Gay couple celebrate extravagant 'designer' wedding

They're the millionaire gay couple who created three 'designer' children for themselves. Then they decided to get married and, like everything else in their lives, they didn't do anything by halves:

The Drewitt-Barlow wedding was always going to be more than a cup of tea and a slice of iced fruit cake. And so it was that a few days ago the town of Chelmsford was treated to a display of conspicuous consumption and dubious taste entirely in keeping with the jocular view of the county of Essex.

First up the drive of the Grade II-listed stately home trotted six white horses, their heads adorned with baby-pink feathered plumes. They dragged behind them a pumpkin-shaped Cinderella-style glass carriage that made its first — and many had hoped last — appearance at the wedding of glamour model Jordan and Peter Andre.

Behind them came four stretch limos ('They're worth £400,000') from which the principal players emerged into a phalanx of security guards hired to protect a five-figure exclusive deal with a women's magazine.

But forget for a minute the detail, the 250 arum and calla lilies, the cake from celebrity favourites Little Venice — what really sets this wedding apart from the norm are the happy couple themselves.

Granted, the fact that it is a gay wedding will shock few in 21st-century Britain, but the two men getting married are without doubt the most high-profile homosexual fathers in the country.

For this was the very special day of Barrie Drewitt and his partner Tony Barlow. Lest anyone could have forgotten, they are the multi-millionaires who made their fortune by selling their chemical research company in 1998 and then very publicly pursued their dream to become parents together.

After a five-year transatlantic battle, and with the help of some of the world's leading IVF doctors and three American women, they created their very own family. First came twins Saffron and Aspen, now six. They were created after two eggs from a donor were inseminated, one with Barrie's sperm, one with Tony's. The resulting embryos were then implanted into the womb of another woman.

Homosexual fathers

Two years after the twins were born, Barrie and Tony created Orlando. An egg was taken from the same genetic mother as in the twins' case and fertilised with Tony's sperm before being placed into the womb of a second surrogate.

Having stirred up an ethical storm, they then further stoked the controversy by becoming the first same-sex couple to be jointly named parents on their children's birth certificate. Ever since then, they have rarely been out of the headlines.

Hounded from their home by homophobes, they moved from Britain to Spain and then back again; they set up a private school and ended up in court after it was shut down; they showered their children with hundreds of thousands of pounds of designer goods and then fell out with the genetic mother, who accused them of raising spoilt brats.

But behind all the fizz and the fuss, the Mail can reveal that in recent months all their energies have been focused on fighting an altogether more important battle. Suffering from a persistent sore throat, in March 40-year-old Tony was diagnosed with cancer and told he had just four months to live if he did not have immediate treatment.

"To say we were devastated by the news of Tony's cancer is an understatement to say the least," explains Barrie, who met his partner 18 years ago in Manchester.

"We started organising the wedding in September last year and when we got the bad news we realised it was either going to be a really nice wedding or a bloody awful wake, so we thought we would invite everybody. It was to be a final farewell or a massive celebration of the rest of our lives.

"It came as a particular shock because Tony has never been a smoker or a heavy drinker, only drinking socially and never excessive amounts, even though a general diagnosis of throat cancer is seen by many to be related to either one or both habits."

So it was that arrangements for their civil ceremony and lavish reception for 250 guests were overshadowed by a gruelling seven-week regime of treatment. Referred to an ear, nose and throat specialist at the Essex County Hospital in Colchester, Tony underwent chemotherapy and radiotherapy, losing his hair and a considerable amount of weight.

Cancer scare

Although recently told he is in remission, he will have to undergo regular check-ups for the next two years to ensure the cancer does not return.

Unsurprisingly, throughout their ordeal the couple's three children have been their greatest inspiration. "Having the kids really drove Tony on," a friend said. "Having fought so hard to have them, the desire to see them grow up and to flourish was the ultimate motivation to get better. Tony and Barrie would do anything for their kids."

Indeed, their devotion to their children is well documented — as is the way in which they indulge the youngsters' every whim.

It was, for instance, Saffron's wish that she and the other six 'man-maids' (the happy couple's terminology for bridesmaids) be transported in Jordan's carriage to the wedding.

And while her Daddy (Barrie) and Dad (Tony) looked suitably stylish in cream suits and matching shoes, Saffron opted for a pink dress with netted skirts covered in tiny pink crystals, all set off with a dazzling necklace, bracelet and earring set.

No hand-me-downs these. After all, in the past year the couple have reportedly spent £40,000 on clothes for Saffron, and her wardrobe positively groans under the weight of outfits from Versace, Chloe and Gucci.

She has 150 pairs of shoes and £150,000-worth of handbags. And let's not forget the jewellery. "The most expensive thing I've bought is a £160,000 necklace for Saffron," Barrie told the Mail. "But it is soooo beautiful. I couldn't resist it. Oh, and I also got her two Faberge rings. They once belonged to Wallis Simpson."

Unsurprisingly, their approach to parenthood has not met with universal approval. Indeed, Tracie McCune, the woman whose donated eggs were used to create the three children, has been a vocal critic in the past.

"They have the money to do what they want and the result is that the children are terribly spoilt," the 41-year-old American said following a two-week visit to the family.

