Stacey Solomon is just weeks away from walking down the aisle to marry fiancé Joe Swash. Their big day comes a year-and-a-half after Joe proposed during a romantic woodland walk on Christmas Eve, 2020.
The showbiz couple were meant to tie the knot last year, but the wedding was postponed due to the pandemic. Following the delay, Stacey fell pregnant with their first daughter, Rose - who was born on the Loose Women presenter's 32nd birthday in October.
Preparations are now well underway for their wedding in July, and both the bride-to-be and groom-to-be have had their hen and stag weekends - with the ex-EastEnders actor returning home from Ibiza just days ago. Here, we take a look at Stacey and Joe's relationship and what we know about their plans for their special day.
READ MORE: Stacey Solomon shares heartwarming message with fiance Joe Swash after laughing off stag do reports
How they met
Stacey, 32, who found fame on the X-Factor, met Joe, 40, when she was crowned 'Queen of the Jungle' in 2010's I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here. Joe, who had won the ITV reality series in 2008, was on presenting duties alongside hosts Ant and Dec.
Recalling on her Instagram stories the moment she met her husband-to be, Stacey showed her kids a clip of the pair hugging, with Joe congratulating her on her win. She wrote: "We just finished watching the castle and Leighton and Zach made me put on my jungle videos because Zachy doesn't remember it and Leighton wasn't born when I did it so they love watching it.
"Then we stumbled across this one. The first time I ever met Joe. The boys couldn't believe it was him. It feels like yesterday." But their relationship didn't blossom until they started dating in 2016.
They began working together on the I’m A Celeb ITV2 spin-off later that year and gained a huge legion of fans. Joe then proposed four years later.
Wedding date and venue
When the couple had to postpone their wedding, they decided to change venues. The ceremony will now be taking place in the garden of their £1.2million Essex home, Pickle Cottage, the Mirror reports.
Ensuring little Rose could be there for their big day, they set the date of July 24, 2022. Joe accidentally revealed the date live on air during an episode of Loose Women.
TV presenter Eamonn Holmes asked Joe, "Can you say when it's happening, your wedding?" To which he replied: "Stacey, are we allowed to say? I never know."
Stacey said: "'You wouldn't know the date even if you were allowed to say". Joe said: "The date is the last Sunday in July."
Exasperated, Stacey then replied: "Oh my god, why did I bring you here? Fantastic. Good stuff." On having the ceremony at home, Stacey told Cat Deeley on Lorraine last year: "We had the venue and we didn’t know we were going to move here. We saw the house and thought, 'Let’s go for it'.
"Now we’re here, we’d actually like to get married in the garden. We’re trying to see if we can do that. We don’t know if we’ll be able to get a licence and stuff.
"The wedding planning is a bit on halt at the moment. It’s all just come at once, so many of these things have been in the planning for years… I feel so lucky, privileged and grateful and I just think you have to take any opportunity when it comes."
Stacey has also shared with her 5.3million Instagram followers that she plans to use their stunning pergola as her wedding aisle. She had doubts over whether the walk would be too long, but her followers encouraged her to make the most of it.
Taking to her Instagram stories from her gorgeous garden back in April, she said: "This morning I had to meet with the caterers, florists & everyone in between because I almost forgot we are getting married in three months' time. We are on the last part now, the aisle.
"My sister just put a load of candles in my kitchen jars at the bottom where we are going to stand and I'm crying". Stacey said her "whole stomach is churning" as she looked down the pergola, contemplating the long walk she will make down the aisle.
She asked fans: "Should we just get married halfway down the aisle? Because it’s such a long walk. Is it too long? I’m scared to walk that far in front of everyone.
"I think I’ll just end up falling over or laughing at how long it’s taking me to get down the aisle. But I love the end of the arches. Help."
Other wedding plans
Stacey, a lover of DIY, has been sharing details of her handmade crafts for the wedding. This week, she showed how she transformed an IKEA mirror into a welcome sign - using artificial flowers and stick-on labels.
She also decided on her wedding dress back in April after trying on numerous designs at her home from Belfast bridalwear shop Verona Bridalni. She confirmed on Instagram: "Today I Choose My Wedding Dress.
"And I never want to forget this feeling… I’ve been putting it off I think because the more I got excited about it the more silly I felt for some reason…I started feeling really conscious about not being, well I don’t know."
She continued: "I decided to try my dresses on, at home with just me not making a 'thing' of it. But it turns out it felt like the hugest 'thing' ever. My sister dropped the kids back from school and popped up and we both ended up emotional messes.
"I loved every single second of today, trying them on, imagining seeing Joe for the first time, feeling the veil on my shoulders & seeing the glitter sparkle as I moved around." The parents have also shared that Stacey and Joe's children will have a special part to play in the upcoming nuptials.
The couple are proud parents to Rose and Rex, 3. Stacey has sons Zachary, 14, and Leighton, 10, from previous relationships, while Joe has son Harry, 13.
Revealing her plans, Stacey said: "We’ve got four boys and they will all just be our page boys. We didn’t want to make one the best man or give one a special role. But I would like them all to walk me down the aisle with my dad.
And even the couple's two dogs Peanut and Teddy will have roles. "They’re getting suits made and they’ll have bow ties. I made a wedding planning book and a whole double page is dedicated to the dogs", Stacey added.
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