Couple celebrate guests’ big day

AS any happily-married couple will tell you, the secret to a perfect wedding day is for the guests not to outshine the star attraction.

But when those same guests are statuesque blondes, beautiful brunettes and eye-catching exotic models, it’s easier said than done.

An upstaging of Pippa Middleton proportions took place in Dublin’s registry office yesterday, as John Compton and his long-term partner Marlon Jimenez tied the knot in a civil partnership.

John, who owns Compton’s Modelling Agency, and his partner of seven years, Marlon, who is originally from Venezuela, became civil partners during a ceremony which took place at midday.

As our picture shows, among the 40 guests celebrating the memorable day with them were models, singers and presenters who — despite their best intentions — may have just managed to steal the spotlight from the newlyweds.

Close friends of the happy couple who attended the event included model/booker Gail Kaneswaren and her colleagues at the agency, Lisa Cummins, Caoilinn Taylor, Lynn Pagi and Emma Buckley.

Vivienne Connolly, the former wife of Ben Dunne’s son Mark, also acted as best woman to her business associate John.

The event had been promoted in Dublin's high society circles since the start of the year and included a 48-hour party earlier this month in anticipation of the ceremony.

While the day was ultimately about the two people who were tying the knot it was, of course, also a useful opportunity to gain media coverage for some of the guests.

As Pippa Middleton’s rise to fame and (even more) fortune can testify, weddings can often be important moments as much for the guests as for those at the centre of the day — whatever happily-married couples might tell you.