Inside Peter Andre and Katie Price’s disastrous pink fairytale wedding
The couple’s outlandish ceremony, which took place 15 years ago today, went down in history, but not exactly for the right reasons
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It’s been a whole 15 years since Katie Price and Peter Andre tied the knot, and who could forget their celebrity-filled pink fairytale castle wedding day?
The outlandish ceremony went down in history, but not exactly for the right reasons.
The happy couple suffered a series of disasters which began even before the big day as drama around the invites stirred up trouble.
Katie and Peter received some nos in their RSVPs… and even some snubs. Their absent guests arguably overshadowed their big day as many reports focused on their absence.
Those who boycotted the wedding included Denise van Outen, who refused her invite after only meeting the pair for five minutes, Friends actor David Schwimmer, and the Beckhams.
Davina McCall and Simon Cowell also decided to skip the celebrations.
But what had everyone scratching their heads about was Katie’s bold decision not to invite her estranged dad Ray Infield, aunt Renee, Renee’s daughter Sally, son Jack and other family members.
Opening up about the wedding snub, aunt Renee said at the time: “We haven’t been invited because she would rather have so-called celebrities there than her family.
“She’s got a new manufactured life now and she has left us behind.”
Things went from bad to worse when the big day eventually rolled around.
Katie and Pete’s wedding almost didn’t happen on the day after the pair’s guests were held up by a nearby gas leak, keeping the couple waiting for nearly an hour before it was sorted.
Pricey was severely delayed on her arrival at Highclere Castle – the stately home featured in Downton Abbey – but finally turned up in a Cinderella-inspired carriage pulled by six white horses.
Guests were also stuck in traffic waiting for police and firefighters to sort out a huge tanker that sprung a leak.
The ceremony still couldn’t get underway as many of the guests weren’t there yet – despite it being more than 90 minutes since the nuptials planned start time.
Katie was forced to wait in her princess-style pink tulle and satin dress designed by Isabell Kristensen, which boasted an epic seven-metre train.
She had paired her gown with an impressive foot-high tiara – not one to shy away from making a statement.
And as if the day couldn’t seem to get off to a worse start – it did.
Just when the pair managed to get their ceremony going, another interruption brought everything to a halt.
Workers rolled out the Portaloos to the venue – prompting a huge cheer from guests when they arrived as there had previously been no toilets on site.
It seemed as soon as the pair managed to overcome one obstacle on their big day, another problem arose.
Members of Liberty X – Michelle Heaton, Tony Lundon, Kevin Simm, Jessica Taylor and Kelli Young – arrived more than an hour after the other guests, causing yet another interruption to the ceremony.
When things eventually settled down, guests including Charlotte Church, Jennifer Ellison, Wayne and Coleen Rooney and Paul Gascoigne dined on foie gras and lobster served by opera-singing waiters.
But much of the big day was shrouded in secrecy, thanks to a lucrative £1.75million exclusive deal with a glossy mag.
With the financial stakes so high, the couple reportedly hired a team of ex-SAS soldiers and intelligence officers to ensure the exclusive seven-figure mag deal wasn’t compromised.
Although the security that night was top notch, it seems that no-one could do anything about the several news helicopters that watched the ceremony from above from start to finish.
Snaps showed Pete wearing an ivory Venetian wool suit with a glittering waistcoat adorned with Swarovski crystals. His blushing bride would later claim he even had hair extensions fitted.
After marrying in a civil ceremony in the mansion’s library, Katie and Peter had a blessing in the Secret Garden followed by a reception in a marquee decorated with bay trees, pink feathers, crystals, a 10-foot chandelier and two flower-covered thrones.
Her collection of bridesmaids had a girlband theme, with Girls Aloud’s Sarah Harding, Liberty X’s Michelle Heaton and her I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here mate, Atomic Kitten star Kerry Katona, doing the honours.
The happy couple had their first dance to their own take on A Whole New World from Disney’s Aladdin and cut into a towering wedding cake.
Heartbreakingly for Katie, despite her pulling out all the stops, the day was not what she’d imagined.
Suffering from post-natal depression following the birth of their son Junior just three months earlier, she admitted harbouring some regrets about the magazine deal.
Looking back on her wedding, Katie told Loose Women in 2017: “When I look back at it, I didn’t enjoy the day.
“One, I had postnatal depression and also because we did it for a magazine I wasn’t allowed to be in certain places in case someone got a picture.
“It was that extravagant – I remember people just chucking Swarovski crystals onto the tables. We had a carriage, we had a tunnel, special lighting, pink carpet… I mean, what didn’t we have?
“[But] I didn’t see it! Because of doing the photos I didn’t even see all of the wedding. I enjoyed marrying him, but I didn’t get to enjoy the wedding.”
Almost four years to the day of their epic Cinderella-themed wedding, their fairytale dreams came crashing down.
It took just over a minute for a High Court judge to end Katie and Peter’s marriage on September 8, 2009.
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