Strictly Come Dancing star Graziano Di Prima married his fiancée Giada Lini in a stunning ceremony earlier this month, which was held in the hometown where he grew up.
The couple, 28 and 32 respectively - who are both professional dancers - exchanged vows at his old local church, Basilica della Madonna della Catena, in Sicily recently.
The newlyweds later celebrated their nuptials at the 14th century Castle of Falconara which overlooks the Mediterranean Sea - where the groom used to take Giada on dates.
The wedding served as a homecoming for Graziano, who left the town aged 17 to pursue his dreams - with a huge crowd gathering outside the piazza of Riesi to mark the occasion.
The couple - who fell in love while partnered on a TV show in 2014 - shared their wedding with OK!, with them exclusively opening up about the emotional ceremony to the outlet.
The celebrations began the night before when Graziano and Giada - who live in London but also have a house near Venice - threw a pizza party in the community for their guests.
The groom spent the night before the wedding at his family home, whilst the bride stayed at the historic castle where the couple would later hold the wedding reception.
Graziano opted for a black three-piece suit with diamanté detail on the tie for the nuptials, whilst Giada wore an elegant "princess" gown - later changing into a second dress.
The couple - who were due to get married in 2020 but had the wedding cancelled twice due to Covid - tied the knot in a 90 minute traditional Catholic service in front of 200 guests, which moved the couple to tears.
Graziano said: "I tried to be strong all day but I couldn't stop crying because of the love I feel for Giada. When I saw her arrive in the horse and carriage I started to cry."
The dancer - who's been on Strictly since 2018 - said he cried more when his bride walked down the aisle, adding that his mother held his elbow and squeezed it for support.
"The fact we were in Sicily, my town, after two years of postponing the wedding with all our family and our friends to witness – it was a feeling so strong," he further added.
Giada said: "I was crying too." She recalled that she had "dreamt about this day for such a long time" and said that she felt like a princess, adding: "It was a beautiful thing."
The groom had his brother Pietro and best friend Arduino as his best men, whilst the bride had several flower girls along with two best men; brother Leonardo and man-of-honour Alberto.
Graziano revealed that his Strictly co-star Johannes Radebe was meant to be his best man, though the dancer is said to have been unable to make it due to visa issues.
The bride was led down the aisle by her father Mauro to the traditional march of Here Comes the Bride. Graziano lifted back her veil and kissed her, as they met at the altar.
They exchanged traditional vows in Italian and then in English for their international guests - with the wedding rings a mixture of yellow gold with a white gold band in the centre.
Guests included dancer Nadiya Bychkova, presenter Karim Zeroual and actor Chizzy Akudolu - with comedian Judi Love "devastated" to have dropped out due to Covid.
The newlyweds emerged from the church hand-in-hand, walking through flower arches along a white carpet - with the piazza transformed into a mini-festival for them.
There was traditional folk dancing as well as music and refreshments, with locals having come out to support Graziano - who was surprised by the response.
He said: "I didn't expect so many people to be in the piazza - there was so much love from my town. [...] The fact I was back after all these years was the most memorable moment of my life."
The newlyweds rode off in a horse and carriage to their wedding reception at the castle, with Giada recalling that Graziano used to take her to the castle gate when they first dated.
"I used to reach my hand inside the gate to see if we could get into the castle but it was always locked. We never imagined then that we'd have the money to rent it for our wedding," she said.
Do you enjoy reading about celebrities? Sign up for all the best celeb news from the Mirror here.
The couple walked into the reception as A Whole New World played, with the venue hosting a buffet including traditional local dishes like octopus, dough balls and mini burgers.
The wedding party relocated to an alfresco set-up laden with fairy lights near a lake at 10pm, with a dance floor and live band. There were also fireworks for the special occasion.
The first dance was to Ed Sheeran 's Perfect, with guests later throwing the groom into the air on the dance floor and subsequently crowd surfing him back to Giada.
There was entertainment from a magician, who performed before guests formed a flash mob to surprise the couple with masks of Graziano and Giada's faces.
It was at around midnight that Giada changed her dress, when the couple cut their cake - which was flavoured with chocolate, vanilla and pistachio.
The party moved onto a beach at 2am, with guests able to relax on pillows and enjoy Sicilian desserts, including nuts, pastries, limoncello and muffins.
The newlyweds finally headed to bed at 7am and admit that they slept until 2.30pm the next day. They were back on tour with Here Come The Boys in the UK just 48 hours later.
Do you have a story to sell? Get in touch with us at webcelebs@mirror.co.uk or call us direct 0207 29 33033.
