Saying “I do” has been a long time coming for Kaiser Chiefs frontman Ricky Wilson and his partner Grace Zito – the couple have had to postpone their nuptials four times due to the pandemic.
But it’s fifth time lucky for the pair, who, despite not getting the lavish star-studded wedding they had originally planned, were happy to opt for a small, socially distanced ceremony surrounded by 20 of their closest friends and family instead. And they've given OK! VIP members an Access All Areas pass to the ceremony and reception, with exclusive video footage and photos from the stunning nuptials!
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“I’m glad it’s happened like it’s happened,” says an overjoyed Ricky, 43, who was also a coach on The Voice UK from 2014 to 2016. “We’ve had some miserable times because of the pandemic and postponing it so many times, but I think it worked out perfectly in the end.”
The couple said their vows in a 2pm Catholic ceremony at St Patrick’s Church in Huddersfield, where both Grace’s parents and grandparents got married.
The 33-year-old bride wore a stunning gold dress designed and created by her close friend Cherry Williams, and Ricky reveals he was nearly in tears when he saw his wife-to-be for the first time.
“It just blew me away,” he says.
Following the service, the bride and groom were showered with confetti made from plants from Greenhead Park, the place they had originally got engaged, and were then transported from the church in a Rolls- Royce Silver Spur II, to the stunning Woodcroft Estate 20 minutes away, which the couple had rented for the weekend.
At the reception, Pimm’s and canapés were served in their outside marquee, while the jukebox blared out retro tunes including Elton John’s Tiny Dancer and Toto’s Africa, as Grace and Ricky’s dog Reedus obediently posed for pics. The wedding breakfast consisted of a duck starter, steak main and Eton Mess dessert in a delicious menu crafted by Grace’s old boss Ben Franco, from her waitressing days as a teenager.
“It didn’t feel like anything was a hassle,” Ricky beams.
Then came the hilarious speeches from Grace’s dad Vince, Ricky and his best man Craig, who he’s known since the age of seven.
Following the eye-watering toasts, a surprise showreel of messages from friends and family who couldn’t be there, including close pal Leigh Francis, was projected on a big screen. Finally, Ricky and Grace hit the floor for their first dance to The Waterboys’ The Whole Of The Moon, followed by football anthem, 3 Lions.
After the amazing ceremony, when we speak with the new husband and wife, they’re spending a couple of days honeymooning near Ascot, after having to cancel their trip to their home in Menorca.
Here, Grace and Ricky give us all the details of their scaled-down wedding, reveal they’re planning to have a big party when they can and say Grace is still unsure whether to take Ricky’s surname…
Huge congratulations, guys! Did you enjoy the day?
Grace: We really enjoyed it. It’s so weird, because a little wedding isn’t something we ever thought we’d have and because of the circumstances it was the only option. It was just amazing. I don’t know how I would have done it if there were a 100 more people there, it would have been so overwhelming and it was overwhelming as it was.
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You’ve postponed the wedding four times before. It must have been so nice to finally say ‘I Do’…
Ricky: I didn’t know what it’d be like on the day. People tell you so much about what to expect and say, “It’ll be a blur – you won’t remember anything.” And both of us said, “No, we really liked it. We remember everything.” Maybe because it was a smaller one. And when people tell you what to expect from your wedding day, it was just much better. I’m glad it’s happened like it’s happened. We’ve had some miserable times because of the pandemic and postponing it so many times, but I think it worked out perfectly in the end.
Was there anyone that you couldn’t invite who you missed on the day?
Ricky: Loads of people. But it’s not the last opportunity we’ll ever have to have a big party. There’s so much to look forward to in the future now. I feel like it’s a weight off our shoulders. I feel like we can now move on and anything seems possible now. There were loads of friends that couldn’t be there – my band weren’t even there. But we’ve got plenty of opportunity to have a big party and we are going to do it.
Grace: It’s quite nice actually, because there’s so many people who’ve been through exactly the same thing and everyone’s got a story.
I think a lot of people are deciding to have smaller weddings because you can’t wait around forever, can you?
It must have been hard not to have your bandmates there, Ricky?
Ricky: It was weird, because obviously I’m very close to them and we’ve been travelling the world together for 20 years. But we’re the best of friends and as close as brothers can be. I live on a bus with them, so they know that I love them. None of them were p***ed off they couldn’t be there. And I got a nice card from them with a £200 B&Q voucher.
Grace: Because of what’s gone on over the last year, nobody’s upset, they’re just really happy that we’ve managed to do it.
It was a Catholic wedding and, Ricky, you’re not religious. How did you find it?
Ricky: I really enjoyed it and it was made so special by the priest Simon. It’s weird because I remember being at school and anything like that I’d instantly switch off. I was a little bit worried that would happen on the wedding day, but he was just so engaging. I’m not a massively religious person, but everyone was so lovely, it makes you want to get involved in something like that.
Grace: It’s nice because my grandparents and parents both got married there. When we were planning a bigger wedding, we were going to get married in Bath and in a church there. But it wasn’t until I was walking down the aisle that it hit me how much it meant to me that I was getting married in that church.
What was it like when you saw Grace for the first time that day?
