EastEnders actor James Bye has renewed his wedding vows with his wife Victoria in a lavish ceremony in St Lucia.
Just days after the happy couple announced they are pregnant with their fourth child – after three years of trying and nearly "giving up" – they jetted to the Caribbean to celebrate their marriage.
The actor has told how he “loved every second” of renewing their vows, 11 years after their wedding.
But the ceremony didn’t go off without a hitch as they ran into some major mishaps on the way down the aisle.
James - who plays Martin Fowler in the BBC One soap – and his wife Victoria flew to the stunning island of St Lucia at the start of 2023, along with their sons Edward, nine, Louis, six, and Hugo, three.
They had been due to renew their vows around their 10-year wedding anniversary in April last year, but the pandemic’s uncertain travel restrictions loomed, and the couple wanted to make sure all their loved ones could attend.
However, after waiting a year and enjoying four days of glorious sunshine in the run up to their second big day, the heavens opened and a torrential downpour soaked the luxury Windjammer resort on the morning of their vow renewal.
Luckily the monsoon cleared just in time for pregnant Victoria to walk down the aisle.
The weather wasn’t the only snag the couple ran into in the lead up to their big day as James managed to chip a tooth on a waterslide and little Hugo fell ill with a stomach bug.
Their renewal brought back memories of their wedding in April 2012, which was hit by a freak snowstorm, meaning some of their guests didn’t arrive in time for the ceremony.
But this time, all of their 35 loved ones made it to see James and Victoria profess their love for each other after more than a decade as husband and wife.
Strictly Come Dancing star James, 38, told OK! Magazine : “It was so good to get family and friends together I loved every second of it.”
Victoria, 40, added: “It was amazing, we had an incredible time.”
They had their sons Louis and Hugo walk down the aisle as pageboys and chose James’ EastEnders colleague Lacey Turner’s – who plays Stacey Slater in the BBC1 soap – daughter Dusty, 4, as one of their flower girls.
Victoria told the publication how actress Lacey had been was anxious about little Dusty’s walk down the aisle and would instead run straight to her mum.
But the little girl was star of the show as she sprinkled her petals on the floor before receiving a round of applause from the other guests and running over to their mums.
James told how he got “very emotional” after they exchanged their vows and couldn’t stop crying.
While the couple took their photos, friends and family enjoyed a rum punch cocktail reception on the beach before they indulged in a Caribbean buffet and danced the night away to the sounds of a live band.
Guests enjoyed a glimpse at James’ Strictly moves as he and Victoria boogied to two first dance songs - one of which was to their original wedding day track, Snow Patrol’s Chasing Cars.
He told the magazine: “Since Strictly, everyone thinks I’m a professional dancer!”
The couple told how little Hugo fell asleep on the dance floor at 10.30pm and the couple called time on the festivities as they headed off to bed with the kids, leaving the parents and other adults to party into the night.
