Weddings often land couples with big bills.
But surely none has been bigger – or more eye- catching – than this one when an Albion mad dad gave away his daughter dressed as a giant seagull.
Gary Rose dressed as the club’s mascot Gully to give away Kayleigh Rose at St Philip’s in New Church Road, Hove on Saturday.
Kayleigh was leaving the family nest to marry PC Jason Strudwick, of Station Road in Polegate, in front of friends and family including their two-year-old son Connor.
For this blue and white wedding it was bride-to-be Kayleigh who was waiting for her father to get ready after it took him 20 minutes to transform into Gully. Betfred employee Gary, from St Giles Close, Shoreham, kept his feathers on for around two hours throughout the ceremony and photographs.
Father-of-four Gary says he intends to continue the fancy dress theme for his other three children’s weddings including the possibility of dressing up as a Dalek.
Reverend Stephen Terry, who christened Kayleigh 20 years earlier, told the family he had never known anything like it in his 40 years as a minister.
Gary had to remove Gully’s head when he reached the minister to satisfy him that he was who he said he was.
He said: “Kayleigh, Jason and close family knew about it but some of the grandparents and a lot of the guests didn’t know so they were quite shocked.
“Kayleigh had asked me if I would give her away and I said I would but on one condition that I could wear what I liked.
“She thought I meant dressed up in my Albion shirt but I said no I want to go as Gully.
“She was fine with it actually and it was her and Jason who contacted the Albion themselves through the club’s liaison officer and the club said yes.
“If I had backed down, I would have never heard the last of it from people in the betting industry.
“It was very warm in the suit, he has very big feet and you can’t really hear and vision is limited so it was more a case of Kayleigh leading me down the aisle rather than the other way around.”
Kayleigh’s understanding groom Jason said: “There were a few laughs when he came into the church and it really made the day unique.”
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