Video LoadingVideo UnavailableClick to playTap to playThe video will auto-play soon8CancelPlay nowJermain Defoe and his bride Donna invite OK! inside their three-day long wedding extravaganza, complete with fire-eaters, football a-listers and super-posh chicken kiev. The newlyweds tied the knot at Cliveden House, the stunning venue where Meghan Markle stayed the night before she married Prince Harry. Here, the happy couple share their incredible love story for the first time. Are you an OK! VIP? If not, why not? It’s free – just pop your email address below to see all the pictures and read the article in full! P.S. if you’re already seeing this article in full, congrats – you’re already on our guest list!
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As the sun beat down on the terrace of Cliveden House, Jermain Defoe fought back the tears as he watched his bride emerge from a mirrored walkway. Surrounded by 360 friends and family and with her proud father, Charlie, by her side, Donna looked stunning in a bespoke lace-sleeved regal gown that was eight-months in the making. And as she made her way down the walkway, her granddad’s favourite song, What A Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong, rang out. “When I turned around and saw her from a distance, my eyes just started welling up. I tried to compose myself, but I’m an emotional person anyway. When she came up to me, I turned around and it was just so special. She held my hand and she was shaking. I remember saying to her, ‘Just relax’,” says Jermain.
Jermain and Donna pose together before a 20ft wall of flowers moments after saying “I do”
(Image: Roberta Facchini)
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“As soon as I locked eyes with Jermain I just felt the calmness,” adds Donna, who has changed her surname from Tierney to Defoe. “It was so special. It felt like a fairy tale.” The three-day celebrations at the 376-acre Berkshire hotel estate on the Thames – where Meghan Markle stayed the night before she married Prince Harry – began with a barbecue for 150 friends and family. It was the first time the couple’s families had met. “Everyone just got up and mixed like they’d known each other for years,” smiles the former England player. “I’m now getting phone calls from my cousins, saying, ‘Scottish people are so warm and lovely’.” Jermain, 39, and his groomsmen stayed in a cottage by the estate’s lake, while Donna spent the night in the main hotel with her attendants, who wore bespoke dresses by Anna Cirignaco of Eleganza Sposa in Glasgow.
Donna wore a bespoke dresses by Anna Cirignaco of Eleganza Sposa in Glasgow
(Image: Roberta Facchini)
Donna’s 12-year-old daughter Olivia acted as maid of honour along with her sister Charlene
(Image: Roberta Facchini)
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“It was the very first shop I went into,” says Donna. “I told them what I wanted. They said I didn’t even have to try a dress on and their designer would make it for me. I wanted something regal, something elegant that shows off my shape. And something with long sleeves, because Jermain likes long sleeves.” Donna’s 12-year-old daughter, Olivia, was her maid of honour, along with her sister Charlene, while Jermain’s best men were his cousin, Stefan, and friend Ryan. The bridegroom, looking dapper in a three-piece suit with an off-white tuxedo and waistcoat by Mo Adass at Signature Bespoke, walked by the side of his mum, Sandra, to meet his bride in front of a 20ft wall of flowers.
Donna and her bridal party prepare for the big day
(Image: Roberta Facchini)
Jermain and Donna pose with his two best men and three groomsmen
(Image: Roberta Facchini)
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“A few family members have said that we were blessed because we woke up in the morning and it was raining,” says Jermain. “The forecast wasn’t meant to be sunny and literally, before we came out, the clouds parted and the sun just came out. It was roasting hot.” The couple exchanged traditional vows and custom-made rings – which produced some last-minute drama. “My jeweller came over to see us before the wedding to make sure the rings fit – it wouldn’t go over my knuckles,” says Jermain. “He came back the next day and it fit perfectly.” His ring is of white gold and platinum with two diamonds, while Donna’s is an emerald-cut band that matches her engagement ring.
