Kettering couple get 'married' in surprise lockdown street ceremony

A Kettering couple were married on Sunday, May 24 in a surprise street ceremony organised by their neighbours.

Emily Smith and Lewis Cosgrove, both 26, should have been getting married in Santorini, Greece, on Sunday but the coronavirus pandemic and lockdown sadly meant their wedding could not go ahead.

The couple live in William Street, Kettering, and the community has really pulled together during lockdown through social media groups and have been gathering every Sunday in their front gardens to dance, sing and have been having themed dress-ups. All socialising has been distanced and following guidance, resident Emma Carson said the street has been very strict.

Last Sunday was a particularly special day and unsuspecting bride Emily said: "It was amazing.

"I thought it was going to be a prom, so everybody was dressing up anyway. It turned out they planned the whole time it was going to be for me and Lewis on our wedding day.

"I can't quite get over it now, it's so lovely that people wanted to do that for us."

Emily's neighbour, Emma Carson, said the street decided to plan the surprise nuptials when one Sunday, Emily came out in a veil and revealed it should have been her hen party that weekend. The William Street residents clubbed together to make the day happen.

Emma said: "I was one of many, it was my neighbour Martin who dressed up as the pope, it was me and him that kind of sorted out organising the wedding but a lot of people participated in making it happen.

"We had about six people cutting and sewing bunting, we had a wedding cake made by one of the girls in the street, we had a flower arch and it was actually Martin's wife, Mandy, who made Emily the bouquet."

When it came to organising the day, groom Lewis had to be let in on the secret to make sure everything came together, but Emily said he only knew a little of what was going on.

Emily, however, didn't have a clue and said: "Obviously it was actually meant to be our wedding day, so people were dropping flowers off so it took me ages to go and get ready.

"They then changed the time to 2.30pm from 4pm and I didn't think I was going to be ready in time, but I thought if I'm a bit late then it won't matter."

However, Emily's sister, who lives next door, kept telling her to go and get ready and when the time came to head outside, Emily said she suddenly felt a bit nervous.

The unsuspecting bride had chosen to wear white to the 'prom' to mark her would-be wedding day and suddenly felt like she'd be overdressed.

Emily said: "I was nervous I was going to stick out like a sore thumb!

"I came outside and I was like, 'where's Lewis?'. My mum and dad live down the road and my dad walked up looking so smart so then I just knew, but I didn't know the extent of it.

"There were little girls throwing petals and when we got to the bottom of the street, one of the houses has a driveway and they had built a flower arch."

Emily and Lewis were 'married' in a ceremony conducted by Martin in his pope's outfit and Emily said: "It was the best day of my life, it was absolutely brilliant."

Although it wasn't the day they had planned and Emily is sad not all her friends and family could be there, she said: "The people in this street are our friends now. We are so lucky to have neighbours like this."

Emma said: "It literally worked out perfectly and it was just fab."

The day was captured on film by Epic Media UK, and Emma said: "We now have this lovely memory for us all and we have this video to look back on."

Emily said she thinks most of the video views have been her, as she cannot stop watching it back.

"I cannot believe how good that video is," she said, "We feel really, really lucky and quite honoured that people wanted to do this for us."