By Leigh Reinhold
Pictures: Andrew Jacob, Darren Leigh Roberts.
The muso’s spring nuptials were filled with drama before they even began…
Musician Phil Ceberano was never in any doubt that his self-confessed “control freak” bride would make it up the aisle right on time, so when the bridal party was more than half an hour late he started getting “pretty nervous”.
And when stunning Angela Crews finally appeared all poised and flawless in a divine beaded, ivory silk-satin gown her serene countenance betrayed no hint of the hair-raising white knuckle ride she’d been on in the last hours before she said “I do”.
Ever since she was a little girl Angela, who is now a national publicity manager for Sony BMG, had dreamt of leaving the family home in Sydney’s West Pennant Hills with all her bridal party in a white stretch Rolls-Royce.
But father-of-the-bride Terry Crews knew even before they left home there was something amiss with their transport.
“I could smell petrol when we got into the car,” says Terry, “and that set off some alarm bells. But I didn’t want to worry the girls.”
Along for the ride were Angela’s bridesmaids — her sister Maria Crews, and best friends Lucinda Rhys-Jones and Tyrilly Bolton — as well as matron-of-honour Kate Ceberano, soulful singer and sister of the groom.
“We were sitting at a set of lights at the top of this huge hill not far from our house when suddenly the engine conked out,” says Angela. “Then we realised there were no brakes and no hand brake, and the car was picking up speed, going backwards down the hill.”
Side-swiping one car and narrowly missing several others, the driver was swerving across both sides of the road, the vehicle careering out of control for three kilometres.
“We were going backwards at about 80kms an hour at one point,” says Angela. “It was terrifying.”
When they finally came to a stop at the bottom of the hill, it was Kate who leapt to the rescue, reveals Terry.
“Kate jumped out of the car and knocked on a random door and told this lady she had a bride who needed a drink. The lady recognised Kate, she was a fan — she actually had a look around for the candid camera! So we all piled into her house while we waited for alternative transport.”
Meanwhile, 109 family members and friends, including radio legend Alan Jones, TV gardener Jamie Durie and AFL footballer Russell Robertson, were oblivious to the drama. Waiting patiently on the lawns of Athol Hall in Mosman on Sydney Harbour, shaded by a white marquee decorated with fragrant roses, the guests only wondered what had happened to the usually punctual bride, who had planned the day and night’s festivities like a tour schedule for one of her headline acts.
“I was starting to get quite worried,” says Phil, 43, who was calmed down at the altar by his best man and tour manager Bruce Pawsey, and groomsmen Adrian Tisato, Thom Mann and Steve Hadley. “All we knew was their car had broken down. Ange didn’t want anyone knowing the full details or it could have ruined the day.”
But when Phil finally spied his four-year-old niece and flower girl Gypsy Rogers at the head of the bridal procession the nerves gave way to tears.
Blushingly beautiful beneath her flowing veil, Angela had waited 15 months since Phil proposed in a Paris restaurant for this moment and there was no time to dwell on her recent near-death experience or that she had arrived at her wedding in a Tarago van.
“I locked eyes with Phil and immediately I was calm — he has that effect on me,” says Angela, 26, who drew gasps from their guests, her Shane McConnell gown shimmering in the afternoon sun as she walked down the aisle to the strains of Eva Cassidy’s version of Songbird.
With marriage celebrant Glenda jollying things along, the couple exchanged vows with Angela promising Phil she would “learn to cook” before he placed two bands of diamonds around her 1.2 carat princess-cut diamond engagement ring, sealing the deal with a lingering kiss.
Spontaneous applause and whistles rung out across the harbour while Kate sang My One True Love and the new Mr and Mrs Ceberano signed the official documents on a love pact they knew from the start was “just right”.
Meeting at music events and then courting via internet for the first few weeks of their romance, Phil, who was living in Melbourne and Ange, a Sydney girl, say they had a chance to discover each other before they actually went on a “candlelit” first date 18 months ago.
“We talked a lot about our ideals and the things we strive towards and our old-fashioned values. We want babies absolutely and family is really important,” says Phil, who fronts the band Trentwood and plays guitar with his sister’s band. “We are really loyal to each other. It’s not the destination, it’s the journey and the adventure along the way, and we really embrace that.”
Ange says she never thought she’d find her perfect man within the music.
“It is really hard to find the right partner when you work in the entertainment industry because it can be a bit crazy sometimes, so to find someone like Phil, a musician who is loyal and level-headed, was a rare find.”
“Phil is my soul mate. I blush saying that, but it’s true. We look up to each other and we’ve got this really great connection.”
In his wedding speech, Phil told family and friends, “I think I have spent my whole life living in the moment until I met Ange. But when you can see the future with someone, then that’s a whole different thing and that’s what I’ve got with this girl. A beautiful future!”
Ange and Phil got the party rolling doing the bridal waltz — taught to them by Kate’s Dancing With The Stars partner John Paul Collins — to Queen’s Best Friend. Then Kate took to the stage with singer/songwriter Gary Pinto to belt out Al Green’s Let’s Stay Together as guests quaffed Moet champagne.
And there was one more surprise before Ange and Phil left for their Thai island honeymoon. Making a late appearance was Ange’s friend and client Guy Sebastian who wowed the crowd with Michael Buble’s Everything and Carole King’s, You’ve Got A Friend.
And considering her lucky escape earlier in the day it’s fair to say Ange and her new hubby have got more than a friend… there also seems to be a guardian angel watching over them.
For more celebrity stories, see this week’s Woman’s Day (on sale Nov 3).
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