Jermain looked dapper in an off-white tuxedo from Signature Bespoke
(Image: Roberta Facchini)
The groom was walked down the mirrored walkway by his mum, Sandra
(Image: Roberta Facchini)
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After saying, “I do”’ they walked off hand in hand as a gospel choir sang Oh Happy Day – but not before a lingering kiss. “Everyone started laughing because I think it went on longer than at normal weddings,” laughs Jermain. Donna adds, “When we kissed I forgot everyone was there. It felt like it was just me and Jermain, it was so special. I thought I’d be nervous.” The England striker, who retired from professional football in March, has played for West Ham, Tottenham Hotspur, Sunderland and Rangers. But the moment he married Donna was a greater feeling than scoring any of his 20 goals for England, he says. “It was the best feeling ever. Taking a penalty and scoring a goal, that feeling is hard to describe because when you’re celebrating for 30 seconds you feel so powerful, but standing with Donna, it was more than football. Everyone knows I’m football crazy, but this is my future, this is forever, this is the person I want to spend the rest of my life with.”
The bride and groom joked that their first kiss as a married couple went on a bit too long
(Image: Roberta Facchini)
Donna wanted a “regal” dress, which took eight months to make
(Image: Roberta Facchini)
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As guests arrived they were serenaded by bagpipes in honour of Donna’s Scottish roots and later entertained by a steel band in a nod to Jermain’s Caribbean heritage. Maria, Donna’s cousin, sang during a cocktail reception at which her favourite drink, Dark ‘N’ Stormy, was served. Delphinium chandeliers hung inside a glass orangery marquee where a six-tier wedding cake took pride of place. And guests, including Jermain’s footballing mates Ledley King, Carlton Cole, Shaun Wright-Phillips and Leon Knight, sat down to a four-course dinner of warm duck salad, mushroom gnocchi, chicken Kiev and apple tarte tatin.
Delphinium chandeliers hung inside a glass orangery marquee
(Image: Roberta Facchini)
Donna with her three-year-old flower girl, Sienna
(Image: Roberta Facchini)
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“A lot of people thought chicken Kiev for the main was strange,” laughs Donna. “But it was a very, very posh Kiev.” The couple’s first dance was to Luther Vandross’s Always And Forever. “It was just a little two-step. We danced until halfway through the song then I asked everyone to join us,” says Jermain. While he might have shied away from dancing, the striker went all-in for his speech, which didn’t leave a dry eye in the house.
The couple’s first dance was to Luther Vandross’s Always And Forever
(Image: Roberta Facchini)
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“I wasn’t nervous and do you know why? I didn’t even write anything down because when you know how you feel it comes from the heart. When I was on stage speaking, Donna and her daughter Olivia were sitting right in front of me, so I could address them directly. I just spoke from the heart, stayed relaxed and said what I wanted to say,” he adds. “Everyone keeps talking about how special Jermain’s speech was,” adds Donna. “They said it showed how much he appreciates me. The bit that got me was when he spoke about my daughter, who means the world to me. That made me feel extra-special. My daughter loves Jermain so much, he’s such a good stepdad. He’s amazing. I couldn’t have asked or wished for anything better than the way he treats Olivia.”
Jermain’s speech didn’t leave a dry eye in the house
(Image: Roberta Facchini)
The couple chose a six-tier red velvet wedding cake
(Image: Roberta Facchini)
Jermain also namechecked his own stepdad, Andre, whom he credits with being the role model who made him the man he is today. “My dad passed away in 2012 and my stepdad came into my life when I was seven,” reveals Jermain. “When you grow up you become a certain way, and I think that’s from your upbringing and your parents. I was lucky with my mum and Andre and I said in my speech how amazing it was that he took me and my sister, Chonte, in when I was seven and she was one. I’ve always wanted to grow up to be like him.” As dusk fell, the grounds were lit up with colourful displays as fire-eaters and flamethrowers kicked off the after-party. At midnight, guests soaked up the booze with a Caribbean buffet and the marquee was transformed into a nightclub.
