Coronation Street star Alexandra Mardell paid a very special tribute to her late father on her wedding day.
The actress, 29, who tied the knot to her actor husband Joe Parker in a stunning North Yorkshire ceremony, lost her dad Michael in 2016 after he died from cardiomyopathy.
Alexandra tells OK! she wanted to make sure he was present on the day, bringing along a blanket she got made shortly after he died.
The patchwork blanket is made from his clothing, and features his name, Michael Mardell.
"We had a blanket made out of Dad’s shirts and set up on a chair throughout the ceremony," she explained. "It felt like we had him with us.”
Alexandra's dad passed away suddenly aged 54 from undiagnosed cardiomyopathy, a condition which stops the heart pumping blood effectively around the body.
Alexandra's stepdad Mick walked her down the aisle, as she gushed: “I was really glad to have him there. He calmed me down and we just had a laugh on the way.”
On the moment he saw his wife-to-be in her dress for the first time, Joe told us: "I turned around and as soon as I saw her I just cried straight away.”
The happy couple said "I do" on Sunday 19 March at The Tithe Barn in Bolton Abbey, Skipton, North Yorkshire, in front of 90 guests.
Sharing their day exclusively with OK!, Alexandra said: “It was gorgeous – the scenery was stunning.
“The weather was great, considering it was snowing a few days before.
"We’d booked the wedding date two years prior because that weekend had been a heatwave for the past two years. And then on the week of our wedding, it was snowing! I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, what are we going to do?’ But luckily it was dry!”
Alexandra and Joe first met while they were drama students, but they became romantically involved in 2017. They admit that they always knew they would one day get married.
Joe popped the question in April 2021, and Alexandra took to social media to share the happy news.
Showing off her sparkling ring in a trio of photos, she wrote: "Love locked down!! 1000000 times yes!"
"You make me so happy, my face hurts! Love you ridiculously. Future Mrs Parker," she continued alongside a diamond ring emoji.
The pair previously opened up on their relationship in a stunning photoshoot with OK!.
"We were both in other relationships, I was friends with Joe's girlfriend and he knew my boyfriend," Alexandra said.
"Then when we were both single it just happened. All our friends were like: 'Well, that's obvious!' Everyone could see it but us."
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