- The couple announced their engagement in November 2018 after around two years of dating, when Rio proposed to Kate in Abu Dhabi
- The D Maris Bay hotel is thought to be the venue for their big day, with rooms ranging from £370 to an eye-watering £5,322
- It is also thought that Lydia Bright is the only TOWIE co-star that will attend the ceremony, which is expected to take place on Saturday 28th September
- Rio has three children Lorenz, 13, Tate, 11, and Tia, eight, with his late wife Rebecca, who passed away in May 2015 after battling cancer
Preparations are underway for Kate Wright and Rio Ferdinand’s wedding at the lavish D Maris Bay hotel in Turkey.
The ex-footballer, 40, and former TOWIE star, 27, are thought to be exchanging their vows at the luxurious resort – which has rooms ranging from £370 to £5,322 – in a ceremony on Saturday 28th September.
Kate and Rio announced their engagement in November after he proposed to her on a family trip to Abu Dhabi with his three children Lorenz, 13, Tate, 11, and Tia, eight. The former England star first started dating Kate in late 2016, following the death of his wife Rebecca – who is the mother of his three children – in 2015.
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Exciting: Preparations are underway for Kate Wright and Rio Ferdinand’s wedding in Turkey, which is thought to be taking place on Saturday
Stunning: The ex-footballer, 40, and former TOWIE star, 27, are thought to be exchanging their vows at the luxurious D Maris Bay hotel in Turkey, which has rooms ranging from £370 to an eye-watering £5,322
It also states: ‘The secluded enclave has a wealth of photogenic spots to serve as the special setting to exchange vows with your partner or observe that all-important anniversary.
‘A sunset wedding on Green Hill or beach-side ceremony makes for an unforgettable memory. Follow it up with a one-of-a-kind reception with catering drawn from our collection of five renowned restaurants specialising in a range of international cuisines.’
MailOnline has contacted representatives for Kate Wright, Rio Ferdinand and the D Maris Bay hotel for comment.
Incredible: The hotel which is thought to be the couple’s venue boasts jaw-dropping views in the stunning Turkish sunshine, and offers wedding packages that include tailor-made menus and a specially-made wedding cake (stock image)
Picturesque: The hotel offers bespoke packages that include tailor-made menus and a specially-made wedding cake
Pricey: Rooms at the hotel range from £370 to the Presidential Suite which costs over £5,000 for just one night and every inch of the resort boasts stunning views
Intimate: The venue is surrounded by intimate forests so the couple have plenty of privacy as they prepare to exchange their vows
Picture perfect: Along with the crystal-clear swimming pool, the venue is a staggering sight with plenty of room for Kate and Rio’s guests to celebrate the occasion style
Rooms at the hotel range from £370 to the Presidential Suite which costs over £5,000 for just one night, and already several videos have surfaced of preparations being underway.
So far little has been revealed about which stars will jet to Turkey for the big day, although a source told MailOnline that Lydia Bright is the only former TOWIE co-star of Kate’s to be invited.
It is likely that Rio has invited some of his former footballing pals, perhaps from England or Manchester United, where he played from 2002 to 2014.
In the works: Preparations for the hotel ahead of the wedding have been teased by a staff member who posted a video to Instagram Stories, but otherwise little has been revealed about the big day
Jaw-dropping: Outside the beach-side hotel the space can be set for a more casual affair should guests wish to be seated on cushions for the ceremony
Time for dinner: The outside restaurant would also be the perfect place for the wedding dinner, although very little has been revealed about the couple’s big day so far
It comes after it was reported that the couple are finally set to tie the knot this weekend, ten months after announcing their engagement.
The couple – who got engaged in November last year – are said to have opted to tie the knot in Turkey after jetting to the country in secret.
A source told The Sun: ‘All their family and friends are already there. Phones have been taken from everyone — nobody has one.’
In early November, Kate, 27, and Rio, 40, announced their engagement via a social media post after he proposed on a family trip to Abu Dhabi in front of his three children, Lorenz, 13, Tate, 11, and Tia, eight.
Wedding bells: It comes after it was reported that the couple are finally set to tie the knot this weekend, ten months after announcing their engagement
Jet setter: Kate and her husband are said to have jetted to Turkey in secret in order to tie the knot, with guests told not to use their phones on the trip
The couple have been together since early 2017, but two years prior to his relationship with Kate, Rio tragically lost his first wife and the mother of his children, Rebecca Ellison to breast cancer at the age of just 34.
Following Rebecca’s passing, Rio has been open about the struggles of raising his children without her. Kate has since formed a close bond with his offspring.
