Congratulations are in order for Russell Brand and Laura Gallacher, as they officially wed last Saturday. The pair began dating off and on in 2007. They had a brief hiatus while Russell dated, and married, Katy Perry, but he reconnected with Laura in 2015 and they’ve been together since. Russell and Laura are parents to a nine-month old daughter, whose name and face remain a mystery (as is their right) but if we go by her parents, I’ll bet she has an electric smile. Russell is a funny and sometimes shocking comedian/actor who is politically motivated. Laura is a lifestyle blogger and the daughter of golfer, Bernard Gallacher, OBE. The couple took their vows in a small ceremony at Remenham Church in Henley-on-Thames followed by a paddleboat cruise on the river that took everyone to the reception. The guest list included Laura’s sister, sports presenter Kirsty Gallacher, comedians David Baddiel and Jonathon Ross and Noel Gallagher, who was allowed to come without his babysitter but had to promise to be on his best behavior. I don’t know, the whole thing sounds like a really fun affair – I’m sorry they forgot to invite me.
The English actor and comedian tied the knot with longtime love Laura Gallacher at a church near their home in Henley-on-Thames, Oxon, on Saturday, The Sun reports.
In photos from the event, the newlyweds are shown embracing aboard a steamboat. According to The Sun , Brand hired the boat to take their guests to an Indian-themed reception following the ceremony.
The Sun described the event as a small celebration alongside a few family and close friends — including their 9-month-old daughter, whose name is reportedly Mabel.
The BBC reports that Brand himself confirmed the news on Sunday on his Radio X podcast, saying, “I’m living a married life now … I’m domestic.”
Guests reportedly included Noel Gallagher, comedian David Baddie and British talk-show host Jonathan Ross.
Btw, my auto-correct does not find it amusing to have a ‘Gallacher’ and a ‘Gallagher’ in the same post and has stopped speaking to me. We don’t have the pictures of the festivities but The Sun got some exterior shots on the boat that you can see there. The couple looked lovely. I love Laura’s elegant lace dress with a classic, uncomplicated veil framing her soft, natural waves beautifully. Had I designed the dress, I would not have put the slit in it but that is really the only fault I can find. Russell looked marvelous in his double-breasted waist coat and signature open shirt with scarf. I love that he personalized such a traditional look. Based off the description and photos, that’s what I like most about the event – the combination of traditional and the couple’s personalities, right down to the guests’ attire ranging from formal lace to t-shirts. Plus you can see a tuba in the full length boat shot – they must have had a band to match the New Orleans style paddleboat. I know Russell’s connection with yoga and India but the first thought I had when I read ‘Indian-themed reception’ was, “with a shout-out to the first wedding, to boot!” Heartiest congratulations to the Brand-Gallacher family!
Brief disclaimer – I am not a publicist for anyone nor were we approached by any publicist. I absolutely adore weddings and talking about them and this one looked like a blast.
Photo credit: WENN Photos, Instagram and Getty Images
What the actual fuck is an ‘indian themed’ wedding?
What even is an Indian wedding?
Indian people have literally dozens of DIFFERENT types of weddings (different rituals, events, clothes, ceremonies, food, religious stuff) depending on the region, religion, ethnicity etc.
Which version of ‘Indian’ did they appropriate, I wonder? ARGH.
Russell is extremely into yoga and transcendental meditation, so they may have pulled some elements from what he’s learned about Hinduism/Buddhism/yogic philosophy. I trust him not to be appropriative, I think. I study classical yoga at an Urban Yoga Ashram with a Swami in the middle of Atlanta, and the lineage is very steeped in custom and tradition, though many of us are not from the east. It can be done in a respectful way.
Didn’t he have a similar-themed wedding with Katy? If so, I’m surprised wify #2 was comfortable with this.
I’ve read that their daughter’s name is Mabel. Ugh.
Still crazy-eyed.
