MONKEY MARRIAGE
Our furry visitors mingled with guests
Dad, Jamie got to see my bedroom.
‘Wow! You like monkeys?’ he asked, seeing the cuddly toys. ‘A bit!’ I laughed. At Christmas time, Jamie added to my collection by giving me cuddly Mikey the monkey!
In May 2014, Jamie booked us a break in a hotel overlooking the River Tyne to celebrate our second anniversary – and proposed to me. Of course I said yes! We set the date for 7 August. We chose Jesmond Dene House hotel as the venue and began planning.
About a week before, Jamie made a funny crack, I can’t remember what, but I called him a cheeky monkey and he seemed upset.
‘What are you calling me that for?’ he snapped.
It was odd, but I just put it down to wedding nerves. Tying the knot at
2.30pm, we then needed the rings, and turned to the groomsmen.
Jamie had three best men, with Chris Kean, 30, in charge of the rings.
Only, he started patting his pockets.
‘Hold on,’ he told us, but then he dashed outside!
Panic began to rise, until Chris reappeared with another guest…
A rhesus macaque!
Clutching a white box, the monkey scampered up the aisle.
Handing the box to Chris, he passed the rings to our registrar. Everybody was giggling. ‘I can’t believe you got me a monkey,’ I said.
Typical Jamie to have a surprise up his sleeve!
At photo time, our furry primate became the star. There were actually two monkeys: Rosie and Poppy.
We weren’t allowed to stroke or feed the monkeys, but their handler instructed one to jump up on our shoulders for the photo shoot.
Well-trained, she sat there patiently, and I wasn’t at all worried about my dress.
Rosie and Poppy mingled well
with the crowd, and we’ve got some hilarious photos.
‘What a way to monkey around!’ chuckled my Dad, Ian Biggins, 60.
Jamie later revealed he’d spent £2,000 on the stunt. ‘I wanted to do something memorable,’ he grinned. It certainly was! How many people can say their wedding guests went ape?!