Speaking of her romance with the former Manchester United player, Kate previously told Daily Mail’s YOU magazine: ‘Rio and I just clicked.
‘I knew about the children and what had happened but at first I didn’t give it much thought.
Sweet: In early November, Kate and Rio announced their engagement after he proposed on a family trip to Abu Dhabi in front of his three children, Lorenz, 13, Tate, 11, and Tia, eight
‘When you meet someone you’re just enjoying the moment, not thinking about how serious things might become.’
‘I fell in love with Rio, then I met the kids and fell in love with them. I realised, ‘Wow, my life is going to change’. I couldn’t be part of his life and not part of theirs.
‘I knew it would be a challenge, but if you love someone you go with it and deal with the difficult stuff.’
Back in July, Kate discussed her decision to leave behind the world of TOWIE and showbiz to become a step-mother.
The happy couple: Kate previously discussed her decision to leave behind the world of TOWIE and showbiz to become a step-mum to Rio’s children (pictured last year)
The former reality star spoke to The Sun about quitting the limelight as she insisted his kids ‘needed someone at home’ following Rebecca’s death.
She admitted they have worked to ‘include the kids in everything’ to ensure their relationship worked, after first getting together.
After soaring to fame on TOWIE in 2015, when she was introduced as the ex-girlfriend of show heartthrob Dan Edgar, she became a fan favourite, with her sizzling figure and girl’s girl personality winning hearts.
Despite two years of fame, winning various lucrative contracts and garnering over 1million Instagram followers, she confirmed her time in the spotlight was up in 2017.
Family unit: Kate explained of her decision to prioritise love over fame, ‘I had two choices. I’m in this world with lots of drama and then I met Rio and the children’
In her candid discussion, Kate explained: ‘I had two choices. I’m in this world with lots of drama and then I met Rio and the children and, I thought, “I’m with these kids, who have lost their mum, they don’t need a woman who is out all the time…
‘”They need someone at home with them.’ A really big part of our relationship and it working for the children is that we’ve included them in everything we’ve done…
So from the first date, him asking me to be his girlfriend, us moving in — everything — the kids were part of it. So it wasn’t me taking their dad away from them, it was more us becoming a family unit.’
Since finding love again with Kate, Rio kept the details of their love life notably private, but in the past year has been sharing Instagram snaps of their adventures.
So in love: While the lovebirds often share snaps and footage of their adventures together on their respective social media accounts
With both having a penchant for the gym, the couple often upload footage of their workouts together, much of which was presumably in preparation for their nuptials.
The lovebirds celebrated their upcoming wedding with lavish hen and stag getaways over the summer – and they gave fans a glimpse via their social media accounts.
Rio enjoyed a raucous weekend in Barcelona with his pals in July, clutching a doll bearing his fiancée’s face under one arm, reassuring her she was ‘never far away’ during the trip.
The TV pundit was joined by 11 of his nearest and dearest including brother Anton and cousin Max for his wild weekend.
Living it up: Rio recently shared some throwback snaps from his stag do on his Instagram page in July, showing off his athletic physique as he went shirtless by the pool
‘MrsFerdyToBe’: Kate enjoyed a lavish hen do in Mykonos with her close friends in June
Kate also had a similar Rio doll for her own hen do on the Greek island of Mykonos two weekends beforehand.
Rio found happiness again with Kate, after previously opening up about losing his wife Rebecca, in a tearful conversation six months after her death.
The father-of-three said in the weeks following her death in May 2015 didn’t ‘look at himself’ and instead focused on his children — sons Lorenz, then nine, Tate, then six, and daughter, Tia, just four. It was ‘all about the school run, the basic stuff,’ he said.
He filmed a documentary, Being Mum and Dad, in 2017, about how he and his three children have coped with grief.
‘This is one of the only things in life that we’re going to go through together, where I haven’t got the answers for them, and that’s quite a worrying, daunting thing’, he said in the programme.
‘When they don’t speak, it’s difficult sometimes, you’re just sitting there going like ‘what are they thinking? Where are they? Are they worried, are they happy, are they sad?”
Rio added that while he is ‘desperate to know’ what his children are thinking, he doesn’t ‘want to scare them.’
In a previous interview with The Sun, he admitted his wife’s battle was a private one, as she opted to stay out of the limelight for the sake of her family.
‘Rebecca was an incredibly brave woman and a very private person who didn’t want anything about her illness to appear in the media while she was fighting for her life,’ Rio noted. ‘Only a close-knit group of family and friends knew.’
