Scroll to the bottom for your chance to win a Henry Pet vacuum worth £179.99!
Our guests had gathered for my daughter's christ__ening. But they were in for a big surprise. By Hannah Clayton, 29
As I sat next to my fiancé Darren in the church, I turned to him and blurted out the question that had been on my mind.
‘Shall we just get married?’ I asked.
He looked at me wide-eyed.
‘What?’ he replied.
We were booking our nine-month-old daughter Bryony’s christening, and I figured that as we were at the church we might as well set a date for our wedding as well.
Darren and I also had a three-year-old son, George. We’d been together eight years and engaged for four.
‘We’ve waited long enough,’ I said.
As Darren thought it through, another idea sprung into my mind.
‘Why don’t we combine the christening and the wedding,’ I said. ‘But keep the wedding secret until the day.’
Darren laughed.
‘That’s actually a good idea,’ he said. ‘A bit nuts, but I like it.’
After we’d agreed that was what we wanted to do, I explained our plans to the vicar.
He rubbed his temple in confusion.
‘So, what am I booking?’ he asked.
‘A christening and a wedding,’ I said.
‘At the same time,’ Darren added.
The vicar chuckled.
‘This sounds like it’s going to be an interesting day,’ he said.
We agreed a date for 10 weeks’ time and I threw myself into planning.
But keeping the wedding a secret proved more difficult than expected.
One day, we were making table decorations, when the doorbell rang.
Darren and I looked at each other in horror.
‘Expecting someone?’ he asked.
I shook my head.
‘Whoever it is, get rid of them,’ I said.
He peered out the window and said: ‘It’s your grandparents.’
‘Distract them,’ I said.
In a panic, I gathered the decorations and crafting supplies together and shoved them into a cupboard.
But when it came to choosing a wedding dress, I wanted my mum Sharon by my side.
So, I decided to share our secret with her.
When I told her, she was overwhelmed with emotion and her eyes welled with tears.
‘Am I really the only one who knows?’ she asked.
'They'll never guess a thing'
‘Yes, but I’m going to tell the bridesmaids too,’ I said.
They were my next port of call.
At first, they thought I was joking, until I showed them a picture of their dresses.
‘I trust you all to keep it a secret,’ I said. ‘That’s why you’re all here in first place.’
Weeks later, we went for a spa day to celebrate my secret hen do.
On Facebook I posted a picture of us all, and underneath I wrote: Girls weekend away.
‘They’ll never guess a thing,’ I said, clinking champagne glasses with the girls.
But as Darren’s friends were unaware of our upcoming nuptials, he missed out on a stag do.
A few guests told us they were unable to attend the christening and I felt guilty.
I knew they’d have made the extra effort if they’d known it was also our wedding day.
I told Darren: ‘I hope they won’t be too upset.’
But he reassured me.
‘People will understand,’ he said.
When the wedding day finally arrived, I was a bag of nerves.
As I got ready, I told Mum:
‘I should have kept it as a christening. I don’t know what
I was thinking.’
‘Stop worrying,’ she said. ‘Everyone will love it.’
Arriving at the church, I barely spoke to the 100 guests we’d invited. I felt frightened I’d slip up and give the game away.
So, I shuffled off to my seat and kept my head down.
When the vicar finally began, I sighed with relief.
The christening was a welcome distraction, as it kept my mind from what was coming next.
At the end of the service, the vicar asked everyone to come up to take pictures with Bryony and that was my cue to slip out to a back room with the bridesmaids to change into our dresses.
If people noticed us leaving, they’d just think we were going to the toilet.
Once in the room, it was a rush to get ready.
The bridesmaids helped me into my dress first, before helping each other into theirs.
George, who was a page boy kept peering out the door.
‘George!’ I said. ‘Get away from there, people will see.’
Flustered and out of breath, we grabbed our bouquets and took our place behind the door.
My grandad David, who was giving me away, slipped in.
‘Ready?’ he asked.
‘No!’ I replied.
He chuckled.
‘Well, you look beautiful,’ he said, kissing my cheek.
Suddenly, I heard Elvis Presley’s Can’t Help Falling in Love.
My heart hammered in my chest as the bridesmaids pushed through the doors and stepped down the aisle.
There were murmurs of confusion from the crowd.
Then, when everyone spotted me behind the bridesmaids in my full-length, white gown, they gasped.
‘Oh, my goodness! They’re getting married,’ I heard someone whisper.
I stared straight ahead, unsure whether the look of shock on people’s faces would make me laugh or cry. When I reached the end of the aisle, I giggled when I saw how stunned Darren’s best man Ben, looked.
He’d only found out about his best man duties when Darren had handed him a pin flower while the bridesmaids and I got changed.
He’s probably worried he’ll have to do a speech, I thought.
As Darren and I were pronounced man and wife, everyone stood and applauded.
‘Well deserved,’ the vicar said. ‘That was quite a performance.’
After, our guests swarmed around us, wanting to know how we’d managed to pull it off.
Darren’s mum hugged us.
Luckily, she and everyone else who we hadn’t told took it well and saw the funny side.
Everyone went to a pub where we’d reserved tables for a meal.
There, Ben looked pale.
‘Listen, I’m sorry, guys,’ he said. ‘I really don’t think I can pull a speech off on the spot.’
Darren and I laughed.
‘We wouldn’t ask you to do that,’ Darren said. ‘We’ve asked Helen instead.’
‘What?’ Ben said, stunned.
We explained we’d asked his wife Helen if their girls could be flower girls, and she’d also volunteered to do the speech.
Ben let out a sigh of relief.
‘Thank goodness!’ he said.
When Helen stood up, she was hilarious.
‘She’s put you to shame!’ I joked to Ben.
Everyone cheered and raised their glasses at the end.
Back home, in Brymbo, Wrexham, I told Darren: ‘I’d do it all over again.’
Our wedding might not have been the most extravagant, but it’s one everyone will remember.
We’re now going on honeymoon as a family. It’s only fair to let Bryony gatecrash our honeymoon, after we stole the show at her christening.
