‘Take this, er, mobile phone as a symbol of my love...’
WACKY WEDDING WAS FULL OF FUN FOR EVERYONE INVOLVED!
A PAIR of flamboyant florists cocked a snoop at tradition with a wacky wedding – replacing the usual ceremony and reception with highlights such as drag queen bingo and a champagne reception on a double decker bus.
Not only did John Voyle, 61, and Richard Allison, 48, replace the usual ring exchange with top-ofthe-range mobile phones, but there was not a bloom in sight – even though they run a flower shop in Leicester.
And the couple kept the unconventional order of service a complete surprise for the 65 guests who joined them at Anstey Frith House, Glenfield, for the ceremony and celebrations.
Richard said: “Our big day would not be most people’s idea of the perfect wedding, but it was absolutely perfect for us. It was emotional, hilarious and, at times, bonkers!
“We decided to strip everything away from our wedding day that would cause worry or hassle for anyone attending, especially ourselves.
“Out went the speeches, the cake and, even though we’re florists, even the flowers. No first dance, no extended ceremony or customary vows.
“Our focus was on fun, as this would be the first time many had been to a good shindig since the pandemic began – and it paid off.”
John and Richard, who met through mutual friends 28 years ago, moved in together within two months.
They finally got engaged on Christmas Day last year.
Richard said: “John surprised me on Christmas morning with a proposal on Hunstanton Beach in Norfolk with a cinnamon ring doughnut and, even then, we knew we wanted to do things differently.
“Neither of us wear any jewellery, so we didn’t see the point in buying rings.”
He added: “At first, we wanted a super simple wedding, but it escalated and the pair of us started planning more things to make each other laugh. When it came to what we were going to exchange instead of rings, it started off as a joke but quickly turned real.”
Both wanting to buy new phones, they decided that instead of swapping rings at the altar, they would give each other new phones instead.
Richard said: “We’d been eyeing up the new Samsung phones. We really wanted a Galaxy ZFlip3 and the Galaxy ZFold3 so we thought, why not buy them as wedding presents to ourselves?
“We made a joke of it, saying we were going to exchange them instead of rings as a way to communicate more with each other. “It was a bit of fun.”
On the big day, their family and friends had no idea what to expect.
Richard said: “Everyone was so relaxed. The laughs were there from the offset. The registrar was hilarious and did an amazing job of easing our nerves while entertaining the crowd. When she called up our nephews to bring the phones for us to exchange, the room filled with laughter.”
Following the ceremony, the wedding entourage enjoyed a game of bingo, hosted by a local drag queen, before boarding the champagne bus to the reception.
Richard said: “The bus took us into town and dropped us off at the Knight and Garter to be greeted by the most amazing saxophonist, Rob Charles, playing over a backing track of Ibiza classics.
“Fanny (the drag queen) was entertaining all the guests. She had asked us previously if we wanted her to tone it down. Not in a month of Sundays! We told her to go for it and were laughing so hard, it hurt.
“Our day matched our personalities exactly, which is why it was perfect for us. Just a fun day full of love and laughter.”