WHIRLWIND WEDDING
Couple organise marriage in 48 hours to beat the lockdown
A Sunderland couple have described their ‘miracle’ day after the second national lockdown threatened to cancel the wedding they’d waited three years for.
Newly-weds Mark and Emily Turnbull, of Grangetown, had been planning their big day for more than three years and were due to tie the knot at D oxford Barns, in Northumberland, on what would be the sixth anniversary of their first date on November 14.
But when the Government announced a second national lock down, their dreams came crashing down as all weddings would be cancelled.
With groom-to-be Mark, 37, who works in the Royal Navy, the couple wouldn’t be able to gamble on dates to reschedule next year as they didn’t know when the Leading Hand would be on leave.
Instead the couple faced cancelling the dream day they had waited for since Mark popped the question on New Year’s Eve 2017, during a surprise trip to Venice.
On Monday, November 2, just three days before the lockdown, 30-year-old Emily had the ‘crazy idea’ of trying to bring the wedding forward.
“On the way to work I called the registrar sand they said they could do it as long as our venue could,” said Emily, a school counsellor.
"I called the venue and they said that they’d get my wedding coordinator to call back.
"After my first meeting I had a missed call, I rang them straight back and they said they could do it for Wednesday.
"It was then that I rang my now husband to see if he wanted to get married in two days’ time. He was just taken aback but said of course.”
Emily then emailed the 14 guests, as well as businesses hired to provide flowers, the cake, as well as the photographer and videographer, and is ‘eternally grateful’ to everyone who pulled strings to make their wedding an unforgettable day.
"I was running around like ahead less chicken ,” laughed Emily. “One on my bridesmaids was only told she could get the time off work less than 24 hours before. It was a whirlwind few days.
"Everything was amazing, all the suppliers and the venue were superb I couldn’t fault them and for it to be pulled together with just 48 hours notice everything was just as we’d hoped.
"We were both devastated and in bits when we found
out we wouldn’t be able to get married on the 14th. To go from a huge low to such a high the next day when we realised we could make it happen. It was indescribable, it was a miracle.”
The next day, the coup le had the joy of sharing the news with family and friends, who couldn’t attend because of restrictions.
The couple, who met on a blind date, are hoping to
plan their honeymoon for next year inline with the movements of the naval shift Mark works on.
"It was a surreal and magical day. We sat on the first day of lockdown looking at our wedding cards and we just couldn’t believe it.
"We’re eternally grateful to all of the staff at Doxford Barns and all of the businesses who made our day so special.”