It’s your right to presume there’s cultural appropriation, but it’s not always exploitation that the person in that culture feels. For sacred and especially religious garments, it might be disrespectful and forbidden for an outsider to don it. But cultural outfits run a spectrum from festive to religious, and can also be worn to be appreciated and because they’re nice! My South East Asian country is welcoming of this and our schoolkids celebrate each other’s ethnicity by donning our cultural outfits. So please, I know cultural appropriation is a real thing, and for example, blackface and wearing the Indian headgear are offensive but different culture and different countries will develop different understandings and social constructs. This is something that may be strange (for lack of a better word) to say, the western liberal, and I share it whenever I can. Again, wearing an ethnic dress is not always automatic cultural appropriation, to everyone.
I think the appropriation argument has been misunderstood and overdone. It desensitizes the issue when there are legit problems. They didn’t try to be Indian they just like the culture. There is appreciation and simply liking something and then appropriation when you try to steal a cultural identity.
Nope. Appropriation is when you use someone else’s culture like a costume or toy, to try on, play with, have fun with or profit off of, stripping it of its significance to the actual members of that culture. Then you take that costume off and still have power and privilege; you never did lose that power when you put on the costume. It’s cool when a white woman wears a sari or a hijab, but an actual Indian woman wearing that kind of garb in Walmart is considered strange by society, and she faces discrimination when trying to get a job while wearing her own garb.
I don’t agree. How can a melting pot melt if everyone is only allowed to stay in their racial or ethnic corner? Should we close down all ethnic restaurants to anyone other than people of that ethnicity? If not then why? What if a person is biracial? Or multi-ethnic? Most cultures are mixtures of other cultures so then what?
Cultural cops and SJWs are in the way of true progression and in a roundabout way are supporting the very same thing the alt right wants. They want to do away with multi culturalism and diversity. This is how you achieve it.
You separate groups distinctly and emphasize what we don’t have in common so it becomes “them” “they” “those people”. Not “us” or “we”. It makes empathy impossible.
There is a difference between liking a culture and wanting to learn about it and dehumanizing it and stealing it without admiration or respect.
What happens is the word loses its power so when it does happen in a harmful way you are now equating it with Russell Brand’s Indian themed wedding reception.
Elvis Presley was an appropriator. Bo Derek with her suddenly chic cornrows. Kim K. Colonialism is rife with it. Blackface for Halloween costumes. Sacred Native American symbols as expensive superficial fashion statements.
When we as liberals behave thin skinned and nonsensical about harmless nothings we empower the right. We seem like silly fragile out of touch snowflakes blaming and shaming everyone for everything. I am far left, and I am getting fatigued by all of this outrage and offended feelings.
Poor you, getting fatigued. It must be pretty nice for your worst problem to be fatigue when you want to have an Indian-themed wedding, like Indian is a cartoon. I’m not white; I get called “sand n*****” in the street. Grow up and try to have some empathy. You don’t get to call for a “melting pot” to erase other people’s humanity.
There’s a long spectrum from positive cultural exchange to negative cultural appropriation. And a big grey area inbetween that it’s reasonable to argue over.
It says the reception was Indian themed – maybe they were having Indian food, which is, of course, a staple of the British diet (badged as Indian but includes other countries) due to British Asians being the largest ethnic minority group in the UK.
Chicken Tikka Masala is now the national dish of Britain. That is not appropriation but domination by one of the finest cuisines ON THE PLANET!
Nothing is pure. India has more English speakers than anywhere else. It is the largest democracy. Folks, just keep being excellent and having babies in the West.
Be proud of your culture and know that nothing is static & don’t waste time being worried about millionaires knowing that your spiritual or meditative practices are changing the world & thinking your chow is the most tasty.
Brand wrote a book about overcoming addiction. He knows that some practices–mindfulness for example–are more beneficial than popping western pills.
Thank you Alexandria!
Though in general it would mean colorful clothes and some rich food. And some loud music and dance.
MostlyIndian themed weddings are generally what is depicted in BW movies.
