Proving it’s never too late to find love, Alice Lewes became a first-time bride at 61 and was walked down the aisle by her proud 88-year-old dad.
At 61, I may have been older than most first-time brides, but with my proud dad of 88 on my arm, I wouldn’t have had it any other way.
By then, aged 45, I was running my business teaching leadership skills, and happy on my own, but when she suggested setting me up with a local divorced farmer, I thought: ‘Why not?’ That’s how things stayed until Boxing Day 2006. We were in Wales for Christmas when Johnny proposed with a curtain ring. It was the loveliest Christmas present, and I was shocked, but so happy to say yes.My mum Mary had died in 1993, aged 57, from an aneurysm, but my dad John and grandma Katie, then 94, were thrilled. Johnny and I soon replaced the curtain ring with a beautiful ring that my grandma gave me.
When you’re young and planning a wedding there’s pressure from all sides, but we had none of that. We both wanted a simple day and chose a venue in Wales near his family that held 50 people. At 61, you don’t walk around in a meringue, so I found a dressmaker to design a classic knee-length ivory dress for me.We did everything our way, including my hen do, which took place at a friend’s house in France.