We look back at David and Victoria Beckham’s love story as they celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary
WORDS: KENZI DEVINE & LESLEY JONES PHOTOS: BRIAN ARIS/OK! MAGAZINE, REX/SHUTTERSTOCK, GETTY IMAGES
COUPLE GOALS
Some said it wouldn’t last, but David and Victoria Beckham have proved their early critics spectacularly wrong. On 4 July, the golden couple will celebrate an impressive 25 years of marriage – a rare feat for most celebrity partnerships.
The pair met in early 1997, at a Manchester United football game – and were engaged by the following January, proving that when you know, you know. And they certainly didn’t waste any time when it came to building the Beckham brand – and brood.
On 4 March 1999, the couple became parents to a son named Brooklyn Joseph, with his first public appearance coming just months later at the wedding of the year – when David and Victoria tied the knot in Ireland.
The nuptials, which were exclusively covered by OK!, were everything you could imagine from one of the most famous pop stars of the 90s and Britain’s heartthrob footballer, plus a whole lot more.
David and Victoria assembled nearly 300 of their closest friends and family at Luttrellstown Castle, near Dublin, on 4 July 1999. And from the couple’s matching outfits to the Spice Girl guests and those thrones, the wedding was certainly done in style.
Set in a 560-acre estate with its own golf course, the castle was the perfect location for such an exclusive event. Surrounded by a high stone wall to keep the frenzy of paparazzi at bay, the newlyweds and their guests had the privacy and space to relax and enjoy the proceedings after months of preparations.
At the time, the couple admitted to us that the wedding was on the cards from day one. Victoria revealed, “I knew from very early on how strongly I felt.
“As soon as I met David, I thought, ‘I want to marry this person, grow old with this person. Learn things about life with this person… have a family.’ I surprised myself. When I met David, I thought, ‘Yeah, I really do want to get married.’”
David agreed, telling us, “I was the same. It was that feeling you have of wanting to be with someone, of wanting to make the effort to go and see them. I’d never had that before.”
He admitted, sweetly, “The fact is, this is the first time I’ve ever been in love.”
Although she didn’t become a fashion designer until later in her career, Victoria clearly had an eye f
