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Two years
ago, would-be model Julie Anne Friedman, a Des Moines department
store heiress living in Los Angeles, informed her parents that she
would be going on the road with Duran Duran's pouty keyboardist,
Nick Rhodes, whom she had met at a party two weeks earlier. Her
parents, Bill and Jo Ann ("Johnnie"), pillars of Des Moines business
and civic life, were none too pleased. Says Bill, 50, president
of Younkers, a chain of 29 Midwest department stores, "There was
a normal parental reaction of concern. We didn't think it was a
wholesome situation."
Well, it became a lot more wholesome on Aug. 18 as a teary-eyed
Julie, 25, and Rhodes, 22, were married at a London registrar's
office. He was the third member of the supergroup to wed. True,
the groom wore almost as much makeup as the bride, and true his
best man was a woman (singer Elayne Griffiths, his "best friend
outside the band"). Julie's parents were still delighted to see
their elder daughter finally married. Observed Johnnie, 50, "It
seemed the right step."
On the morning of the wedding, Johnnie and her younger daughter,
Patti, 20 (maid of honor), and best man/woman Griffiths had their
hair done by L.A. stylist Angelo Di Biase, who was flown in for
the occasion. Only immediate family members were invited to the
civil ceremony. No problem: royal photographer Norman Parkinson
was there to shoot the double-ring wedding--presumably not for MTV.
The 10:30 a.m. ceremony was followed that night by a wedding bash
at the Savoy hotel, with a guest list that included the entire band,
Dallas' Linda Gray, actor Michael Brandon and Paul and Linda McCartney's
daughter, Heather, 21.
Julie's parents began warming to Rhodes when they flew to New York
to meet him a year and a half ago. "We found him to be hardworking,
goal directed and talented," says Bill. "He is extremely nice to
our daughter." It didn't hurt that Rhodes is a light drinker, adds
Dad, and to his knowledge, not involved with drugs. Besides, the
couple share interests in art deco, fine wines, wildlife and games
like Trivial Pursuit and Scrabble.
The groom's parents, however, had reservations about the pairing.
It's not that Roger and Sylvia Bates (Rhodes is their son's stage
name) do not like Julie; they think Nick is just too young. When
asked on the wedding day if he believed his son was ready for marriage,
Roger, a Birmingham contractor, replied, "I'd rather not answer."
No matter. It was the Friedmans' show. The bride's family celebrated
with 75 guests from the U.S., and then retired to a $435-a-night
suite at the Savoy from which they organized a stream of parties,
a theater outing and a cruise down the Thames.
Some 400 Duran Duran devotees waited outside the hotel as the 219
guests arrived for the lavish sit-down dinner of salmon and stuffed
lamb. (Duran's Simon Le Bon, with girlfriend Clare Stansfield, a
19-year-old model, hinted he might be next to tie the knot, reportedly
announcing, "I'm deeply in love with Clare. She's the one for me.")
The decorations included six live pink flamingos, in keeping with
the couple's penchant for art deco. The bride, in a pink-and-white
skintight gown, and the groom, in pale blue shirt and a mauve cutaway
with tails, cut the three-tiered cake from Harrod's and danced until
1 a.m. before joining their parents to open presents. (The Friedmans
gave them a sterling service for 12.) The next day the pair left
for three-week cruise aboard a private yacht to the Greek islands.
The Friedmans won't say how much the whole shebang cost, although
Johnnie allowed (in a gross understatement) "a lot." But that's
okay: They haven't lost a daughter, they've gained a million dollar
entertainment conglomerate for a son. So far, it's a dazzling mix
of love and money.
Pictures of Nick and Julie Anne at their wedding can be seen at
the Saintly
Women Photo Album.
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