Strictly’s Tess Daly’s second plunging wedding dress she didn’t choose

September 23, 2022 – 10:39 BST

Nichola Murphy



One look at Tess Daly‘s Strictly Come Dancing wardrobe and you may be forgiven for thinking that her wedding outfits were just as glitzy and colourful, but both Tess and her husband Vernon Kay‘s choices were understated and elegant.

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The TV host wore very different gowns for her two wedding celebrations, which took place ten years apart – and her husband was responsible for the latter! After dating for two years, the couple tied the knot at St Mary’s Church in Horwich on 12 September 2003 in twinning white ensembles.

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Tess looked gorgeous in a strapless A-line wedding dress by Marina Adanou, with subtle embellishments on the bodice. The bride accessorised her look with a veil and tiara, with Jimmy Choo shoes. Meanwhile, Vernon looked dapper in a white suit by Alexandre Savile Row, which he paired with a pink shirt and patterned tie.

Ten years later, for their tenth wedding anniversary, Vernon organised a surprise vow renewal with their close family, including their two daughters Amber and Phoebe. This meant another opportunity for a chic bridal outfit, which Vernon sweetly picked out for his wife.

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The bride wore a strapless gown for her 2003 ceremony

“The first night [in the south of France] we had a gorgeous dinner and drank champagne, we toasted the sunset and ten years of marriage. The next day we woke up, Vernon surprised me. I opened my anniversary card and it said, ‘Today we are going to renew our vows,'” Tess told HELLO!.

Speaking of her initial reaction, she added: “I couldn’t believe it. Of course, my first question was, ‘What am I going to wear?’ He said, ‘Don’t worry, I’ve arranged it.’ I opened the wardrobe, there was this secondary wardrobe which I hadn’t seen. Anyway, I opened the wardrobe and he hung up three white dresses. 

Vernon picked out three options for Tess to wear at their vow renewal

“These white glamourous gowns that he arranged with my stylist. He said, ‘I hope you’ll like one of those.’ So I choose a long white dress, it was gorgeous like an evening dress – not a wedding gown, more for the red carpet.” It featured a plunging neckline, long sleeves and a wrap waist that highlighted her toned figure, and she teamed it with a matching handbag and shoes and a chunky gold necklace. 

So while Tess didn’t go shopping to pick her second bridal outfit, Vernon clearly did a great job of narrowing down the selection! She said she felt “like a million dollars in my gorgeous white Gucci gown” while their daughters wore “identical white sparkly, bridesmaid type dresses.”

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