had been dressed in formal wedding clothes, standing at the altar in
front of family and friends, when the officiating minister at their
wedding asked if there was anyone who had anything against them getting
married. Shockingly, a woman stood and said: “I do”.
Gobsmacked
guests immediately turned around to pin the woman with their gaze but
she refused to back down but insisted she was against the marriage.
best man stood and walked up to confront her. She then revealed that the
couple were already married. Turns out it was a prank staged by the
couple who had had a secret wedding earlier. The couple, from
Rawtenstall in Lancashire, staged the nuptial for their loved ones,
months after they had already wed in secret while on holiday at
Rhinestone Wedding Chapel in Nashville, Tennessee, in March.
It also turns out that both the officiating minister David Crowley, the
best man Dan Hoffman-Gill, and the woman who objected, Celia Perkins,
were all actors from Mark’s drama company, Hard Graft Theatre. The
actress objected to the union on the grounds that both were already
married to each other.
Mark, 50, explained they rehearsed their
dramatic timing in such a way that it would take guests’ eyes off the
ceremony for a while so a video of the legal wedding ceremony in the
States can be projected on the screen.
Mark, of Hardman Avenue,
said: “We didn’t set out to do anything different but once the seed was
sown we had the recipe for an amazing (possibly terrible) day. We hedged
our bets that it would work out. We just wanted to do something a bit
theatrical, we’ve got a flair for a drama.”
He added: “We were
worried about people being upset because it’s extremely sneaky to have
been married three months and not even told our children. We hadn’t worn
rings until the ceremony and we thought that was really important. But
it has taught us how important marriage is and how important the sharing
of your love with your family and friends is, and it was amazing to
exchange rings.”
guests, the couple had a celebratory and wedding reception. GP
receptionist and nurse Joanne, 49, admitted they only felt properly
married once they had made the declaration public. After their big
reveal, their family and friends were impressed and thought it was
brilliant.