Alex Palmer described his summer as “incredible” and “special” having tied the knot and enjoyed a “once-in-a-lifetime” safari experience on honeymoon.
The Baggies goalkeeper married long-term partner Penny in Greece at the very end of May, with the happy couple jetting off to Africa to spend the first few weeks as Mr and Mrs Palmer in Kenya shortly after.
The 27-year-old, who won the Sky Bet Championship Golden Glove award last season, shared several photos and videos off their adventures on his Instagram account.
And Alex says it’s a summer he’ll remember for the rest of his life.
A summer to remember for @alex_palmer01! 💍🧤 pic.twitter.com/dEIRDegwkA
— West Bromwich Albion (@WBA) July 6, 2024
The stopper said: “It was an incredible summer.
“For our wedding, we went out to Greece for a week or so before the actual wedding so we were there with all our friends and family, which was really nice.
“Everyone told me to take a moment and take it all in on the day because it goes so quickly, which it did. We all had a really good time though and it was a really special day.
“A lot of how the wedding looked and how the wedding was planned was down to my wife, Penny. She’d throw ideas at me, but she was definitely the one having all the phone calls with the wedding planner and discussing everything in the build up to it. I’ve got to give all the credit to her.
“Jed Wallace came. We’re quite close off the pitch and we live in the same area. We’ve only known each other for a couple of years but we get on really well.
“It’s actually really difficult with the off season because everyone wants to go away and it was tough to gauge when we were going to finish as a result of being in the play-offs.
“Everyone has loads of different plans with their own family and friends away from football.
“A few of the other lads were invited, Okay being one of them but obviously he’s gone off with Turkiye and they’ve done really well at the Euros which is great to see.
“It’s difficult to expect everyone to drop their plans.
“The honeymoon was an incredible, once-in-a-lifetime experience. We went to Kenya.
“It started off in quite a stressful way actually. There were one or two issues with the visas, but thankfully that all got resolved and after being so close to missing out on it all, it made it even more special.
“If we had missed out on that experience knowing what we know now, it would’ve been gutting.
“It was always something we’ve wanted to do and it’s always been on the bucket list. It really was so special.”
Despite being a world away from his usual position between the sticks at The Hawthorns, the beautiful game managed to find a way to bring Palmer and local people in the village together for a kickabout in front of the Kenyan sunset.
“Playing football with the local kids was probably one of my highlights.
“You go to the local villages and it really does make you realise how lucky you are. What I would say though, is that one of the biggest things I took from that experience was how happy and how smiley everyone was.
“They were asking so many questions and they wanted to know so much.
“They were so enthusiastic and I had to be told to leave to head back because we were on a schedule.
“It was a really special experience and I’m so thankful they let us experience their culture.”
Alex returned to Albion at the end of June ready for the start of pre-season.
The academy graduate, who didn’t miss a single minute of league action in 2023/24, believes he’s settled back into the “swing of things” following his whirlwind break.
“The first part of pre-season has been tough. I think having such a good summer, pre-season brings you back to earth pretty quickly.
“However, seeing the lads, getting back out on the grass, doing all the stuff with Marcos (Abad) the goalkeeper coach and getting into sessions with Josh (Griffiths) and Ted (Cann), you really do get back into the swing of things pretty quickly.
“It’s been really enjoyable so far, but once the games start you know you’re getting closer to the start of the season.
“We’ve obviously had the fixtures too and it’s a tough start for us on paper, but we’re all really looking forward to the season starting.”
