Kim’s Wilde about her man

People lined the streets and young children waved and cheered, traffic came to a standstill and an expectant crowd of press photographers waited at a small village church.

They had all come to catch a glimpse of the wedding at St. Giles’s Church of Codicote pop songstress Kim Wilde, 35, and Hal Fowler, 28, her co-star in West End musical Tommy. Wearing a classic white dress and accompanied by her rocker father Marty, she was taken from The Globe pub to the Bury Lane church on Sunday by horse-drawn carriage.

Globe landlord Graham Harrison said: ‘It’s marvellous for the vicarage. Kim could have had this wedding anywhere she liked, but she chose to have it in Codicote, in the little village church. Everybody is pleased about that.’

Looking radiant and after posing for photographs Kim declared merrily to her three bridesmaids: ‘Right, let’s go and get married.’ Composer Tim Rice was among the 160 close friends and family at the hour-long ceremony. Hal, whose real name is William, said: ‘It was a wonderful service, perfect. It’s great to be married.’

New father-in-law Marty added: ‘I was more nervous than the groom. It was a lovely service. I’ve got to make a speech at the reception and I’m really nervous about that.’ An ecstatic Kim, who married under the name Kim Smith, said it was simply ‘fantastic’.

The newly-weds, whose romance started seven months ago, hosted a marquee reception at Kim’s parents’ house in Tewin Wood. The bridesmaids were Kim’s sister Roxanne, 17, and nieces Scarlett, seven, and Jasmine, three.