I, for myself, don’t mind when people wear sarees, do yoga, try to have an Indian Hindu wedding ceremony. It’s mostly all inclusive with beautiful phrases.
I M Indian living outside India btw
All the best.
He seems like such a good person. Regardless of how brash he is, he does still fight for equality, and I respect him. Congrats to the couple.
I will never forget what* he wrote when Amy Winehouse died. He is totally on my (very short) “celebrities welcome in my home” list. And, of course, a hearty Mazal Tov to the newlyweds and their wee offspring.
*So you shouldn’t have to look if you want to read it. I’m sure I’m not the only one out here with a job she needs to be on time for. https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/jul/24/russell-brand-amy-winehouse-woman
Lord that’s a sad read.
He seems to be an intelligent, witty, compassionate man. I wish him all the best.
He seems to be a person that wants to be a better person. His youtube channel is actually worth a listen. He had interesting guests and seems he is over the fame thing.
We can only hope this was not a pre-divorce party.
I love Russell, he is so damn sharp, quick and intelligent. Also doesn’t shy away from crass humor, which I appreciate. He seems like an exhausting guy to be married to though. Anyway, congratulations!
I like him for the flowery language and verbal pyrotechnics. And for all the support and platforming he gave to groups of housing campaigners in London.
He’s fantastic with words and I’m constantly amazed at how that carries over into interviews. You KNOW you’re in for a good time when he’s on a show. I especially like him on shows like Chatty Man where he can really let loose. His stand up is funny as hell but his interviews are just as entertaining. I can’t comprehend the speed at which his brain works though. Makes me feel like a toddler just bumbling around.
Yep. I remember Daniel Craig following him on a chat show once. He sat down, sighed, and said, “I don’t know why you’re bothering. Nobody can follow Russell.”
I also would not want to be his girlf or wife, thankyouverymuch!
@Clare, I hope its just the interpretation of journalist, because having an Indian wedding is like having a Canadian wedding. There’s a never ending assortment of options and spiritualities and the statement itself is kind of icky.
I don’t think Brand is innocent of issues with appropriation, and while I love him for his pretty and entertaining way with words, he can be problematic. So basically I’m side eyeing the crap out of this until I see better pictures, or read a bit more about it.
Also “Alpha” seriously watch videos of him and within no time , the women in the room are under his charisma. He also has no problem standing up to anyone, usually through humor and his speech. He is all around an interesting person you wouldn’t expect him to be a charmer but he is attractive in personality.
Brand is such a POS. Anybody who believes he was on hiatus during his marriage with KP is delusional (sorry). The man was a sex addict who repeatedly joked and mocked his then-wife about how boring their sex life is and that he had to think of other people to get through sex with her. He never bothered to travel to visit her while KP was on a plane for hours just to see him for a few hours to then return to a gruelling tour schedule. He definitely cheated on KP seeing as they were barely physically in the same city and I’ll bet he never stopped seeing Laura , one of the 2000 (!!!) women he bedded pre and post-KP marriage seeing as they’re married now and he was still seeing her right up to 2009 before his marriage with KP.
KP had to endure not only public humiliation post-divorce but even during their marriage during his stand-up routines she came out to support him secretly without his knowledge only to find out he mocked his own wife. The lack of accountability this man held himself to was astonishing as nobody forced him to marry a famous popstar. Although I do not feel sorry for Laura for marrying a self-proclaimed self-centred douche like Brand as she was born into money but she’s not on the radar enough for Brand to bother humiliating her for his own hypocrisy to have married a rich girl again when he’s so against the ‘system’. The fact that she also has a rich girl life (lifestyle blogger and ‘designer’) like so many bored rich girls instead of a real job with skills that don’t involve pretending to have the perfect aspirational life just underlines the point that Brand likes to pretend he’s not about the life…the reality is very different. Why people buy into his crap I don’t know. He’s never been honest with himself or his audience tbh.
Artemis, where do you have all this inside-knowledge from???
Exactly. People presume to know a celebrity simply by virtue of reading bloody gossip sites. Get a grip…and a freaking life!
