The Nolan sisters are getting back together: Singer Denise marries her long-time partner Tom in a ceremony in Blackpool

They have been together for 47 years and engaged for three decades… now singer Denise Nolan has finally married drummer Tom Anderson.

The Nolan sisters were guests of honour as the couple tied the knot in Blackpool – their second home – with a ceremony on the promenade and photos in front of the Tower.

Denise, 72, who spent her honeymoon in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, this week, said: “I had a fantastic day. We didn’t get home until midnight. We danced the night away until our legs gave way!”

Their ceremony included a special tribute to the late Bernie, who died in 2013 at the age of 52, before Linda (65), Coleen (59), Anne (73) and Maureen (70) got into the mood to dance at the reception.

The day was particularly poignant because Tom, 77, had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease six years ago and the couple knew they were racing to enjoy the day while they still could.

Mirror columnist Linda moved in with Denise and Tom a year ago after her incurable cancer spread to her brain. She lived with them for a year in 2017 and for two years during the pandemic as Denise supported her during the worst period of her treatment.

As a thank you, Linda wanted to help with the costs of the couple’s big day. And she enjoyed every second of the wedding.

She says: “Given everything that has happened in my life, moments like this become even more precious.

“As I watched Denise walk down the aisle and thought of all the years of love, ups and downs and triumphs she and Tom had shared, I started to cry.

“It was a day full of 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 in the nearby Park House Hotel, including original dance performances by Nolan.

Denise says: “The whole family is very generous, but Linda is especially generous. God bless her for not leaving us so quickly, but I think she feels that with her terminal illness she wants to help if she can.”

Denise and Tom met in 1977 when Denise was singing with The Nolans and Tom was drumming at the London Rooms in the West End. Although they got engaged in the 90s, they never felt the need to commit to a specific date – until now.

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

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

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

After Tom’s heartbreaking diagnosis, they decided to finally make it official. The first symptoms began in 2018, and the couple recently realized it was now or never.

“We didn’t want to wait that long,” says the bride.

They originally wanted to keep it small – just Denise and Tom and two witnesses – but Linda suggested a big family celebration. Denise says: “Out of four, it ended up being about 55!” The guest list included the sisters, brothers Tom Jr. and Brian and their families. Loose Women star Coleen brought her boyfriend Michael Jones and her son, former Rixton singer Jake Roche.

Not a fan of stores, Denise bought Tom’s dapper light blue three-piece suit and her own wedding outfit—a yellow sequin stripe maxi dress and navy sequin blazer—online.

As for the service, it couldn’t have been more perfect. Denise says: ‘If you get married at Festival House, you can see Blackpool Tower and the beach.

“It’s just wonderful. We didn’t want a big service so it was perfect and meant we could choose our own music.”

The day began with a minor mishap when the bride forgot her bouquet, which was quickly retrieved, and brother Brian walked Denise down the aisle while her cover of Sinatra’s “You, My Love” from her 2022 top 20 album “For You, My Love” played.

“Everyone was crying, even Tom was sobbing,” says the bride. “I also chose Frank Sinatra’s Love and Marriage because I thought, ‘there has to be a funny song in there.'” The sisters toured with Sinatra in 1975, and because of that, says Denise, “we’re all Sinatra addicts in our family.”

Denise and Tom exchanged rings engraved with the words “I love you” before playing a recording of the whole family singing together at Bernie’s wedding to Steve Doneathy in 1996 – Denise wanted to include her sister in her big day.

The newlyweds then walked down the aisle as Tom sang “Love Will Keep Us Together.” “Everyone in the room was crying,” Denise says.

After the photos and wedding breakfast, the bride gave a reading called “To My Man,” in which she summed up her love for Tom. It included the lines, “The day I met you, I found my missing piece. Meeting you was destiny, becoming your partner was a choice, but falling in love with you was out of my control.”

The couple’s first dance was to “Sunshine of My Life” by Stevie Wonder – but the big star performance went to The Nolans themselves.

Denise says: “The DJ had a full set of the girls’ songs, so he played them and the girls performed all the numbers, which everyone enjoyed.

“Coleen wanted to change her nice, fancy shoes into her sneakers and I was standing there barefoot because my shoes were killing me!”

For Linda, whose husband Brian died in 2007, it was a wonderful day. “We’ve been through so much together. Being there with my sisters and celebrating such a beautiful union made me deeply grateful for the bond we share,” she says. “Life is unpredictable and often hard, but moments like this make everything worthwhile.”

■For more exclusive photos and the full interview, see this week’s OK! magazine, which is published nationwide on Tuesday.