Cherie Blair declared the bride the
most beautiful she had ever seen. The groom, her son Euan, looked
similarly ‘amazing’. And filled with ‘breathtaking’ flowers, the church
in the quiet Buckinghamshire village of Wotton Underwood was a worthy
backdrop.
In fact, the wedding of the Blairs’ first-born Euan was pretty near perfect. Even the rain held off.
But one dark cloud hovered over the big day in the form of TV weathergirl Sian Lloyd, the stepmother of the bride, Suzanne Ashman.
Having been invited some months ago, she discovered last week she was no longer welcome and was met with a ‘wall of silence’ when she sought an explanation.
He is said to be keen to follow his father Tony’s footsteps into Parliament. But Euan Blair showed that when it comes to preparing for his wedding, he is also keen on the pampering that appeals to his mother, Cherie.
The ex-Prime Minister’s son was seen having an executive footcare treatment at Champneys spa in Tring, Hertfordshire, last Thursday. Cherie and his sister, Kathryn, enjoyed luxury manicures alongside him. They were accompanied by a blonde, believed to be a bridesmaid.
Dressed in a white robe, Euan sat next to Cherie, also in a white robe. His treatment lasted 25 minutes, cost £35 and involved cutting and filing nails, removing skin and massaging the feet.
Euan was laughing and chatting to Cherie as he relaxed in the nail salon, which appeared to have been reserved for them. One guest said: ‘I couldn’t believe it when I saw Cherie and her party.
‘They were relaxed and seemed to have come from the house, where the luxury bedrooms are.’
It is also believed Euan had a facial and a body massage to make him picture-perfect for his nuptials. It is thought he opted for the men’s grooming package – which costs £85 and lasts for one hour and 25 minutes.
The party of four are believed to have stayed in four premiere rooms attached to the original house. A two-night break in a premiere room costs £647 per room.
‘She is puzzled
at the reason behind such rudeness,’ a close friend told The Mail on
Sunday yesterday. ‘She is flabbergasted at the “disinvite”.’
Friends said Miss Lloyd, 55, has made no secret of her staunch opposition to the war in Iraq and has been strongly critical of Mr Blair’s ‘warmongering words about Syria’.
This, she feels, might lie behind the snub, even if only in part.
While her comments were never delivered publicly, it is thought they may have reached the former Prime Minister’s ears.
There was some speculation that Miss Lloyd would attend the ceremony with husband Jonathan Ashman, regardless of being ‘uninvited’ – but she insisted that was never the case.
‘No, no reinvite has followed the disinvite,’ she told a friend in an email. ‘Original invite on table here, with Sian & Jonathan writ large on envelope . . . but alas, alack & woe is me.’
In another message on Friday, she said: ‘Designer dress and posh high heels returned to wardrobe with a sigh . . . back to weather charts to try and deliver a sunny day for tomorrow’s newlyweds.’
After lunching with girlfriends yesterday – and raising ‘a glass of bubbly to the happy couple’ – Miss Lloyd was planning to ‘curl up on the sofa and watch a film’.
Some in Miss Lloyd’s circle say her fractious relationship with the first wife of her husband is probably a more credible explanation for her exclusion.
‘Sian says it might be due to the ex-wife resenting how happy she is with Jonathan,’ said another source close to Miss Lloyd.
At first, Mr Ashman, a 64-year-old motor-racing entrepreneur, was so incensed at his wife’s treatment that he threatened to boycott the wedding. However, Miss Lloyd convinced him to change his mind and give his daughter away.
‘Sian said she was pleased she persuaded him to attend as it was the right thing to do. She said Jonathan absolutely hated the idea of going without her,’ said a friend.
Yesterday at All Saints, Wotton Underwood, ten minutes’ walk from the Blairs’ mansion, all rancour was forgotten.
As he watched his 25-year-old daughter, in an oyster cream dress, step from a chauffeur-driven black taxi, Mr Ashman announced: ‘I am very proud.’
