Old, new, borrowed and true blue: Former Cabinet Minister and TV presenter Esther McVey marries fellow Tory MP Philip Davies in Westminster ceremony
- The couple tied the knot in Parliament’s historic St Mary Undercroft chapel
- However they had to uninvite dozens of guests in order to meet Covid rules
- The scaled-down ceremony also involved ditching plans for a gospel choir
Tory MPs Esther McVey and Philip Davies defied the virus gloom yesterday by tying the knot in a Westminster ceremony.
Former Cabinet Minister and TV presenter Ms McVey wore a distinctive white percher hat with partial birdcage veil and a custom-made dress from Philip Armstrong as she married Mr Davies in Parliament’s historic St Mary Undercroft chapel.
Meanwhile, the Doncaster-born groom, 48 and MP for Shipley, wore a suitably true blue suit.
Former Cabinet Minister and TV presenter Esther McVey, pictured left and right, wore a distinctive white percher hat with partial birdcage veil and a custom-made dress from Philip Armstrong as she married Mr Davies in Parliament’s historic St Mary Undercroft chapel
But marrying during the pandemic came at a price, as the couple, who have been dating for five years, had to uninvite dozens of guests to meet Covid rules limiting wedding parties to 30 – and ditch plans for a gospel choir.
Liverpudlian Ms McVey, MP for Tatton, joked: ‘When [the guest list] shrinks by this much, so does the cost. And surely a Yorkshireman could see the silver lining in that.’
She added: ‘You wait 52 years to get married and along comes coronavirus. I said to Philip, maybe the big guy in the sky is trying to tell us something. But Philip doesn’t always get my dark sense of humour!’
Other designs from Knutsford-based Mr Armstrong, whose wedding frocks sell for about £7,000, have been worn by A-listers including Jennifer Lopez, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Nicole Scherzinger and Mel B.