Croatian star Belinda Bedekovi? is a Shropshire wedding guest *
Belinda is used to having bodyguards with her when she travels Europe playing the keytar – a mix of electric guitar and keyboard.
But yesterday, the glamorous 44-year-old was overjoyed to take the back seat as she accompanied her fiancé from Shropshire, Terence Garbett, to his daughter’s wedding at Christ Church in Wellington, Telford.
Despite having celebrity status in some European countries, especially in Croatia and Germany, Belinda does not yet have the same followers in Britain.
In fact, she didn’t even visit these shores before arriving last week in preparation for the wedding.
Belinda said: “I didn’t get a chance to see a lot of Shropshire because it was so busy preparing for the wedding.
“But I hope to have a chance to look around now, and today we plan to go to London for two or three days.
“I’ve never been to England so everything is new to me. The houses look different than in other parts of the world – they have that old, historic style.”
Belinda said that, although the famous culture is not as intense in Croatia as in Britain, she still enjoys a break from the spotlight.
She said: “Croatia is a small country, so we don’t have big stars in the same way as you in England or America.
“I can normally walk through Zagreb Square. People sometimes stare or ask for a photo, but it’s okay.
“I really enjoyed my time in Shropshire and plan to spend time between here and Croatia to be with Terry.
“The only problem is I’m afraid of flying.”
And Belinda enjoyed replacing the cold Croatian breakfast with English frying.
She added: “Terry made me an English breakfast and I adore it.”
Design engineer Terence of Wellington flooded newspapers and magazines when he proposed to Belinda last November.
The happy couple enjoyed a stormy romance. Terence, 64, first met Belinda’s incredible talent for keytar on her YouTube channel on the internet.
His daughter Danielle bought him tickets to see Belinda at a concert in Austria.
Terence managed to catch Belinda’s eye and she called him backstage. They stayed in touch and the romance blossomed.
Every thought of a modest engagement was dispelled when the MP witnessed the proposal in a Zagreb restaurant and reported the story to the media.
But Terence is now getting used to his financial fame – and the couple plans to get married in Telford next year before moving to one of Belinda’s four homes in Croatia.
Preparing for yesterday’s wedding between Terence’s daughter Danielle Garbett, 27, and Edward Davies, 30, was Belinda’s first opportunity to meet her family’s finances face-to-face.
Terence said: “It was really nice to have Belinda here and it’s great that she met the kids.
“I was planning to show her the sights of Shropshire, but we didn’t really have time. I’ll still have a chance in the future.”
Belinda added: “It was great to meet Terry’s family. We’ve already talked on Skype and it’s like I’ve known them for 10 years.”
Belinda has just finished her last European tour, and before that she has performed all over America.
She is the daughter of an opera singer and classical guitarist, and began writing music at the age of seven.
Among her demands for fame is writing and producing music for Sach Baron Cohen’s film Borat, which grossed more than £ 150 million at the box office.
She appeared alongside Cohen playing her keytar on Conan O’Brien’s show in America, watched by millions.
Belinda, known as “the fastest finger on a remote keyboard”, also won the Golden Koogl Award in 2007 as the instrumentalist of the year in Croatia and was nominated for Woman of the Year in a Croatian magazine.
She recently wrote a song about her love for Terence.
Edward Davies and Danielle Garbett, who have three young children, were married by the Rev. Alastair Wood yesterday at noon (SUN).
Mr Davies said: “Belinda is a very down-to-earth person. She is quite modest and comes from a family background.
“We’re really pleased she could be here.”
The reception was held at the Shropshire Golf Center in Muxton.