Annabel Croft’s TV presenter daughter Lily Saffron Coleman celebrated her weekend wedding with a wild party.
Lily – a sports presenter and former reality show producer – married Felix McCorquodale – a relative of Princess Diana – in a lavish London ceremony at the weekend.
Lily, 28, tied the knot with insurance executive Felix, 31, at St Mary’s Church in Battersea surrounded by family and friends.
For the ceremony the bride wore an elegant ivory wedding gown with a draped neckline, but she later changed out of her traditional gown into a white feathered mini dress.
For the evening party, Lily teamed her short number with bright pink platform heels, adding a feather boa which she flung around her new husband during their first dance.
The reception took place at Wild by Tart, the fashionable restaurant and events venue in Belgravia co-founded by Jemima Jones, the ex-model wife of environmentalist Ben Goldsmith.
Annabel Croft’s TV presenter daughter Lily Saffron Coleman celebrated her weekend wedding with a wild party, changing into a feathered mini dress and bright pink platform heels
Lily – a sports presenter and former reality show producer – married Felix McCorquodale – a relative of Princess Diana – in a lavish London ceremony at the weekend
The venue hosted a lavish wedding breakfast at long banquet tables before the celebrations continued into the evening with dancing beneath a huge glittering disco ball.
In guest videos reposted by Lily, the bride is seen on her new husband’s shoulders, dancing to tracks like Raye’s Where Is My Husband, as the couple’s pals cheered them on.
In another clip the bride and groom passed a bottle of beer back and forth as they were both carried around the dancefloor.
During a break from the dancefloor a giddy Lily posed for a sweet snap taken in the toilets, kissing her husband as she posed in her bright pink shoes and feathered dress.
Felix is related to the late Raine Spencer, formerly Raine McCorquodale, who became Princess Diana’s stepmother when she married the princess’s father, John Spencer, the 8th Earl Spencer, in 1976.
Raine, the daughter of the romantic novelist Barbara Cartland, was famously nicknamed ‘Acid Raine’ amid reports of a difficult relationship with Diana, although the pair became closer in later years.
The couple’s wedding comes just over three years after Annabel’s husband Mel Coleman, the bride’s father, died in May 2023, aged 60, after developing sepsis while battling advanced cancer.
The BBC’s Wimbledon pundit revealed last year that before his death, Mel had given Felix his blessing to marry Lily – something she only discovered years later.
For the evening party, Lily teamed her short number with bright pink platform heels, adding a feather boa which she flung around her new husband during their first dance
In guest videos reposted by Lily, the bride is seen on her new husband’s shoulders, dancing to tracks like Raye’s Where Is My Husband, as the couple’s pals cheered them on
In another clip the bride and groom passed a bottle of beer back and forth as they were both carried around the dancefloor
The couple’s wedding comes just over three years after Annabel’s husband Mel Coleman, the bride’s father, died in May 2023, aged 60
The reception took place at Wild by Tart, the fashionable restaurant and events venue in Belgravia co-founded by Jemima Jones, the ex-model wife of environmentalist Ben Goldsmith
She told the Daily Mail: ‘He gave permission to my youngest daughter Lily’s boyfriend. Felix told me… one of the things Mel said to him was, “You definitely have my permission to marry Lily”.’
The wedding comes after a momentous period for Annabel, who has spoken openly about the devastating grief she endured following Mel’s death.
The couple met in 1987 when Mel, a former international yachtsman and investment banker, taught Annabel to sail for a television programme.
Mel died just weeks before their 30th wedding anniversary, after cancer spread from his colon to other organs.
Annabel later revealed that sepsis, caused by a perforated tumour, was the immediate cause of his death.
Just months later, she signed up for the 2023 series of Strictly Come Dancing, where she was partnered with then-professional dancer Johannes Radebe and reached the semi-finals.
Annabel has credited the BBC show with helping her cope with the loss of her husband, admitting she struggled with the prospect of returning to their empty family home.