Melanie Chisholms is understood to have wed her partner Chris Dingwall in an intimate ceremony at a Lake District venue, with three of her former Spice Girls bandmates present to witness the occasion.
The 52-year-old singer, known as Sporty Spice and Mel C, exchanged vows with the Australian model at Country House Cumbria on Saturday, surrounded by close friends and family.
Emma Bunton, Melanie Brown and Geri Halliwell-Horner all attended the celebration, marking a partial reunion of the iconic pop group.
Sources described the weekend nuptials as “perfect” despite an unexpected moment when cattle from a neighbouring farm charged towards the Georgian property during the vows, reportedly leaving guests somewhat alarmed.
Mel C ‘married’ Chris Dingwall on Saturday
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The couple had kept their engagement private, with the wedding coming as a surprise to many as they had never publicly announced plans to marry.
Victoria Beckham, the fifth member of the group, was notably absent from the celebration as she is currently in the United States supporting husband David at the World Cup.
However, the fashion designer still played a central role in her friend’s special day by creating the bride’s floor-length backless white gown as a gift.
“It was a gift from Victoria, they are really close,” a source told the Mail on Sunday. “Victoria would have loved to have been there if she could.”
An insider close to Ms Beckham explained that designing the dress was her “great pleasure” and that she was “wishing her all the best from afar for Mel’s special day.”
The bride carried a wildflower bouquet as she walked down the aisle in the bespoke creation.
Speaking to Vogue magazine, Ms Chisholm revealed details of how Mr Dingwall proposed during a holiday in Mallorca last July.
After enjoying a lavish dinner, the couple returned to their hotel suite to find it transformed with candles throughout.
Victoria Beckham was notably absent from the celebration as she is currently in the United States supporting husband David at the World Cup
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“It was beautiful, just the two of us,” she told the publication. “He couldn’t believe I was surprised but I was floored.”
The singer also disclosed that Saturday’s Lake District gathering was actually their second wedding ceremony, having already legally married in Mr Dingwall’s native Australia beforehand.
Ms Beckham designed gowns for both occasions, with the fashion mogul telling Vogue that Ms Chisholm had “very casually” informed her she was departing for Australia in two days to wed, prompting a last-minute dress arrangement from her own wardrobe.
The Spice Girls in 1997
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Ms Chisholm had long maintained she would never walk down the aisle, telling The Sunday Times in 2022 that marriage was perhaps “an old-fashioned notion” after witnessing her parents’ separation as a child.
Yet her relationship with Mr Dingwall, whom she met through the celebrity dating app Raya in 2023, transformed her outlook entirely.
She described her new husband as having a “very calming energy” and called him a “beautiful addition to mine and my daughter’s life.”
“Because, you know, I’m a single mum. My daughter is 17, and we’re pretty resilient the two of us, we’re a team,” she told Vogue. “For anybody coming into our world… it was going to be tough, and he just fits perfectly.”
Scarlett, Ms Chisholm’s daughter from her decade-long relationship with property developer Thomas Starr, served as bridesmaid at the ceremony.