RUGBY star Josh Navidi tied the knot with fiancee Ellé Holley in the shadow of the Sugar Loaf last week - days after returning from Wales’ tour of South Africa.

The duo married in front of 150 family and friends at the newly opened £5m Sant Ffraed House wedding venue between Abergavenny and Raglan a week last Saturday (July 23).

And Josh said: “Ellé looked incredible, and it was the best day of our lives.

“The day surpassed our wildest expectations a million times over.

“The team at the venue were incredible, and to bring all of our friends and family together for a whole weekend of celebrations was something special.”

It was one of the first weddings at Sant Ffraed after a year-long £1.5m makeover by the Oldwalls Collection, who acquired the former Llansantffraed Country House Hotel for £3.5m.

Stunning pictures by Lauren Amelia Photography captured the day for Josh and Elle, who got engaged on holiday last summer.

Josh wanted to complete his wedding speech away from the training field on tour, and said he might have to get some help from his brother and best man Sam, whose Bridgend-based business Navidi Hair Company provided hairdressing duties on the day.

Oldwalls, who also run the award-winning Oldwall and Fairyhill hotels on the Gower, announced that the new 330-acre venue was open on July 11, saying: “Over the last 12 months, our incredible team have worked around the clock to develop, arguably, one of the most unique wedding venues in Wales.

“Juxtapose a picturesque estate in Abergavenny, a striking Grade II-listed building and an ultra modern glass construction (The K Room) to present… Sant Ffraed House by Oldwalls.

“The 100-year-old property has been brought to life with swathes of luxurious fabric, an abundance of contemporary artwork, eye-catching interiors, and many a lick of paint.

“Whilst the K Room, boasting unparalleled views of the picture-perfect destination and a bar that would be befitting of a luxury Mayfair hotel speaks for itself.

“We would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to our incredible management team, thank you for developing the vision, our 40-plus strong brand new operations team for delivering the vision and last but not least, the lovely couples who believed in the vision and trusted the Oldwalls Collection enough to book a wedding venue that was under construction.

We hope the result is everything you envisioned and more.”

To announce the purchase last year, Oldwalls posted photos of model ‘brides’ in hard hats ready to dig in and develop the venue.

The estate dates back as far as the 12th century, with parts of the building dating back to the late 1600s, although most of the country house was built in 1912, designed by Fairfax Blomfield Wade-Palmer and C Frankis for a member of the Herbert family, who were major local landowners.