Toon-mad groom arrives by tractor
NEWCASTLE United fan Stuart Johnson turned tractor boy when he wed his bride Leanne in Hexham.
However the lifelong Toon fan hadn’t switched allegiance to Ipswich Town on the day, whose fans are called the Tractor Boys.
With the help of his friend David Henderson he arrived for his wedding to Leanne at Hexham Abbey in a tractor bedecked in black and white colours and complete with Newcastle United badge.
While it stunned and amused passers-by in the Northumberland town, the sight brought a tear to the eye of his bride.
Leanne said: “It was the only time I cried during the day, when I saw him on the tractor – I knew he’d be buzzing.”
The pair got married on Friday in Hexham Abbey, where they had planned for 104 guests.
Leanne said: “When we looked outside the abbey, when the tractor arrived there was twice that number of people watching.”
Stuart, 34, who works at the Egger factory in Hexham, said he hit on the idea with his pal who runs David Henderson Tractors there.
“I’m a massive Newcastle United fan and so is he and we thought it would be something special to turn up to my wedding in.
“I was tempted to wear my Newcastle United top for the wedding but in the end did wear a suit.
“However the page boys wore their Newcastle shirts and we had a Newcastle United cake.”
Leanne, 28, who works at Waitrose was aware of the plan beforehand. “The joke is Newcastle United is his first love and there’s this thing about a wedding being the girl’s day.”
However they decided to change that and it certainly made a stir.
The tractor drove down the street towards the abbey with spotlights blazing.
“All the cars were blinded,” said Leanne.
“He drove all the way through, posing. It was a fantastic way to do it and made it a really memorable day.”