Well known gossip and he himself has admitted to some of it.
Well, UK mags say he started seeing Laura from 2007-2009 and then again after his divorce to KP. Brand and KP met in summer of 2009 so like…you know it kind of spells itself out no? KP and Brand’s relationship was a whirlwind, it happened really fast.
Why would he stop seeing somebody when he barely saw his own wife? You don’t get the sleep with 2000 women (his own admission) with a a 2 year break. A sex addict who spoke about his ‘boring’ sex life with his then-wife must get his from somewhere when he barely saw said wife because said wife was busy touring and working. Then the fact that he shared a pic on social media when she was waking up kind of sent the message that was trying to show the real KP and that she wasn’t all that. Why else disrespect your wife like that and laugh about it when you get called out for it?
And it’s not just their sex life, even years after the divorce (2015) he called KP vapid and plastic etc so he just didn’t like her as a person and only recently started to speak nice about her.
Most of what I wrote was said by Brand and KP themselves as their split was quite nasty. KP spoke out about hearing how Brand mocked her in a Vogue interview which was so sad as you could tell she was so into him and not expecting to be the butt of the joke when he was doing stand-up. She was depressed about the split whereas Brand was practically doing cartwheels and slagging her off for no reason. Brand’s quotes about KP are easy to find, he never hid his dislike for KP once the divorce was on, and even before that tbh.
I think he deluded himself about KP but blamed her instead of him, he was supposed to be the smart one, the non-conformist and he married a person the opposite of that so I think he insulted his own intelligence and resented her for it. He seems like the person who can’t deal with making mistakes as he thinks he’s all-knowing and beneath making mistakes.
I’ve always thought Brand and Perry were a spectacularly bad match, but that Perry’s issues weren’t as public as Brand’s failings in that one (here’s a red flag that your marriage isn’t going to work: you married Russell Brand). Brand is an addict that needs to feel like the smartest person in the room, who married a massive superstar who wasn’t interested in being Mrs Russell Brand… but also wasn’t interested in giving up the party lifestyle. Despite looking like 2 quirky people making a pair, they were such a spectacularly bad pairing.
I guess all that to say, even knowing that Brand was a total failure as a husband, I’ve never bought Katy’s wounded dove act.
They both made the mistakes marrying each other after barely knowing each other and at the peak of their careers. The way one person handled it is by slagging the other one off and shifting the blame while lamenting how nonspiritual and unfulfilling it all was not acknowledging it was still a choice they happily participated in. The other one was embarrassed and hurt by all the awful things that were said during the marriage and post-divorce by the partner and used it to make money (songs) and generate some interesting soundbites.
When all was said and done, I buy more into KP’s wounded act as it was a normal reaction to the vitriol she had to endure of a person who could not admit their participation in the circus that was their marriage. At least she realised and tried to move on, Brand was still spouting crap 4 years after the divorce! Divorcing is a painful process, no matter how awful or amicable it is, for one party to continue to bash the other one, how could that not hurt? Even when KP thought everything was peachy, he was humiliating her during his stand-up routine, what person would not be wounded by such behaviour? KP is not my fave person, she has lots of flaws but dear lord, I do feel sorry for being the ex-wife of a noted douche like him.
Everything Artemis said is public knowledge, that anyone who reads this site could know if you keep up with Russell or KP. It’s pretty hard not to laugh at people telling a poster to get a life and stop reading gossip on a gossip site! Btw, I agree wholeheartedly with Artemis!
I have never understood why people on this site love Russell and hate KP so much. He seems like an utter douche to me! Also, if we reversed the genders here, and KP was the poetic sex addict who wrote essays about drug addiction and had an “Indian themed” wedding, I don’t think for a second she’d get even a tenth of the praise Brand does. It’s nice that he’s a social activist, but he seems like an exhausting, insensitive person. Do you know who he reminds me of? My cheating, emotionally abusive ex that everyone thought was “SO CHARMING”. *insert eyeroll here*
Ok, end of rant!
