‘Dressing Stacey was so magical’

A bridal shop owner tells us why working with new bride Stacey Solomon-Swash was a dream

- RHIANNA BENSON

Just a couple of weeks ago, Stacey Solomon said “I Do” to her fiancé Joe Swash, 40, at a stunning ceremony at their family home in Essex.

But when you’re one of the most famous influencers and celebrities in the country, how do you go about choosing the perfect wedding dress?

Stacey, 32, wowed us when she posted the snaps from her special day, showing off her princess-inspired gown – so we decided to track down the people who worked with Stacey on her dream dress.

Marie Therese Hickey is the owner of Verona Bridal which supplied the Loose Women star’s spectacular sparkling gown, and she let us in on why Stacey was the most special bride they’d ever catered for.

“We fell in love with Stacey as a young girl on The X Factor stage singing in front of Simon Cowell,” Marie Therese laughs during our exclusive chat. “And Joe has appeared on our screens as a regular pin-up boy for years. They’re a perfect match – two of the nation’s sweethearts falling in love with each other – you couldn’t write it.”

She continued, “When Stacey first reached out to us, we were blown away. It’s a bridal shop’s dream!”

Marie Therese – who has also dressed previous celebrity brides such as Made In Chelsea’s Nicola Hughes, Irish influencer Suzanne Jackson O’Connor and model Maeve Madden – recalls Stacey phoning her Magherafelt store in Northern Ireland and telling the stylists that she’d already fallen in love with dresses crafted by the designer Berta, but as they were one of the only two stores in the UK that held that particular range, she needed their help.