Fire-eaters and flamethrowers kicked off the after-party which ended at 7am
(Image: Roberta Facchini)
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“Me and the groomsmen were up at 6am doing press-ups,” recalls Jermain. “I only ate a little bit – you know when you’re too excited. The music stopped at 4am then everyone went back to the main house. The lobby was packed and nobody wanted to go home, but we had to say we needed to go to bed.” After just four hours sleep, the couple were up again to host tea for their guests at 11am before closing their three-day spectacular. “Everyone was like, ‘What time did you go to bed?’ And it was 6am, 7am… It was crazy,” says Jermain. “We didn’t have hangovers, luckily, and the adrenaline kept us going. Donna’s mum, Margaret, was just walking around with her camera. Then the coach came to take Donna’s family back to Glasgow.”
Footballer Ledley King was among the guests
(Image: Roberta Facchini)
Good wishes from footballer Shaun Wright-Phillips
(Image: Roberta Facchini)
A seven-hour drive after such an intense night may sound a little painful, but Donna’s family travelled in fine style “They got the coach back that Rangers normally use,” says Donna. “The team bus. They had PlayStations on it, Sky, and there was alcohol, so they were comfortable. They were quite happy.” Jermain and Donna describe their big day as “like a movie”. But she hadn’t always planned on having an extravagant wedding. “I’ve always been very independent and business focused,” she says. “I was taken by surprise, but obviously it took all these years to meet the right person and it all just felt right.” Jermain, though, admits to being a romantic at heart and wanted to go all-out after being totally absorbed in football for so long. “I never planned to get married by a certain age, but because I’ve been focused on my career for the past 22 years, it’s always been go, go, go. I always knew at some stage I was going to meet the right one and at the back end of my career, I go to Glasgow, play for Rangers and meet my future wife.” Sharing their story for the first time, he adds, “We met years ago when I was playing for Sunderland and I messaged her on Instagram. I sent her DM. We had a general chit-chat but hadn’t spoken for ages. When I started playing for Rangers in 2019 I remembered Donna was from Glasgow and touched base with her again – I kept looking at her sexy pictures on Instagram. But we didn’t meet until January 2021 when Donna asked if I could give her a signed football shirt for a charity do.” Donna, who owns her own natural skincare business, Marinical.com, smiles, “It took a couple of years because I was playing hard to get!” Jermain says he knew Donna was The One when he met her family in Glasgow. “When she took me to her mum and dad’s house, just to see how she was with Olivia, and how she was with her mum, how close she was with her dad and her sister Charlene, just to see the love she gives her family and the love she gets back, it reminded me of the relationship I have with my family. When I saw that, and knowing how affectionate and loving she is anyway, that was it for me.” While Donna confesses, “It was the same for me. I’m a big family person and seeing the way he loved his mum and sister – he goes above and beyond for them and always has. I connect with people on a mental level and with Jermain I connected with his mind more than anything else.” Jermain proposed at Glasgow’s plush Blythswood Square Hotel last August. He hired the penthouse and kitted it out with heart-shaped balloons, the words “Marry Me” in lights and rose petals scattered on the floor. “If I’m going to do something I’m going to do it the right way or I’m not going to do it at all,” he admits. “You’re only meant to do it once and it’s got to be with somebody that’s so special.”
Cliveden House is the venue where Meghan Markle stayed the night before she married Prince Harry
(Image: Roberta Facchini)
Jermain and Donna became an item in January 2021 – but there love story began years earlier
(Image: Roberta Facchini)
Donna adds, “Even as he was asking me, I was getting down on one knee, too, saying, ‘Yes, yes, yes’.”Jermain laughs, “I was on one knee, and there was a heart shape on the floor, then she started getting down on one knee. I was like, ‘What are you doing?’” The couple jetted off for a romantic honeymoon in the Maldives. Jermain says. “When I’m like, ‘This is my wife, Donna,’ it’s still weird but amazing. I feel like a proper grown-up.” While Donna admits, “It hasn’t sunk in yet. It still feels like a dream.”Story SavedYou can find this story in My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.Follow OK! MagazineFacebookTwitterCommentMore OnCelebrity weddingsJermain DefoeVIP Club