And after praising the bride, Cherie Blair said of her 29-year-old son, who wore a blue lounge suit with a white carnation: ‘Didn’t my boy look amazing!’ Earlier, at the church door, an emotional Mr Blair held his son’s face in his hands and kissed him on the cheek.
Mr Blair said later: ‘It is a very happy day. We are grateful to have such a wonderful daughter-in-law.’
At the wedding, meanwhile, guests danced the night away in a marquee squeezed between two tall hedges, a short stroll through ornamental gardens from the main house.
In a romantic detail, either side of the marquee’s entrance was decorated with two entwined hearts.
The Blairs bought 17th-century South Pavilion, worth £5.75 million, in 2008. Once home to the actor Sir John Gielgud, it has seven bedrooms and grounds that include a former farmhouse now used by security staff.
Sources recalled yesterday how Miss Lloyd’s relationship with her husband’s Turkish-born first wife, Sedef, was ‘difficult from day one’.
‘She [Sian] always felt like she was seen as a bit cheap and on the make,’ said a friend. ‘Sian tried to make an effort with Suzanne but because of her mother she wouldn’t give an inch. They both looked down on her and she gained the impression that they thought she was a bit of an embarrassment.
‘There was slow-burning animosity, then they had a heated conversation on the phone about two months ago when Sian asked straight out why she [Sedef] had a problem with her. It never recovered from there.’
Yesterday, Sedef, the daughter of the former mayor of the Turkish capital, Ankara, cut a striking figure in a short blue dress. Her marriage to Mr Ashman ended 13 years ago and she arrived at the wedding alone in a Bentley, declining to comment.
Euan Blair has been dating Suzanne for eight years, having been introduced by former Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon.
Miss Ashman read Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Trinity College, Oxford, after leaving the private St Paul’s Girls’ School in South-West London.
She met Euan Blair while on work experience with Mr Hoon and later worked at Tony Blair’s Faith Foundation. Last year, after working for American merchant bank Morgan Stanley, Euan became a business development manager at the Coventry-based Sarina Russo Job Access – part of the Government’s Work Programme – in a move said by some to be a stepping stone towards following his father into politics.
Miss Lloyd, who once appeared on I’m a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here, met Jonathan Ashman at a St David’s Day party at the Palace of Westminster hosted by then Secretary of State for Wales Peter Hain in 2007.
Mr Ashman proposed to her in December that year at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania while they were on holiday.
The couple married just weeks later at the Portmeirion Hotel in Gwynedd, Wales.
Read More »
In fact, the wedding of the Blairs’ first-born Euan was pretty near perfect. Even the rain held off.
But one dark cloud hovered over the big day in the form of TV weathergirl Sian Lloyd, the stepmother of the bride, Suzanne Ashman.
Happy couple: Euan and Suzanne emerge beaming through the autumn leaves as friends throw confetti
Tying the knot: Euan Blair and Suzanne Ashman emerge from the church in Buckinghamshire
Barred: Stepmother of the bride, TV weather girl Sian Lloyd with husband Jonathan Ashman
The Mail on Sunday can reveal that Miss Lloyd has admitted being ‘flabbergasted’ at the decision to ban her from the ceremony. Having been invited some months ago, she discovered last week she was no longer welcome and was met with a ‘wall of silence’ when she sought an explanation.
EUAN NAILS NERVES WITH PAMPER SESSION FROM DAD
He is said to be keen to follow his father Tony’s footsteps into Parliament. But Euan Blair showed that when it comes to preparing for his wedding, he is also keen on the pampering that appeals to his mother, Cherie.
The ex-Prime Minister’s son was seen having an executive footcare treatment at Champneys spa in Tring, Hertfordshire, last Thursday. Cherie and his sister, Kathryn, enjoyed luxury manicures alongside him. They were accompanied by a blonde, believed to be a bridesmaid.