"The twins constantly whine and have tantrums if they don't get their own way. There are regular scenes in shops, with people turning to stare.

"But Barrie and Tony just back down and give them whatever they want. They seem to think it's cute when the children scream, but it won't be when the kids are 18.

"The kids probably don't realise the value of the labels on their clothes, but Barrie and Tony are always telling them. They'll say things like: "Oh, you're in your Tommy Hilfiger," or "Do you know you're wearing Dior?" '

And she added: "There is no discipline and no routine — not even a set bedtime. The twins are allowed to fall asleep in front of the television and are then taken up to Barrie and Tony's bed at about 11 o'clock at night. They sleep in the same bedroom, which I think is also a terrible mistake."

At the time, Barrie and Tony viewed such outspokenness as a serious betrayal of their trust. Indeed, they were so angry they vowed that the woman they had regarded as their 'best friend' be cut out of their children's lives entirely.

'Spoiled brats'

They told them that she wouldn't be coming back again — with Barrie adding that he was 'never going to let her see them again'.

Fast forward to last weekend's wedding and who should be very much in evidence? Step forward Tracie McCune. According to a close friend, she and the Drewitt-Barlows made up their differences some time ago.

"She comes over to visit from the States whenever she can — the disagreements are all in the past," the friend said.

Also centre stage was fellow American Rosalind Bellamy, the surrogate mother who carried the twins. Again, her presence was not exactly a given, since, shortly after giving birth to Saffron and Aspen, she too was involved in an almighty rift with Tony and Barrie.

Having been told that they wanted her to play a 'fundamental' role in their lives, she found herself quickly sidelined before being frozen out altogether.

An email sent from Barrie to her shortly after the birth read: "I do not want to get e-mails, telephone calls, letters or cards from you. Nor do we want you to contact any of your extended families."

But, again, just as with the biological mother Tracie, bridges have been rebuilt. As Barrie has told friends, the wedding was supposed to celebrate his and Tony's life together — in the past, present and future.

And looking towards the future, few will be surprised to learn that, not content with three children, the couple are busy planning a fourth.

They are looking for egg donors (Tracie is too old to donate now) and for a new surrogate mother. Rather like shopping for the latest designer trinket, they are able to make their initial selections by leafing through catalogues of potential donors.

"The top girls — the really pretty, really brainy ones — can ask whatever prices they want," Barrie explained in an interview with the Mail.

"When we started, we didn't understand how it worked at all. We said we wanted someone who was pretty. Then they said: 'What about a degree, a father who is a doctor or a lawyer?' We hadn't thought about all those things. But it matters.'

Many, of course, will find the commoditisation of the gift of a child's life in this way extremely distasteful. But in modern society, money is king — even when it comes to starting a family.

Creating the twins, for example, is estimated to have cost the couple something in the region of £500,000 thanks to the use of the very best in cutting-edge genetic technology.

After finding their egg donor (Tracie) and host mother (Rosalind), Barrie and Tony each fathered one of the twins using highly advanced — and controversial — medical techniques banned in Britain.

Genetic manipulation

Barrie's sperm was manipulated to create female children, resulting in his fathering Saffron; while Tony's was used to create male children, making him the biological father of Aspen.

Both men then made legal history: the first to be jointly named as parents on the twins' birth certificates, registered in the U.S.

Three years after the birth of the twins, they implanted another fertilised embryo from Ms McCune, stored on ice in a Californian laboratory, into the womb of a second surrogate, Donna Cellabrase. The result is Orlando, now three. Genetically, he is an identical twin to Aspen — even though they were born four years apart.

Obviously, the selection of a new donor for their fourth child will mean this link will be broken and extra-special care is being taken to identify a suitable individual.

"They are planning on flying candidates over from the States shortly so that they can interview them in Britain," said a friend. "It's all very well reading about them and seeing their photos, but for something as important as this it's essential to meet them face to face."

A costly exercise, of course, but then the Drewitt-Barlows would not appear to be unduly short of cash. Having made £4million from the sale of a dermatological testing business, they have recently reinvested heavily in the industry.

Their new company, Euroderm Research, has opened a string of cosmetic and medical research centres in the UK, Poland, Spain and America. Some £6million has been invested in clinics in Manchester and Edinburgh alone. It all means that when the children grow up, the good people of Essex can expect plenty more glitz and glamour from this extraordinary family. And, make no mistake, Barrie's already well ahead with the planning.

"Oh, Saffron's wedding day — I've lived it over and over in my head," Barrie said with obvious enthusiasm. "It's my favourite thing to daydream about. I've got this vision. She comes to the top of the stairs — the sweeping stairs I designed for our new house — and I'm standing at the bottom waiting for her. I look up — and she is absolutely radiant.

"She's wearing the dress I picked out for her. It's Stella McCartney, but made to my own design. And she's got on a diamond necklace, which cost £160,000 and was made by Harry Winston, Beverly Hills jeweller to the stars.

"Listen to me! I've got it all sorted out and we don't even know if she'll get married. Knowing my luck, she'll turn out to be a lesbian and won't be seen dead in a frock!" And as everyone knows, in the Drewitt-Barlow family anything is possible. Even the impossible.