Denise Nolan has finally walked down the aisle to marry the love of her life - but it took them long enough.
All eyes were on the bride as she married Tom Anderson, 77, in what ended up being a much bigger celebration than planned. “It went from being the four of us to being about 55 of us!,” laughs Denise.
She first met Tom in 1977, when Denise was singing with The Nolans and Tom was the resident drummer at the London Rooms, in the West End.
Yet despite getting engaged in the 90s, they never felt the need to set an actual date - until now, but their reasoning is heartbreaking.
Speaking to OK! Magazine, Denise, 72, explains: “We’ve been together now for 47 years, we got engaged about 30 years ago and we love each other,” explains Denise. “We didn’t think we needed the piece of paper to say that.”
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Tom, who played in Denise’s band when she went solo, had occasionally suggested booking a service over the years, but they always decided against it.
“He’s asked me to marry him a few times,” says Denise. “But usually when he’s had a drink and is feeling sentimental! Then I mention it to him the next day and he runs a mile!”.
They decided the time was finally right (Lakeland Media)The couple finally decided to make it official after Tom’s heartbreaking Parkinson’s diagnosis. He began to have symptoms in 2018 but the couple recently realised it was now or never if they still wanted the day of their dreams. “We didn’t want to wait until further down the line,” says the bride.
Initially they had planned to keep it small - just them and two witnesses - but Denise's sister Linda suggested a big family affair.
That guest list included the sisters, brothers Tom Jr and Brian, and their families. star Coleen brought her boyfriend Michael Jones, as well as son and former Rixton singer Jake Roche.
The Nolan family played a big role in their celebrations (Lakeland Media)
They married in Blackpool as it holds so many memories for them (Lakeland Media)Linda was proved right about the big do, but Denise went her own way when it came to wedding dress shopping. Not a fan of shops, she bought Tom’s dashing light blue three-piece suit and her own wedding outfit - a yellow sequin-striped maxi dress and navy blue sequin blazer with matching fascinator - online.
“Linda wasn’t sure about anything I picked but every time something arrived she’d say ‘Oh that’s gorgeous!’,” smiles Denise.
As for the service - that couldn’t have been more perfect.
“When you get married at Festival House, you can see Blackpool Tower and the beach, it’s just lovely,” she says. “We didn’t want a big church service so it was perfect and meant we could choose all our own music.”
- To see more exclusive photos and the full interview of The Nolans' big Blackpool wedding, pick up this week's new OK! magazine, or visit ok.co.uk.
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