Dressed in a white robe, Euan sat next to Cherie, also in a white robe. His treatment lasted 25 minutes, cost £35 and involved cutting and filing nails, removing skin and massaging the feet.
Euan was laughing and chatting to Cherie as he relaxed in the nail salon, which appeared to have been reserved for them. One guest said: ‘I couldn’t believe it when I saw Cherie and her party.
‘They were relaxed and seemed to have come from the house, where the luxury bedrooms are.’
It is also believed Euan had a facial and a body massage to make him picture-perfect for his nuptials. It is thought he opted for the men’s grooming package – which costs £85 and lasts for one hour and 25 minutes.
The party of four are believed to have stayed in four premiere rooms attached to the original house. A two-night break in a premiere room costs £647 per room.
Friends said Miss Lloyd, 55, has made no secret of her staunch opposition to the war in Iraq and has been strongly critical of Mr Blair’s ‘warmongering words about Syria’.
This, she feels, might lie behind the snub, even if only in part.
While her comments were never delivered publicly, it is thought they may have reached the former Prime Minister’s ears.
There was some speculation that Miss Lloyd would attend the ceremony with husband Jonathan Ashman, regardless of being ‘uninvited’ – but she insisted that was never the case.
‘No, no reinvite has followed the disinvite,’ she told a friend in an email. ‘Original invite on table here, with Sian & Jonathan writ large on envelope . . . but alas, alack & woe is me.’
In another message on Friday, she said: ‘Designer dress and posh high heels returned to wardrobe with a sigh . . . back to weather charts to try and deliver a sunny day for tomorrow’s newlyweds.’
After lunching with girlfriends yesterday – and raising ‘a glass of bubbly to the happy couple’ – Miss Lloyd was planning to ‘curl up on the sofa and watch a film’.
Some in Miss Lloyd’s circle say her fractious relationship with the first wife of her husband is probably a more credible explanation for her exclusion.
‘Sian says it might be due to the ex-wife resenting how happy she is with Jonathan,’ said another source close to Miss Lloyd.
At first, Mr Ashman, a 64-year-old motor-racing entrepreneur, was so incensed at his wife’s treatment that he threatened to boycott the wedding. However, Miss Lloyd convinced him to change his mind and give his daughter away.
‘Sian said she was pleased she persuaded him to attend as it was the right thing to do. She said Jonathan absolutely hated the idea of going without her,’ said a friend.
Yesterday at All Saints, Wotton Underwood, ten minutes’ walk from the Blairs’ mansion, all rancour was forgotten.
As he watched his 25-year-old daughter, in an oyster cream dress, step from a chauffeur-driven black taxi, Mr Ashman announced: ‘I am very proud.’
And after praising the bride, Cherie Blair said of her 29-year-old son, who wore a blue lounge suit with a white carnation: ‘Didn’t my boy look amazing!’ Earlier, at the church door, an emotional Mr Blair held his son’s face in his hands and kissed him on the cheek.
Mr Blair said later: ‘It is a very happy day. We are grateful to have such a wonderful daughter-in-law.’
Well wishers: Euan waves to the cheering guests, showing off the wedding ring on his third finger
Up close: A stunning Suzanne Ashman gazes lovingly at husband as they make their way from the church
Black cab: The happy couple were chauffeured from the church to the reception in a London taxi
All smiles: The couple are showered in confetti as the leave the church flanked by cheering guests
Turning heads: Suzanne, looking immaculate in her wedding dress, smiles at a well-wisher in the crowd
Bright future: Both Euan and Suzanne come from wealthy backgrounds and both studied at top universities
Glamour: Euan cut a dashing figure in his suit, while his young bride Suzanne looked nothing short of stunning
Delighted: Former Prime Minister Tony Blair can barely contain his happiness at the wedding of his eldest child
Former PM: Tony and Cherie Blair emerge flanked either side by two of the couple's flower girls
Proud parents: Euan's mother and father follow behind clearly delighted with the day's events
Pose: The Blairs stop and smile for the cameras (left). Younger sister Katherine pulls her shawl close
Statesmanlike: Tony and Cherie hold hands as they make their way to the church earlier today
Married: Euan and Suzanne Blair leaving the church in a London taxi decked in flowers and ribbons
Proud: Cherie beams at her husband as they make their way to the Buckinghamshire church
At the wedding, meanwhile, guests danced the night away in a marquee squeezed between two tall hedges, a short stroll through ornamental gardens from the main house.
