Lily Saffron Coleman celebrated her wedding to Felix McCorquodale with a lively London reception, swapping her ivory bridal gown for a feathered mini dress, pink platform heels and a matching boa.
The 28-year-old sports presenter and former reality show producer married 31-year-old insurance executive Felix at St Mary’s Church in Battersea at the weekend, surrounded by family and friends.
For the ceremony, Lily wore an elegant ivory gown with a draped neckline. She later changed into the short white dress for the evening celebrations, where she wrapped the feather boa around her new husband during their first dance.
The reception was held at Wild by Tart, a restaurant and events venue in Belgravia co-founded by Jemima Jones, the former model and wife of environmentalist Ben Goldsmith.
Guests were served a wedding breakfast at long banquet tables before the party continued beneath a large glittering disco ball. Videos shared by Lily showed the newlyweds dancing as friends cheered them on.
In one clip, the bride was carried on her husband’s shoulders while dancing to songs including Raye’s Where Is My Husband. Another showed the couple being carried around the dancefloor while passing a bottle of beer between them.
Lily was also pictured kissing Felix in a toilet during a break from dancing, still wearing her bright pink shoes and feathered dress.
Lily Coleman’s family connection
Felix is related to the late Raine Spencer, formerly Raine McCorquodale, who became Princess Diana’s stepmother when she married Diana’s father, John Spencer, the eighth Earl Spencer, in 1976.
Raine, the daughter of romantic novelist Barbara Cartland, was nicknamed “Acid Raine” amid reports of a difficult relationship with Diana. The pair became closer in later years.
The wedding comes just over three years after Lily’s father, Mel Coleman, died aged 60 in May 2023 after developing sepsis while battling advanced cancer.
Annabel Croft, Lily’s mother and a BBC Wimbledon pundit, revealed last year that Mel had given Felix his blessing to marry their daughter before his death, although Lily only discovered this later.
Annabel said: “He gave permission to my youngest daughter Lily’s boyfriend. Felix told me… one of the things Mel said to him was, ‘You definitely have my permission to marry Lily’.”
Mel, a former international yachtsman and investment banker, met Annabel in 1987 when he taught her to sail for a television programme. He died weeks before their 30th wedding anniversary after cancer spread from his colon to other organs; Annabel later said sepsis caused by a perforated tumour was the immediate cause of death.
Months after his death, Annabel took part in the 2023 series of Strictly Come Dancing, reaching the semi-finals with professional dancer Johannes Radebe. She has said the programme helped her cope with the loss and the prospect of returning to their empty family home.
