Aston Merrygolds super-sized wedding plans – with huge guest list and ‘special roles’ for JLS

Aston Merrygold is juggling some major wedding planning with his solo career and making his debut in musical Footloose this week, so the dad-of-two can be forgiven for not even knowing which city he’s in right now.

“Oh my God, where am I?” he says, as he calls us for a catch-up while on the road, then remembers: “I’m in Edinburgh!”

“When I was young, I was the type of person that was cool with going away for work. I got used to missing people. But when my kids were born, it changed my outlook. It’s a lot harder now because I miss them. Luckily, I’ve got a great team around me, and my fiancée Sarah is incredible – she holds the fort. And FaceTime is amazing!”

As Aston, 34, prepares to marry Sarah Richards, a former JLS backing dancer, this autumn, his bandmate Marvin Humes is renewing his vows with wife Rochelle, 10 years after their big day at Blenheim Palace.

“It’s crazy that Marv and Rochelle are celebrating 10 years before Sarah and I are even married!” laughs Aston. “As I said to Sarah, the last few years have been crazy for everyone and stuff’s been postponed, but once we actually get married, it will be like, ‘We should have done this sooner.’

“Finding a venue has held us up. We’ve been looking for the perfect place abroad. We searched and searched, and at one point almost gave up before saying we’re just going to do it here. Then we randomly found a place and fell in love with it.”

Aston popped the question to Sarah, now 38, on Christmas Eve 2017, just weeks before she gave birth to their first son, Grayson, now four. The couple then welcomed their second son, Macaulay, in June 2020, with the boys now being asked to be their dad’s extra “best men” on the big day.

While the couple initially had low-key plans, Aston says the absence of loved ones during lockdown made them rethink, and they have now super-sized their wedding.

“I would have been happy with a register office and Sarah would have too, but we both realised during Covid that we want our wedding to be a party. We want to celebrate with all our loved ones. The JLS boys have all got special roles to play on the day, although I haven’t told them what they are yet,” Aston teases.

“We’re at 150 people now. Some people gasp at how massive the guest list is, while others say theirs was double. We didn’t want day guests then evening guests – if we’re going to do it, we’re going to invite everyone for the whole day. It’s the whole experience for us.”

Of course, no wedding would be complete without a stag do. But now Aston’s in his thirties, he has a list of dos and don’ts for his secret bash.

“It’s a joint effort between my best man and myself,” reveals Aston. “We’re all a little bit older now, so the younger stag dos are a don’t! I mean, they might try to dress me up or something, but I’m very picky now about what I want and don’t want to do. I’m in that zone now – I want us to eat here, and drink here. I’m sure there’ll still be a hangover!

“If the JLS boys are free, they’ll be there, but it all depends on work,” he adds. “Everyone is working on their own personal projects. It’s very much lastminute.com for everybody! Marv is taking two flights to even get there. It’s incredible, but I’m telling them, don’t bend over backwards.”

On JLS reuniting for work and not pleasure, he adds: “The door is always open. There aren’t any initial plans for the band but, with us, someone will send a message and be like, ‘I’ve written this song’, or ‘Does anybody fancy doing this?’ It’s as simple as a message, which is great.”

Warming up for his stag do, Aston got together with three of his five groomsmen last week for suit fittings, followed by a deep and meaningful chat over food and drinks at Sheesh in Chigwell, Essex. Their heart-to-heart confirmed that Aston has never felt more certain about marrying Sarah.

“A couple of my groomsmen are married and they were like, ‘Are you not nervous for the day?’ I said it’s the least nervous I’m ever going to be about anything, because I’m so sure.

“I understand the nerves of standing up in front of people, but in terms of me and Sarah, I’ve no reason to be nervous. I’m more excited for the day. I want it to hurry up and get here – then I probably won’t want it to end.”

Aston insists he won’t be going overboard on the Dutch courage, after a recent wine tasting for the wedding left him and Sarah tipsy.

“In my head, it was at the start of the day, and I thought, ‘Oh, we’re just going wine tasting and tasting the food, I’m not going to be drunk and it will be fine.’ But there was so much wine, and that evening I had to travel back to London to go on The One Show. They were like, ‘Are you OK?’

“So I’ll be going all out for the experience, but with drinking, I’ll probably only have two or three. I just want to take it all in and be like, ‘This is why we bought everybody dinner.’”

Recounting their love story, Aston explains he and Sarah started off as friends after they met at a JLS rehearsal in 2012, building a strong foundation for their relationship before romance followed.

“We met at a rehearsal for the Capital FM Summertime Ball – but our story didn’t start then,” he admits. “I thought she was really cool, but I was young and very much in boy band zone, running around everywhere. But over time, being friends for a while, and with everyone else telling us there was a connection, it started after the tour finished. There was an initial attraction, but the foundation we built meant we really knew we liked each other.”

Fatherhood has prompted Aston to take on another special project close to his heart – hosting the Thomas & Friends International Friendship Day Awards, which recognise outstanding acts of friendship by children. The singer has previously spoken about being racially bullied, and believes teaching kindness is one of a parent’s key roles.

“When I heard about the Thomas & Friends International Friendship Day Awards, it was weird because that same week, we were having a conversation with Grayson’s preschool teacher, and she was saying how he’s shown kindness and his empathy is kicking in. They’ve had new kids at school and he’s offered to take them around and show them things. I got a lump in my throat. That’s what every parent works towards – creating a nice human being. It’s the whole goal.

“I do worry about my children being bullied, but I have to provide them with the tools to be self-sufficient and stand their ground,” he adds. “Nobody is saying fight, but at the same time, you need to be comfortable in your own skin, able to say no, and ready stand up for yourself
and your loved ones.”

Aston is hosting the Thomas & Friends International Friendship Day Awards, with the winners announced on 28 July

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