SOPHIE ANDERTON ties the knot with Kaz Balinski-Jundzill in a beautiful ceremony in Ireland
AND COUNT KAZIMIERZ BALINSKI-JUNDZILL ARE A MODEL COUPLE AS THEY CELEBRATE THEIR UNION
Looking radiant in an ivory lace wedding gown, Sophie Anderton gazes adoringly at her new husband, Count Kazimierz “Kaz” Balinski-Jundzill.
The model, who has jetted all over the world to strut the runway in cities including Paris and Milan, recently glided down the most important catwalk of her life – a rose-petal-strewn aisle on her wedding day.
Smiling with joy, the beautiful bride – who had to postpone her nuptials three times due to the pandemic and family illness – exclusively invited
hello! to cover her romantic country wedding at the family home the couple share in Ireland.
“Love comes into your life when you’re not looking for it,” says Sophie, 44, tenderly embracing her beaming bridegroom. “I’ve waited all my life to meet the person I wanted to marry. Although I’ve loved, I’ve never been in love until now.”
SUN COMES OUT
Sophie, who shot to fame as the face of Gossard bras in the 1990s, first met Kaz, a Polish aristocrat who grew up in Co. Wicklow, when she was 18, but the couple fell for each other after meeting as friends nearly five years ago.
They finally said “I do” on 5 August in an intimate civil ceremony in the pretty village of Laragh, followed by a wedding reception at the spectacular Glendalough House, a former shooting lodge with a 1,500-acre estate.
Sophie recalls how not even a fierce gale could spoil their big day. “When I looked out the window and saw the damage the overnight storm had caused, I felt eerily calm,” she says. “In Ireland it’s thought to be good luck if it rains on your wedding day, but this was
‘Although I’ve loved, I’ve never
been in love
until now’
torrential. So, I looked up to the sky and said: ‘Dad, Grandad, please tell God to turn the tap off.’ When I left the house later, the sun was shining down on us.”
Sophie’s exquisite wedding dress – coincidentally reminiscent of a drawing she’d made at the age of 12 – was designed by Irish couturier Helen Cody, and when her mum Susan, who flew in from Bristol, saw her wearing it for the first time, there were tears of joy.
“It was such an emotional moment,” recalls Sophie, who plans to auction off her dress for ARC Cancer Support Centres, of which she is an ambassador. “I felt ethereal in it, as if I was floating.”
Sophie’s best friend Sue Penston was bridesmaid, while three of Kaz’s children from his two previous marriages played leading roles in the ceremony, with Jack, 18, cutting the ivy trail entwined with white roses at the beginning of the aisle before Sophie walked in, while 14-year
old flower girl Esme Balinksa scattered rose petals behind her. Eldest daughter Ella Balinska, 24 – an actress who starred alongside Kristen Stewart and Naomi Scott in the 2019 film Charlie’s Angels and whose mother is TV chef Lorraine Pascale – helped her father into his smart grey Tom Ford suit on the morning of the wedding and acted as ring bearer.
BITTERSWEET WALK
Sophie recalls how emotions were running high as she began her solitary walk up the aisle.
“I shed a few tears because my stepdad John, who died of Parkinson’s six years ago, wasn’t there to take my arm. But I felt as if he was there in spirit, telling me: ‘No more tears, Sophie; hold your head up high.’
“I felt as if I was walking towards my future with the man I love,” she continues. “When I saw Kaz from behind, I held my breath and experienced a well of
‘I shed a few
tears because my stepdad John
wasn’t there to take my arm’