Well if you watch his YouTube videos and then watch any of her interviews you can see he has a better personality and his stuff is informative. I’ve never been a big fan of her music or costumes plus she doesn’t have an interesting personality so yeah team brand
I agree with you, Artemis. Brand is one of those self-proclaimed “intellectual” men who are only interested in ornamental women. He talks a big game but he’s so shallow.
That would be true but besides talking about ideas and spirituality he’s also tall looks pretty good and is in good shape. If he and his new wife were both accountants doctors or flight attendants no one would think he’s too ugly for her.
Artemis, you are spot on. Russell is a douche.
She shaded him for a long time after the breakup, though. I can understand being hurt, but she didn’t exactly rise above the fray. Not to mention complaining about the indignity of a text breakup… when she dumped her pre-Brand boyfriend by email herself. And I remember the Hawaiin photos that preceded the infamous text breakup. All I’m saying is that as much as I would never want to be married to Russell Brand, i don’t think it would be great to be married to Katy Perry either. For one thing, I don’t party enough for her.
Artemis, this is a very fair and correct assessment. He married the first wife for fame, and the second wife for respectability, and class mobility including the idea that she is quiet and easily controlled, and therefore non-threatening to him. He was vicious to the first wife when it backfired, we’ll see how the second one works out.
To be a fly on the wall for Noel’s speech at the reception. They don’t know how to not take the p*ss out of each other in public.
I don’t have any particular feelings about Katy Perry but agree with Artemis re Brand. I liked him earlier in his career – and there was a time when he was genuinely fresh and interesting – but he’s always had a very spiteful and unpleasant side along with a ginormous massively off-putting ego.
To me, he comes across as having a huge ego.
The daughter’s name is not a mystery. It’s Mabel, isn’t it?
Why yes it is. Thanks!
Noel Gallagher allowed without a baby-sitter is such a surprise ? I wonder if there’s some confusion with his brother, because in the last 10 years, on social events he’s usually pictured with his wife and sons and nobody in his immediate vicinity seemed tout be heavily traumatized.
Yeah, it’s Liam who’s the massive douche. Noel is the one with the actual talent and he’s grand to be let out alone
How did Two Thousand women fall into bed with a grizzled pile of dirty laundry?
He’s verbally gifted, but not a math guy.
Great post Hecate – I love your style of writing.
That is all.
She must have been so high she had no idea what she was doing because who on earth in their right mind would marry this dude??
Brief hiatus and then he got married!! Lol! That’s SOOOME hiatus.
I will never understand what thought process ends in “and that’s how I decided to marry Russell Brand”.
They look happy–I am happy for them both. The only thing I wonder about is the age gap—42 to 30 seems a bit much to me. But, I am sure it works in some cases.
12 year age gap is like 2 years these days. As long as he didn’t marry her when she was a teenager/minor, it’s all good.
I agree with some posters here i CAN NOT stand that man. From his voice to his whole attire and his brand of comedy, and his off-putting personality and he gives me major jerk vibes.
That being said i understand he has said some nice/important things and he might even be a great activist, philanthropist or whatever. Well, people can be great at a few things, be super smart and be total jerks.
Thats what i think he is. But then again I don’t know him… it’s just my opinion.
The Andrew Sachs thing was my turnabout for Brand.
Such ignorant, cruel, thoughtless arrogance from someone who publicly pushed such gentle and grateful and thoughtful humility at his own rehab journey.
That Sachs *thing* was blown out of all proportion. Brand and Woss can be a pair of eejits but the media blew it out of the stratosphere. It was a slow news week
Yeah who would have thought a girl who grew up evangelical and a guy who has lived the kama sutra wouldn’t make it? I find him funny but gross looking. Like you could find Cheerios and the remote in his hair.
I don’t really care about these people, although I wish them a lifetime of happiness here.
Just wanted to comment that I love Hecate’s writing style, always makes my snarky, pessimist self smile!
He seems like a smart, good dude. I’m happy for them.