Wedding bells are chiming for Matildas superstar Sam Kerr, as she prepares to tie the knot with American soccer player Kristie Mewis just in time for the New Year.
After a two and a half year engagement, during which they welcomed their first child Jagger Mewis-Kerr, the couple will finally wed in a ceremony Down Under. Though exact details around the wedding remain under wraps, Mewis – a former West Ham United player – recently shared a few hints on a podcast, including where they’re getting hitched, the guest list, and the role their baby boy will play in the ceremony.
Professional soccer players Sam Kerr and Kristie Mewis will finally tie the knot this New Year’s Eve.Credit: PA Images via Getty Images
So, here’s everything we know so far about what some have dubbed the “Australian royal wedding”.
Where and when will the wedding take place?
The couple will marry in Perth, Kerr’s hometown, later on Wednesday – just in time to ring in 2026 with their loved ones.
The exact venue is yet to be shared, however Mewis told her sister (former professional soccer player Sam Mewis) on their podcast Mewis Squared that the ceremony will take place at a recently renovated private home.
“We saw the venue like a year and a half, two years ago, and they’ve done so many renovations … to it [since]. It’s absolutely gorgeous, it’s everything we want it to be,” Mewis said on the podcast, which landed on December 20.
She also hinted that the venue isn’t waterside, meaning it could be warmer than a typical seaside wedding, especially as Western Australia sweats through the hottest start to summer on record.
“I’m a little bit nervous about the heat. It is going to be a very hot Australian summer.”
Timing-wise, Mewis said the ceremony will begin later in the day given they want to be able to properly celebrate the New Year come midnight. This means they will have time to prepare and (hopefully) relax beforehand, including, Mewis said, a sleep-in, many coffees and perhaps a mimosa or two.
Who will be there?
They will tie the knot in front of around 120 people, some of whom will surely be fellow Matildas players.
“It’s a lot of people. I know people have way bigger weddings than that, but that’s a lot for me to wrap my head around,” Mewis said. “Talking to 120 people in one night is a lot, and the thing that worries me is that I won’t be able to give enough time to everybody, so that’s what I’m stressing about right now.”
Will their baby be in the wedding?
While seven-month-old Jagger won’t have a specific role in the wedding, such as flower boy or ring-bearer, Mewis insisted he would still make an appearance.
“Sam is going to walk with him down the aisle, which is very, very, very sweet,” she said. “That’s going to be gut-wrenching for me, like I will sob when that happens.”
Cuter still, she added that Jagger, who was born in early May, will be wearing a mini outfit to match Kerr’s.
Speaking of outfits...
It sounds like Mewis will wear multiple outfits throughout the evening, though the specifics (designer, style, etc.) remain hush-hush.
“One of my looks is all set, I just finished it this morning,” she said on her podcast earlier this month.
The couple have also already posted a few pre-wedding looks on Instagram, including a picture of the pair in coordinated white outfits.
Kristie Mewis (left) and Sam Kerr (right) match in white ahead of their Perth wedding.Credit: Instagram/@kmewis19
Vows, honeymoons and everything in-between
Mewis and Kerr, who currently plays for Chelsea in the Women’s Super League and captains the Matildas, will share their own personal vows during the wedding. Mewis said she had been jotting down thoughts and memories in her notes app over the years – “keeping tabs on [their] love story”, as she put it – and would use that to craft her vows ahead of the ceremony.
“I’m not going to be able to get through them, I’m so nervous of just sobbing through them,” Mewis said.
Though she’s never considered their wedding any different from others, Mewis said she still feels a certain level of responsibility to acknowledge that they are having a queer wedding.
“We don’t want to make it a big deal, we want to normalise it. But at the same time I do want to acknowledge and celebrate that it’s a little bit different and that maybe we should put a little more thought into what we’re doing as two women to show other people this is normal, this is OK and this is beautiful.”
As for after the wedding, the couple don’t have any concrete honeymoon plans yet, namely because Kerr has games to attend. However, Mewis said they’re discussing potentially going to the Men’s World Cup, which will be co-hosted by Canada, Mexico and the US next year.
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