Darts professional Nathan Aspinall has banned the sport from his wedding this Saturday, even though he has invited around 20 fellow players, including Luke Humphries. The world number 15 will marry his long-term partner Kirsty, mother of their two children, at Cheshire's Peckforton Castle.
Aspinall, 35, said he and his fiancée agreed on a darts-free celebration, although he joked that the sport has funded the event. He quipped: "I don't play darts when I'm supposed to play darts, so I won't be playing darts when I don't have to!"
No darts talk on the big day
He added: "My missus has to put up with a lot of darts talk - that's our life. And one of the main rules was there's no darts involved at all. So we'll keep it that way."
"I'll probably say in my speech that the darts paid for this wedding. But that's about it. That's about as far as we're going to go."
Aspinall admitted it is "nervy times" ahead of the nuptials, and he has already shaved off his beard, which had annoyed Kirsty. She was left "raging" when he grew it in 2024 and vowed to keep it until he won a major tournament.
He confirmed: "My facial hair is gone. My missus hated it and she didn't come anywhere near me for four months so subsequently, I have needs, so I got rid of it!"
Luke Littler misses out
Several players will attend the big day. Aspinall said: "It's gonna be amazing - there's a lot of darts lads there. There's a reason I booked it when I did - it's the first week in August so it's after the match play, before Australia so everyone who's gonna be coming, ie the darts lot, are gonna be off."
"So [Luke] Humphries is coming but [Luke] Littler has buggered me off - he's gone to Florida with the family. But the people that I want there are all coming, probably apart from Luke."
He added: "It's gonna be amazing - there are probably about 20 lads there from the darts and obviously all their friends and family. It's gonna be an amazing day. It's cost me a fortune - that's why I've got to keep playing!"
Dancefloor moves and Lionesses encounter
Aspinall is excited to show off his dance moves, as the castle previously hosted a wedding for R&B singer Ciara and NFL quarterback Russell Wilson in 2016, with Destiny's Child stars including Kelly Rowland in attendance. He said: "Apparently Beyonce was there a few years ago…. I can shift a few moves!"
He also recounted an impromptu meeting with the Lionesses during his stag do. While wearing a wedding dress at Manchester airport on his way to Ibiza, he bumped into England footballer Ella Toone, who was wearing a Manchester City kit as a prank. They ended up on the same flight and later met at O Beach.
Aspinall said: "They were brilliant. I was in a wedding dress, she was in a City kit. We got chatting, and realised they were going to Ibiza. So on our Jet2 flight was me and all the darts lads, and all the Lionesses - the people that are in the middle must have been going ‘what the hell is going on here?’"
He praised Mary Earps: "I must give Mary Earps a shout out - she was amazing. I spent about an hour with Mary, she was a lovely woman - it was dead fun."
When asked who drank more, he laughed: "There is no one that can compete with the darts lot. I had a few mates come that were big into rugby, and they were like: ‘We thought rugby players could drink - you guys are something else.’ So, hands down the darts lot."
Return to darts
Aspinall's first event after his stag do and a golfing holiday in Majorca was the PDC Presents The Hyde Park Darts Championship last month, where he advised Big Brother presenter AJ Odudu to "have a drink" to improve her aim. He explained: "It calms your nerves a little bit. Obviously, when we're playing big tournaments, we can't, but when we do these type of fun events, we have a couple of beers, it relaxes you."
He added: "Because it's a bit out of our comfort zone as well - being mic'd up, we don't normally do that. We’re normally quite in our shell. Get a couple of wines down!"
He concluded: "Obviously, there's a lot of ability that's involved, but when you get to the level that we're at, it's all between the ears."
