By Jenny Brown.
The TV and radio star ties the knot in the holiest place of all — Adelaide Oval.
The hallowed turf of Adelaide Oval had never seen anything like it: a shirtless bridegroom playing touch footy with a flock of Sydney Swans and Adelaide Crows AFL stars; his beautiful bride kicking off her shoes to join in; a TV chef acting as celebrant and blessing the ceremony with fine Jamaican rum.
As weddings go, this one broke all the boundaries. But Ryan “Fitzy” Fitzgerald was determined to make a mark when he married the love of his life, Belinda “BJ” Irons on a sweltering autumn day.
Somehow the loveable larrikin, who swapped AFL and Big Brother fame for a hit career in TV and radio, persuaded custodians of the historic cricket ground to let him stage his wedding on the pitch itself.
So the famous scoreboard — more used to heralding the exploits of Bradman, Warne or the Chappells — proudly displayed the legend, “Ryan and Belinda Fitzgerald, March 15, 2008.”
What’s more, curators switched on the floodlights for an impromptu kick-around once night had fallen over the newlyweds’ celebrity-filled reception in the Clem Hill Stand.
It’s not every day that Gladiators host Tom Williams and his girlfriend Kylie Speer play ball with radio funnymen Merrick and Rosso, Big Brother’s Bree Amer and Bodie Czeladka, or AFL players like Mark Ricciuto, Simon Goodwin, Brent Reilly, Brett Burton, Michael Doughty, Michael O’Loughlin, Jude Bolton, Ben Matthews, Heath James and Dean Brogan!
Pictures by Ross Coffey.
For the full story, see this week’s Woman’s Day (on sale March 24).
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