Denise Nolan finally weds fiance of 30 years with moving gift from sister Linda

Denise Nolan’s not one for a whirlwind romance. But she is a believer in long engagements. Three decades long, in fact.

For this week, Denise, 72, has finally wed the man she’s already spent most of her life with – her partner-of-47-years and fiance-of-30, Tom Anderson, 77.

The pair tied the knot in the Nolans’ second home, Blackpool, with a service right on the promenade, photos in front of the landmark Tower and the Nolan sisters as guests of honour, exclusively sharing details of their big day with OK! magazine.

A special tribute to the late Bernie, who died aged 52 in 2013, was included in the ceremony, while Linda, 65, Coleen, 59, Anne, 73, and Maureen, 70, were all in the mood for dancing at the reception. Yet despite the newlyweds’ joy, the day was also doubly poignant.

Tom was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease six years ago, and the couple knew they faced a race to enjoy the day while they still could.

Meanwhile Mirror columnist Linda moved in with Denise and Tom, a year ago, after her incurable cancer spread to her brain.

She’d previously lived with them for a year in 2017 and two years during the pandemic as Denise supported to her during her the worst of her treatment. Linda wanted to help pay for the couple’s big day as a way to say “thank you”. And she loved every second of the wedding.

“It was such an emotional experience for all of us, it felt like a fairytale come true,” says Linda.

“With everything that’s happened in my own life, moments like these become even more precious. We’ve always been each other’s pillars of strength, but on the day, the joy and love in the air were palpable.

Watching Denise walk down the aisle, knowing all the years of love, trials, and triumphs she and Tom have shared, brought tears to my eyes.

“It was a day filled with laughter, tears, and memories that I will cherish forever.”

The service took place on Monday in The Wedding Chapel Blackpool (Festival House), on the famous promenade, followed by a reception the nearby Park House Hotel, complete with an impromptu reunion of the The Nolans – complete with the original dance routines.

“I had a fabulous day. We didn’t get home until midnight,” raves Denise, who was spending this week on honeymoon in Scarborough. “We danced our legs off all night!”

She adds: “The family are all very generous but Linda’s especially generous. Please God she’s not going to leave us any time, but I think she feels, with her incurable illness, that she wants to help out when she can.”

Denise and Tom first met in 1977, when Denise was singing with The Nolans and Tom was the resident drummer at the London Rooms, in the West End.

Yet despite getting engaged in the 90s, they never felt the need to set an actual date – until now.

“We’ve been together now for 47 years, we got engaged about 30 years ago and we love each other,” explains Denise. “We didn’t think we needed the piece of paper to say that.”

Tom, who played in Denise’s band when she went solo, had occasionally suggested booking a service over the years, but they always decided against it.

“He’s asked me to marry him a few times,” says Denise. “But usually when he’s had a drink and is feeling sentimental! Then I mention it to him the next day and he runs a mile!”.

The couple finally decided to make it official after Tom’s heartbreaking Parkinson’s diagnosis. He began to have symptoms in 2018 but the couple recently realised it was now or never if they still wanted the day of their dreams. “We didn’t want to wait until further down the line,” says the bride.

Initially they had planned to keep it small – just them and two witnesses – but Linda suggested a big family affair.

“It went from being the four of us to being about 55 of us!,” laughs Denise.

That guest list included the sisters, brothers Tom Jr and Brian, and their families. Loose Women star Coleen brought her boyfriend Michael Jones, as well as son and former Rixton singer Jake Roche.

Linda was proved right about the big do, but Denise went her own way when it came to wedding dress shopping. Not a fan of shops, she bought Tom’s dashing light blue three-piece suit and her own wedding outfit – a yellow sequin-striped maxi dress and navy blue sequin blazer with matching fascinator – online.

“Linda wasn’t sure about anything I picked but every time something arrived she’d say ‘Oh that’s gorgeous!’,” smiles Denise.

As for the service – that couldn’t have been more perfect.

“When you get married at Festival House, you can see Blackpool Tower and the beach, it’s just lovely,” she says. “We didn’t want a big church service so it was perfect and meant we could choose all our own music.”

The day began with a small hitch when she forgot the bridal bouquet.

“When we arrived, I realised we’d forgotten the flowers Linda had paid a fortune for, and I thought she’d be so hurt if I didn’t walk down the aisle with them,” says Denise. “So my poor brother had to rush back!”

Crisis adverted, brother Brian walked her down the aisle to her cover of a Sinatra’s You, My Love You, from her 2022 album Top 20 album For You, My Love.

“Everybody was crying, even Tom was sobbing,” says the bride. “I also picked Frank Sinatra’s Love and Marriage because I thought ‘I have to have a comic song in there’.”

The sisters actually toured with Sinatra in 1975, which is why, Denise says, “We’re all Sinatra addicts in our family.”

Denise and Tom exchanged rings inscribed with the words “I love you”, before playing a recording of the whole family singing together at her late sister Bernie’s 1996 wedding to Steve Doneathy. It was Denise’s way of including her sister on her big day, as well as by playing one of Bernie’s songs at the reception.

The newlyweds then walked back down the aisle – to Tom’s rendition of Sinatra’s Love Will Keep Us Together.

“Everyone in the room was crying,” reveals Denise. “I was obviously moved but I’m not a teary person which is lucky because I’m a loud cryer!”

After photos and the wedding breakfast, Denise shared a reading, To My Man, that summed up her love for Tom. It included the lines: “The day I met you, I found my missing piece. Meeting you was fate, becoming your partner was a choice, but falling in love with you was beyond my control.”

By then they were all in the mood for dancing. The couple’s first dance was to Stevie Wonder’s Sunshine of My Life but the big booking was The Nolans themselves.

“The DJ had a whole set of the girls’ songs, so he played them and the girls did all the routines, which everybody loved,” says Denise. “All of us really do like to dance! Coleen went to change from her lovely fancy shoes into her trainers to dance, and I ended up dancing in my bare feet because my shoes were killing me!”

For Linda, whose own husband Brian passed away in 2007, it was just a wonderful day.

“We’ve faced so much together. Being there with my sisters, celebrating such a beautiful union, made me feel deeply grateful for the bond we share,” she says. “Life is unpredictable and often tough, but moments like these make it all worthwhile.

“It was a reminder of the power of family and the incredible journey we’ve all been on together.”

• To see more exclusive photos and the full interview of The Nolans’ big Blackpool wedding, pick up this week’s new OK! magazine, or visit ok.co.uk.