In a romantic detail, either side of the marquee’s entrance was decorated with two entwined hearts.
The Blairs bought 17th-century South Pavilion, worth £5.75 million, in 2008. Once home to the actor Sir John Gielgud, it has seven bedrooms and grounds that include a former farmhouse now used by security staff.
Sources recalled yesterday how Miss Lloyd’s relationship with her husband’s Turkish-born first wife, Sedef, was ‘difficult from day one’.
Nerves: Suzanne chats smiles at her one of her bridesmaids shortly after she arrived at the church
Elegant: Suzanne Ashman, escorted by her father Jonathan Ashman, left, arrives at All Saints Parish Church
Bridesmaids walk from All Saints Parish Church to greet bride Suzanne for the ceremony this afternoon
Radiant: The girls in dusky mint green carry soon-to-be-wed Suzanne's gown as they walk over the leaf-filled grass
Sibling support: Katherine Blair, left, arrives to support her older brother - who has matched his tie to his dad's
Political guestlist: Tony Blair's former envoy
to Brunei Lord Charles Powell, left, and former justice secretary Lord
Charles Falconer, arrive to celebrate the wedding of their former
leader's eldest son
Doting father: Jonathan Ashman looks tearful at
his glowing daughter as she gets ready to go. There is no sight or
mention of his new wife Sian Lloyd, who was banned from attending
‘She [Sian] always felt like she was seen as a bit cheap and on the make,’ said a friend. ‘Sian tried to make an effort with Suzanne but because of her mother she wouldn’t give an inch. They both looked down on her and she gained the impression that they thought she was a bit of an embarrassment.
‘There was slow-burning animosity, then they had a heated conversation on the phone about two months ago when Sian asked straight out why she [Sedef] had a problem with her. It never recovered from there.’
Yesterday, Sedef, the daughter of the former mayor of the Turkish capital, Ankara, cut a striking figure in a short blue dress. Her marriage to Mr Ashman ended 13 years ago and she arrived at the wedding alone in a Bentley, declining to comment.
Parents of the bride: Jonathan Ashman, without Sian Lloyd, arrived to let his daughter go
Uninvited: Sian Lloyd, who married Suzanne Ashman's father Jonathan in 2007, allegedly made a comment about Suzanne's mother
A
Turkish TV crew followed her every move, explaining that there was
delight in Turkey that a former British Prime Minister was now connected
to a distinguished Turkish family.Euan Blair has been dating Suzanne for eight years, having been introduced by former Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon.
Miss Ashman read Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Trinity College, Oxford, after leaving the private St Paul’s Girls’ School in South-West London.
She met Euan Blair while on work experience with Mr Hoon and later worked at Tony Blair’s Faith Foundation. Last year, after working for American merchant bank Morgan Stanley, Euan became a business development manager at the Coventry-based Sarina Russo Job Access – part of the Government’s Work Programme – in a move said by some to be a stepping stone towards following his father into politics.
Reception: Gets have all made their way back to
South Pavilion, the Blair's new Buckinghamshire mansion, for the wedding
reception
Miss Lloyd, who once appeared on I’m a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here, met Jonathan Ashman at a St David’s Day party at the Palace of Westminster hosted by then Secretary of State for Wales Peter Hain in 2007.
Mr Ashman proposed to her in December that year at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania while they were on holiday.
The couple married just weeks later at the Portmeirion Hotel in Gwynedd, Wales.
