Monday, April 22, 2013
Dawn's secret wedding to Mark Bignell
They've been dating for just over a year but Dawn French said she knew she wanted to spend the rest of her life with Mark Bignell.
Now that wish has come true after the couple married in an intimate – and lavish – ceremony on the Cornish coast.
The comedienne, 55, rented out an exclusive eco-hotel – where rooms cost up to £430 a night – for a weekend of celebrations, described as a 'big' but 'very classy and understated affair'.
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You may kiss the bride: Dawn French has married her beau Mark Bignell in a secret ceremony this weekend
Guests included comedy friends Jennifer Saunders, Sue Perkins and Kathy Burke, and screenwriter Richard Curtis.
Alison Moyet sang for the guests in the evening, as did Miss French's daughter Billie, from her marriage to comedian Lenny Henry, which ended three years ago.
The wedding at the Scarlet Hotel, near Newquay was held in a lounge overlooking a terrace with sweeping views of the rugged coast.
The hotel's 37 bedrooms were decorated with custom-made floral jam jar arrangements of peonies and Lily of the Valley.
In the evening, guests were treated to a firework display on the beach below, while red sparklers formed a heart with the letters D and M inside in the hotel garden.
After 25 years with Henry, Miss French found love again with Mr Bignell, the boss of a Cornish charity that her mother founded before she passed away last year.
Beautiful bouquet: A Cornwall-based florist posted a picture of Dawn's bouquet to their Facebook page
Lavish: Wedding guests at the Cornish hotel were treated to a firework display on the beach below
They started dating in January last year after Miss French lost almost eight stone by cutting out chocolate and carbohydrates.
Speaking about being single, she said: 'I thought oh god, what do I do now? Do I have to do dating? How repulsive. I'll have to buy new pants.
'I did do some dating and it was excruciating and difficult as I'm not an accomplished flirter.
'Then, bang, I met somebody else. I started to claim my life back. It's a life with him.
'I know that I will make a good life for myself with all sorts of things as armour. Including stuff my new chap is teaching me that I never knew.
'Now my life is in Cornwall with him. I hope it is a life together.'
Miss French revealed she had fallen in love with him when he wooed her with the Cocteau Twins' record Song To The Siren.
The ex- factor: Dawn was married to Lenny Henry for 24 years before the pair divorced in 2010
'I knew when I heard the song it was an offer. You would fall in love if someone gave you that song,' she said.
Mr Bignell, who has been married twice before, is the chief executive of the Hamoaze House charity, which helps recovering drug and alcohol abusers reintegrate into society.
He has been working in the area for the past 20 years and has a daughter of 21 and a son of 18.
Mr Bignell claims he did not know who Miss French was when they first met, to which she responded:
'I'm not boasting, but you'd actually have to have not watched television for the past 20 years to have avoided me, and he'd managed to do just that.'
To rent the Scarlet Hotel, couples have to agree to a minimum spend of £29,000 – not including the band, lighting, flowers or photography.
The 'eco-hotel', which prides itself on recycling and maintaining its green ethos, has a restaurant, three bars, a spa and panoramic views of Mawgan Porth beach.
Charitable: Mr Bignell, who has been married twice before, is the chief executive of the Hamoaze House charity
Dishes served at the hotel's restaurant include Cornish hake with chicken skin and pork fillet, cheek and belly with rhubarb, potato fondant, and white port sauce.
A source said: 'The hotel looked stunning. They had rented out the whole place exclusively for the weekend.
'The wedding was up in the lounge with the white leather seats, looking out over the water.
'At about 9.30pm everyone went outside and watched fireworks from the hotel. They were on the beach below, big shells that went up to 400ft high in all different colours.
'Inside in the hotel garden there was a red heart, five foot wide and high, with the letters M and D in white in the heart. They all let off lanterns later. It was quite small – probably about 100 people there – but it was a proper celebrity wedding.'
Florist Susanne Hatwood said she had created a 'spring-woodland' theme for the table centrepieces using delicate Lily of the Valley – but didn't know who for until she arrived at the venue.
'I didn't have the slightest idea who the bride really was till the last minute,' she said.
The Garden Gate Flower Company, which provided the hotel displays, described the weekend as 'amazing' and a 'secret wedding'.
Miss French was unavailable for comment last night.
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