Inside the PM's wedding: Anthony Albanese and Jodie Haydon marry at The Lodge
A love story that started with “Up the Rabbitohs!” reached its happily-ever-after on Saturday as Anthony Albanese became the first sitting PM to tie the knot - helped along by Toto the pint-sized ring bearer. See the photos.
Anthony Albanese and Jodie Haydon exchanged vows they had written themselves in a private wedding ceremony in Canberra on Saturday.
Just 80 guests, including family, friends and Mr Albanese’s closest political allies, were among those invited to the grounds of The Lodge, the Prime Minister’s official residence in Canberra, to see the couple wed.
The newlyweds issued a statement sharing their joy.
“We are absolutely delighted to share our love and commitment to spending our future lives together, in front of our family and closest friends,” they said.
Mr Albanese, 62, and Ms Haydon, 47, who began dating in 2019 and became engaged on Valentine’s Day last year, were married by a celebrant from the Central Coast.
Mr Albanese is the first Australian prime minister to marry while in office.
Details of the nuptials were a closely-guarded secret for privacy and security reasons, however suspicions were aroused after politicians started slipping into Canberra for the weekend.
They had been quietly sitting on an invite for six weeks, one told The Sunday Telegraph.
The couple chose not to have a bridal party, with the only two attendants Ms Haydon’s five-year-old niece, Ella, and the Prime Ministerial dog Toto, with the pair wearing matching white dresses. As promised by the PM, Toto was the ring bearer.
Ms Haydon wore a white high-neck dress detailed with fabric-covered buttons on the long sleeve and beaded detail across the gown.
It was designed by contemporary Sydney fashion house Romance Was Born. She paired it with a drop veil and carried a bouquet of yellow roses, white orchids and eucalyptus leaves.
Mr Albanese wore a deep navy blue jacket with black satin collar, black bowtie and black pants from menswear designer MJ Bale, and a white rose buttonhole.
Ms Haydon was walked down the aisle by her parents Bill and Pauline to Ben Folds’ song The Luckiest.
After the ceremony the couple walked back down the aisle to Stevie Wonder’s hit Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I’m Yours).
Among the 80 guests to attend the wedding were Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles, Treasurer Jim Chalmers, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke, Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong, ALP national secretary Paul Erickson, Health Minister Mark Butler, Finance Minister Katy Gallagher, Industry Minister Tim Ayres and Trade Minister Don Farrell.
While the couple chose not to invite state and territory leaders, there were a few politicians not on the frontbench that scored an invite, such as his former staffer turned NSW MP Jo Haylen, NSW Transport Minister John Graham and Inner West Mayor Darcy Byrne.
The Prime Minister also invited people from his inner circle including strategist Mal Larsen, his head of communications Fiona Sugden and adviser Dimity Paul.
Friends from both their childhoods, including Mr Albanese’s friends from Camperdown and Ms Haydon’s friends from high school, were among the guests.
In a nod to Mr Albanese’s inner-city roots, local brewery Willie The Boatman designed special beer cans for the occasion. The couple exchanged gold bands designed by Leichhardt’s Cerrone Jewellers.
With the formalities over, guests let down their hair as Mr Albanese and Ms Haydon shared their first dance to Frank Sinatra’s The Way You Look Tonight. Mr Albanese’s son Nathan was due to give a speech later in the evening.
Despite using the PM’s official residence, The Lodge, as the venue, the wedding was paid for privately by the couple. They will honeymoon in Australia next week.
They met in 2019 at a function, when Ms Haydon caught his attention after yelling out from a crowd her support for Souths. Albo later admitted she “had him at ‘Up the Rabbitohs!”.
The pair initially kept a low profile before Ms Haydon joined Mr Albanese on the campaign trail in 2022.
It is Ms Haydon’s first marriage and Mr Albanese’s second. He was previously married to former NSW Labor minister Carmel Tebbutt with whom he has a son Nathan. The couple separated after 19 years of marriage.
Ms Haydon once revealed that she had been single for a long time before meeting the PM, and agreed her path from the NSW Central Coast where she grew up to meeting world leaders had been a fairytale story.
“Did I see my life panning out this way?” she once said.
“Absolutely not.”
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Originally published as Inside the PM's wedding: Anthony Albanese and Jodie Haydon marry at The Lodge
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