Billie Faiers Wedding: How Much Did Everything Cost?
Billie Faiers and Greg Shepherd Maldives wedding was a week- long celebration, that has been rumoured to have set the pair back £250,000. Find out why…
Image Source/ Instagram
When & Where?
After a five-year long engagement, the pair wed on the 5th March, 2019 at the lavish Maldivian island of Kuramathi. What a dream venue…
The celebrations were spread over a week on the island, given the 9 hours it takes to get there. Why not make the most of having all your friends and family on the same island for a week?
Their son Arthur’s 2nd birthday also fell just two days after the wedding, so of course another big party was thrown to celebrate.
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Stag/Hen Do
It was actually groom Greg who took advantage and had two stags- one in Vegas and another in Marbella. Bride Billie instead stuck to the traditional one held in Ibiza, in which she more than made up for it!
Sister and Maid Of Honour Sam arranged an array of surprises for her sister, including parading her around one of the biggest Ocean clubs there…
Dress
Billie, 30, looked beautiful in her stunning lace wedding dress from New York designer, Berta. The plunging neckline and mermaid silhouette emphasised her slim, yet curvy physique.
Speaking of her dress, the bride explained how because of the tropical setting, she could choose something a little more ‘out there’:
“As soon as I tried it on I had ‘the feeling’; when you know you know! Because we didn’t get married in a church I could get away with something more daring.”
Berta gowns go for at least a hefty £10,000.
Image Source/ Instagram
The Mummy Diaries star, of course, opted for a second dress on her big day to party the night away in.
Later in the day she changed in to a white Zeynep Kartal playsuit with a custom touch of a floor-length embellished overlay. The perfect choice for the heat and the dance floor!
Billie Faiers Wedding: Glam
In true Billie style, she was of course glammed to the nines on her big day.
She enlisted the help of her trusty glam team- makeup artist Krystal Dawna and hairstylist Jerri Black.
Image Source/ Berta Bridal
Sharing some secrets on how to achieve Billie’s look, her makeup artist revealed some of the products used, including a Charlotte Tilbury face mask to prep, Mac Studio Fix powder foundation, Bobbi Brown bronzer and Tom Ford lipstick.
Reminiscing her wedding day, she captioned:
“I wish we could do it all again my wonderful glam squad.”
Bridal Party
Billie’s Bridal Party was limited to just her family- she didn’t actually have any bridesmaids.
The party, including her Mum, sister, daughter and niece, were all in white.
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Billie was walked down the aisle by her Dad, Dave, while sister Sam Faiers was her maid of honour.
The bride’s two children, Nelly and Arthur and Sam’s children, Paul and Rosie, took on the roles of flower girls and page boys.
Flowers
The flower situation sparked a lot of media attention after Billie revealed she was going to spend £30k on flowers alone.
Much to fiancé Greg’s dismay, Billie admitted:
“Anyone will tell you flowers make the biggest difference at a wedding.”
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The exact figure isn’t known, but with the whole venue littered with white orchids, it can’t have been far off.
Billie Faiers Wedding: First Dance
The newlyweds had a dance lesson with The Pussycat Dolls star Kimberly Wyatt to give them a few moves for their big moment.
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They danced to The Blower’s Daughter and the Fergie track A Little Party Never Killed Nobody.
Speeches
A few family and friends took to the ‘stage’ at the after party, including Billie’s sister and daughter.
Sam’s speech reminisced how the bride and groom met:
“To my beautiful sister Billie and my brother-in-law Greg, it feels like just yesterday when we were standing in the sea in Ibiza. I was the annoying little sister who asked: ‘You fancy my sister, don’t you?’”
She continued:
“When Greg replied ‘yes’, I instantly told Billie and that’s when the seed was planted. I’m so happy that my big sister is marrying the man of her dreams.”
Image Source/ OK!
The pair’s four-year old daughter, Nelly, being the little character she is had promised her Mum and Dad a special performance on their big day:
“She’d been working on a Greatest Showman routine for a couple of months and then a week or so before the big day she came into our room and said: ‘Mummy, Daddy, just so you know I want to sing more than one song at the wedding. Love you, bye.’
But on the day, little Nelly must have suffered some stage fright:
“She loves to perform but on the day I guess she just didn’t feel like it. She did a speech though!”
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“‘I love my mummy and daddy so much, I’m so happy to be here.’
“And then at the end she proposed a toast, saying: ‘All of Mummy’s friends get your prosecco, and all Daddy’s friends get your vodka.’”
What a little character!
Billie’s best friend and former TOWIE co-star, Ferne Mccann, also had her own special surprise for the day.
Image Source/OK!
Mccann performed her rendition of Stand By Me at the reception:
“It was such a lovely surprise, she’s got a brilliant voice.”
Known for their love of a party, the wedding guests partied til’ 3am, which was met with complaints from other holidayers.
Billie Faiers Wedding: Complaints
The couple were hit with headlines claiming the island’s other guests had made noise complaints, in which Billie responded:
“The hotel manager hasn’t had any complaints about our party. I was half expecting some loudness as there are 95 of us out here celebrating [but] we have always been very respectful of the island and the other guests holidaying here.”
Did Anything Else Go Wrong?
Another headline, that actually turned out to be true, was that Billie’s Dad was kicked off his flight.
The bride’s Dad, Dave Chatwood, had taken sleeping pills before drinking a bottle of wine on the flight, leading to his removal.
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By the skin of his teeth, he was able to catch a flight in time for when they tied the knot.
“So glad you finally made it… Dad seriously… why did you take the sleeping tablets before you got on the flight?”
He admitted to taking the pills to ease his fear of flying- perhaps the same can’t be said about the bottle of wine…
Image Source/ Instagram
Billie Faiers Wedding: The Honeymoon
The pair didn’t stray too far from where they married for their honeymoon, on the Maldivian island of Soneva Jani, where they stayed in an overwater villa.
Image Source/ Instagram
Boasting its own pool and personal butler, you couldn’t wish for a better way to spend your first married week.
The Mummy Diaries: The Wedding
A 90- minute long special of the show was enjoyed by viewers, showing BTS of everything from the prep to the vows.
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Billie did make it clear that it wasn’t all a fairytale:
“We’re planning things across a whole week, it’s not just for one day. But also we have two young children, Nelly has just started school and I’m busier than ever with work.”
“People keep going to me, and this is really stressing me out, ‘Oh, what if it rained?’”
She revealed the stress it had on her body:
“I’ve struggled sleeping some nights, my skin’s been bad. Just all these things which you don’t realise, it’s kind of like, I never take a second for myself.”
Image Source/ Instagram
Despite the stress, everything came together as planned:
“Other than the days that Nelly and Arthur were born, it was the best day of my life. It was like a fairy tale – all the stress and tears were worth it.”
“It’s so lovely for me to finally be a Shepherd and share a surname with my children. Marriage ties our little family together completely.”
What a dream day!
