Shay Given marries Rebecca Gibson at Westminster Abbey

Right · 2Shay Given and Rebecca Gibson married at Westminster Abbey in London. 1 2 Right · 1Given, 50, is a former Newcastle United and Republic of Ireland goalkeeper who now works as a BBC football pundit. 2 Right · 2The Daily Mail reports that the ceremony was held on Saturday and that the couple had been engaged for 12 years. The Irish Independent's headline puts the gap at 10 years after the proposal. 2 1

Right · 1According to the Daily Mail, weddings at the Abbey are limited to members of the Royal Family, members of the Order of the Bath and their children, residents of the Abbey precincts, and others who meet specific criteria at the Abbey's discretion. 2 Right · 1The Daily Mail says the wedding was possible because of Gibson's connection to the Royal Family through her grandfather, Donald Buttress OBE, who was Surveyor of the Fabric of Westminster Abbey from 1988 to 1999 and lived at the Abbey between 1998 and 1999. 2 Right · 1The paper adds that it is understood the couple were allowed to marry at the discretion of the Royal Family and with the permission of the Archbishop of Canterbury. It gives no named source for this. 2

Right · 1The couple's daughters Gracie and Cassie were bridesmaids, along with Sienna, Given's daughter from his first marriage to Jane Cunningham. Gibson wore a dress by New York designer Tom Sebastien, and the couple held an after party at Hotel Cafe Royal. 2 Right · 1Given played for Newcastle United, Manchester City, Aston Villa, Stoke City and Blackburn Rovers, making 451 Premier League appearances. 2