Ricky: Thing is, I hadn’t seen the dress and there had been a lot of talk about the dress, because her best friend Cherry made it. I knew it was going to be something special and it just blew me away. It’s really weird, because in the band my job is to be a show-off and put things into words and write songs. But in my normal life I’m neither of those things, so making the speech was hard. And to vocalise what I thought when Grace walked down the aisle, it’s too hard. It was amazing. I was just so happy. At the end of the day my face hurt from smiling.
Did you feel like a princess in that dress, Grace?
Grace: Absolutely. Cherry is so incredible, and she was like, “What do you want?” And I was like, “I don’t really know – what do you think I should have?” And she came back a few days later and said, “This, with this material.” She makes me a lot of clothes and I always have sequins, and I didn’t think that was quite right for a Catholic church. She said, “It’s not sequins, but it’s nearly as good
as sequins.”
Ricky: She’s going to make the dress for our big party. And that’s going to be 10 times the size, isn’t it?
Grace: Yeah, with lights in.
Were you nervous on the day?
Ricky: I’m very good at suppressing nerves and sometimes I don’t know I’m nervous until it comes out in weird ways. I couldn’t concentrate on anything and I felt like I was floating around all day.
Grace: It’s funny, because when we were in the church, we were talking to each other like strangers.
Ricky: It was great to get in the car, that was when we calmed down. Even the car was from a mate of Grace’s dad’s. So, your best friend made the dress…
Grace: Ben, who did the catering, I used to work for when I was at school.
Ricky: And even the jukebox, I’d seen it on Twitter a few weeks before and the guy that makes them lives in Huddersfield. So, I tweeted him, and said, “Can I borrow one?” It didn’t feel like anything was a hassle.
So, it was a very personal wedding!
Ricky: It was. I’d highly recommend just getting it done and not worrying too much about it being the perfect day. Because when you take the worry out of it, it becomes the perfect day.
Your first dance was to The Whole Of The Moon by The Waterboys. Is it a song that’s special to you both?
Ricky: We just really like it. Whenever I hear that song, I remember being in Cuba and Grace singing it at two in the morning really loudly.
Grace: It was going to be Daydream Believer, but we changed it to The Waterboys and I don’t know why.
Ricky: For the big wedding, we were going to have a big backlit moon made with, ‘The Whole Of The Moon’ written on it in neon. It’s funny because all these big ideas, we didn’t need them to have a really good wedding.
A lot of people welled up at the church. Did you get emotional during the day?
Grace: I got emotional during the speeches. That was the most emotional part for me.
Ricky: Mine was when I first turned around in the church. Father Simon said, “Turn around, or you don’t have to if you don’t want to, because I know it might set you off.” I knew Grace was coming and it was like, do I turn round or not? And I thought, if I don’t round, she’s going to be wondering why not. I turned round and I nearly went. And I had to not look at anyone apart from Grace. It was emotional all day. It was like when you watch a film and for two hours you’re constantly on the edge of crying.
Has anything changed now that you’re married?
Grace: I don’t think so.
Ricky: No. I feel like we can get on with the things we want to do.
Grace: I feel like we’ve been at the same point in our relationship for a long time waiting to get married and now it’s like, “That’s done.”
Ricky: There are loads of exciting things like we’re going to have our house done up. And we’re going to hopefully be in there by Christmas. I’m really glad we’ve done it and it feels great.
So, will you be taking the surname Wilson, Grace?
Ricky: Good question!
Grace: I’m not sure yet.
Ricky: The thing is she’s called Zito and it’s a really cool name. It’s a step down to be a Wilson.
Maybe Zito-Wilson?
Grace: Maybe.
Ricky: We did talk about me becoming a Zito, but I’ve got to think about the brand. I’m not really bothered.
How did you choose your wedding rings?
Ricky: It was the first shop we found online.
Grace: We Googled wedding rings and it came up The London Wedding Ring Company in Hatton Garden and we were like, “Yep, we’ll book an appointment.” And we were in there 10 minutes.
Ricky: I did very well with the engagement ring, because it’s a hard thing to do. To buy a ring she’s going to wear for the rest of her life, I did a good job. I walked past a jewellery shop window in Harrogate and I saw it and bought it there and then. When you know, you know.
Is it true you met Ricky when you styled him, Grace?
Grace: Well, I was an assistant stylist on The Voice UK and I was Ricky’s stylist and that’s how we met.
Ricky: She’s literally seen me at my very worst. I was a nightmare, wasn’t I?
Grace: Yeah, you were.
Ricky: It’s quite stressful doing The Voice UK. I took it way too seriously.
Grace: I don’t think Boris Johnson stresses out as much as you stressed out on The Voice UK!
Ricky: Well, it worked. I won it.
Grace: Twice.
Was it love at first sight?
Ricky: We became really good friends first.
Grace: We’d known each other for a few years, before we got together.
Ricky: Then I realised I really relied on her and I still do.
When did you know each other was The One?
Ricky: I remember once I met Grace outside Marks & Spencer and I really thought she was The One.
Grace: Is that when I’d had a massage and had a line round my face from the massage table?
Ricky: Yeah!
What’s next for you now?
Ricky: We don’t know what’s happening with the gigs at the moment, but I’m doing a new kids’ TV show for CBBC. I did one called Art Jam and I’m doing another one for them. It’s like I’ve got this second wind as the BBC’s new art guy for kids. And I love it!
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