A bride forced to cancel her dream wedding four times due to coronavirus was given a day she’ll never forget thanks to a kind-hearted lottery winner.
The frustrated fiancee from Truro, Cornwall, was so fed-up with postponements she decided to organise her wedding in just four days.
But that meant she had to sacrifice a glamorous car to take her to the church and settled for her dad’s old Audi.
So the pretty bride-to-be couldn’t believe her eyes when she stepped outside on her wedding day to be greeted by a top of the range Bentley chauffeured by lotto winner Peter Congdon.
Unbeknownst to the bride, a close family friend had other ideas about the big day and having heard stories in the past about Lottery winner Peter’s generosity, got in touch with him to find out if he was free on the day and whether he would be able to help.
Peter, who won £13m in May 2015, was more than happy to oblige and on the morning of the wedding he stepped in to drive the bride and her family in his limited edition, cricket ball red, Bentley Continental Convertible.
The surprised bride said “I couldn’t believe my eyes when I stepped outside in my wedding dress to see Peter and his Bentley. It was such an incredible moment.
“We drove to the venue through the centre of Truro with the roof down and people all along the way were stopping to clap and wish me well. Honestly, I felt like Kate Middleton!
“He was doing it all for free, but Peter even offered to wait outside the venue while we got married so that we could have some proper photos with the car afterwards which was such a nice touch.”
Although the wedding was originally planned for May 2020, after various changes the couple had settled on May of next year.
But when the Prime Minister announced that from 28th September the number of guests allowed to attend a wedding was dropping from 30 to 15, she’d had enough and couldn’t wait any longer and planned her dream wedding in just four days.
She said: “After such a difficult year, (fiance) and I felt really strongly that we wanted to get married. So, as soon as Boris Johnson made his announcement, I got on the phone to the venue and when they said they had availability on the 27th, I jumped at it. Even though that meant planning everything in just four days.
“Of course, if you plan a wedding that quickly, there are bound to be sacrifices, and even though I always dreamt about arriving at my wedding in style, I made my peace with making my entrance in my Dad’s Audi. In the end, I loved the idea of going in my Dad’s car, but a Bentley really made me feel like I was being taken to our wedding.”
The salon manager tied the knot with her beloved at the posh Alverton Hotel in Truro after being driven there in style.
Proud Peter, 73, said, “I jumped at the chance to do something special for (the newlyweds) on their wedding day, hopefully, it will be a day that they look back on for many, many years to come.
“This year has been a difficult one for so many people, I’m glad I was able to help them celebrate while they could.”