Singer-songwriter Lucy Spraggan has married her girlfriend Emilia Smith after her close friend Simon Cowell walked her down the aisle.
In an emotional wedding day covered exclusively by HELLO!, the music mogul gave Lucy, 32, away as her 11-year-old Boston terrier Steve, in a black bow tie, trotted alongside.
“It was perfect,” says the former X Factor contestant, who wore a bespoke white King and Allen three-piece suit to walk down the aisle to her own song, Other Sides of the Moon, which was released on her wedding day and is dedicated to her bride.
© Sarah Beth PhotoAn emotional day
“Simon and I were standing outside the door and my song started playing. I was already crying, and Simon definitely had a tear in his eye. I was linking arms with him but then I realised I was holding on to his arm. He kept saying, ‘You’re OK, you’re all right.’ Then when Emilia walked in with her dad I just sobbed.”
Wedding photographer Emilia, 34, who wore a stunning strapless white gown by Australian label Chosen by Kyha, with detachable sleeves and long veil, added: “When I saw Lucy, it was everything I ever imagined and more. When I got to the top of the aisle Simon was looking at us both and he looked so proud, and so did my dad.
“Dad has been having chemotherapy for cancer but somehow, he made it through the day to be the last man standing.”
© Sarah Beth PhotoLucy’s friendship with Simon
Among the guests to see the couple exchange heartfelt vows at Saltmarshe Hall, a historic country hotel in East Yorkshire, were Simon’s partner Lauren Silverman, actor Tom Turgoose, Ru Paul’s Drag Race star Bimini Bon-Boulash and reality TV star Adam Collard.
Lucy and Simon never met during her 2012 stint on The X Factor, when she was forced to pull out of the show after being attacked by a hotel porter, but Simon reached out to her last year when she wrote a memoir revealing her traumatic experience.
The pair soon became close, and Lucy signed to Simon’s Syco publishing label. It was on a recent holiday to Barbados that Lucy, who is estranged from her father, asked Simon to give her away.
© Sarah Beth PhotoSimon’s special role
“I was very honoured to be asked to walk Lucy down the aisle,” Simon tells HELLO! “I considered it a very big deal. As soon as she asked me, I said yes. On the day I was actually quite nervous because l’ve never been asked before. And then very proud and happy and emotional.
“The best way of describing our relationship is that it feels like we’ve been friends for life.
“Being asked to walk her down the aisle made me realise the significance and importance of that role. And throughout the day, I was thinking even though it’s been a relatively short time, we do feel like family, and we share a very special bond.”
© Sarah Beth Photo“You always want the best for your friends,” he adds. “I got to know Emilia as she and Lucy have spent quite a lot of time with me and my family. You can see they are true soul mates. The way they looked at each other during the ceremony and the whole day, was the true definition of happiness and love.
“Weddings can be very stressful with so many people involved. The two words that I kept thinking about throughout the day were joy and peace. It was a really happy occasion. I am absolutely thrilled for them both.”
Lucy tells us: “Everything people get from their fathers I get from Simon. He’s a constant support and he and Lauren constantly check in and make sure I’m OK.”
Ice baths and wedding tattoos
After the ceremony Lucy, who gave up alcohol several years ago, changed into a white bikini to jump into an ice bath, provided by The Ice Bath Company.
“Lots of my friends don’t drink, so this was a natural high,” she explains. “One guest got in fully clothed, and another took off her dress and jumped in wearing her Spanx.”
The brides, who only fell in love last November after being friends for ten years, had also booked a tarot card reader and a tattoo artist and, after the cards assured them they had “an exciting future”, they had matching tattoos, with the date of their wedding inked on their wrists.
“My new song is called Other Sides of the Moon because it feels like both of us were always looking at the same moon, but we were just standing on opposite sides of it, and now we’re standing on the same side,” explains Lucy, who will perform at next weekend’s Glastonbury Festival.
To the full interview, pick up the latest issue of HELLO! on sale in the UK now. 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.