to press on with the nuptials, stating in a blog post soon after: "Holly and Freddie’s wedding will definitely still happen here!" The ceremony was an elegantly understated affair, in keeping with the bride's desire to have "a small wedding with just family and a few friends each".
And proud dad Richard was clearly delighted by the union, saying he was thrilled to be "giving away our daughter Holly to an absolutely delightful husband".
And the typical Branson idiosyncrasy peppered the event, with guests asked to bring tents so that the wedding party could camp out under the stars on the golden sands.Holly wore flowers in her hair and shunned the traditional veil. The 100 invitees included Princess Beatrice and her sister Eugenie, who declined an invitation to Christmas lunch at Buckingham Palace with the Queen in order to attend the special day. Sir Richard's daughter is a firm favourite amongst the young royal set.She is friends with Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge, and Pippa Middleton was one of 300 guests who attended her dazzling engagement party at Kensington Roof Gardens in April.
