Just days after their dream wedding, Emmerdale star James Moore and his wife Sophie Edwards are still processing what has been an incredibly emotional weekend. The actor, who plays Ryan Stocks on the ITV soap, tied the knot with special needs teacher Sophie in a “magical” ceremony at Cheltenham’s Manor by the Lake, surrounded by 100 friends, family and Emmerdale co-stars. A moment that James - who has cerebral palsy - feared would never happen for him.
After proposing to Sophie while on a city break to Manchester, James and his bride-to-be spent the next two years planning their ideal autumnal wedding - and the pair knew exactly what they wanted. “My non-negotiable was having a bouncy castle,” Sophie says. “We wanted pumpkins. We knew we weren’t going to wear the traditional colours so my dress was blush and James’ suit was Dairy Milk purple.”
“We hole-punched leaves with a heart hole-punch to make the confetti. We had a temporary tattoo station with tattoos of Pokemon, flowers and black cats in homage to our cat Bubba. Those little things make it so much more personal.” On the day, guests including Emmerdale’s Emma Atkins and Mark Charnock descended on the historic manor in the heart of the Cotswolds for the outdoor ceremony - which was not only beautiful but also accessible.
The tears immediately started flowing when Sophie - a huge McFly fan - walked down the aisle to the band’s hit All About You. “My mum gave me away - James was crying, I was crying and I looked over at my three older brothers and they were just in pieces,” Sophie says. “When James’ five-year-old nephew did a speech during the ceremony and quoted Winnie the Pooh - that was it. So many people were crying.
James’ on-screen mum Emma showed up for the couple, while Dominic Brunt and Mark were an “absolute hoot”. Sophie adds, “It felt surreal having James’ mum, my mum and Emma there - all the mums in one place. Dominic and Mark were so funny and just so energetic. Dominic bought us some Sylvanian Families as a present, which I managed to sneak on the wedding register as I’m a massive fan.