A COUPLE who raced to church to tie the knot before the lockdown have been enjoying a wonderful and strange start to their wedded life.

Theresa and Walter Atkins had originally been due to get married at St Martin’s Church in Liskeard on St George’s Day - April 23. The couple had already brought the wedding forward to Tuesday March 24, but when vicar, the Rev Steve Morgan, realised that Prime Minister Boris Johnson was likely to announce a lockdown on the Monday, he got on the phone straight away.

‘We’d been at Hannafore walking the dog and had just come back when something made me look at my mobile,’ said Theresa, 64.

‘It was Steve, saying he could marry us that afternoon if we got there quickly. I was still in my jeans and Walter was wearing a hoodie.’

The couple’s witnesses, Ron and Chris Bennett, had been at home cutting down a tree in their garden when they got the call to scramble to the church as quickly as they could.

‘I think Ron changed out of his gardening clothes!’ laughed Theresa.

‘The music that I was due to walk down the aisle to was Gabriel’s Oboe, from The Mission, so we were all humming it as we came in.

‘It was a unique, and very strange, wedding but fun from beginning to end. It will last in the memory for a lifetime.’

Rev Steve said: ‘The two lovebirds wanted to get married before any more restrictions came in so five of us gathered in the church for the wedding.

‘Theresa walked down the aisle while we all hummed Gabriel’s Oboe and then they both walked out together as husband and wife to us attempting the Trumpet Voluntary.

‘This was possibly the most fun wedding I have ever done! We wish them every happiness in their new life together.’

The Atkins had already agreed that they would take their honeymoon in 2021, so they weren’t too disappointed by the curtailment of their post-nuptial plans.

Theresa says that the only sad aspect of the day was not being able to have family and friends there, but the couple plan to invite everyone to a blessing once things are ‘back to normal’. This will also be the chance for Theresa to wear the dress she had picked out for the wedding and for Walter, 68, to wear his morning suit; both items remain wrapped up and unworn after the rush to get to church!