Vicar steps in and saves wedding after reverend gets pinged by test and trace TWO DAYS before Daventry couple’s special day

Newly-weds, Samantha and Edward Rhodes, had the biggest panic of their lives when they found out their vicar had to self-isolate just two days before the big day...
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Wedding preparation is already stressful enough but imagine your special day being only two days away and your vicar calls you to tell you that he has been pinged by Test and Trace and needs to self isolate.

That is exactly what happened to soon-to-be newly-weds Samantha and Edward Rhodes on the morning of Thursday, August 12 as they were already set to tie the knot at All Saints Church in West Haddon on Saturday afternoon (August 14).

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The marquee and handmade wedding decor had been put up, the bar had arrived and their wedding rehearsal was just hours away.

Samantha and Edward Rhodes. Photo: Luke Hardy PhotographySamantha and Edward Rhodes. Photo: Luke Hardy Photography
Samantha and Edward Rhodes. Photo: Luke Hardy Photography

Samantha said: “I had a little bit of a meltdown at this point because, naturally, it was so close to the wedding and a lot of our wedding was a handmade, homemade theme.

“We didn’t really go with a venue for the reception and we were doing a lot of the stuff ourselves anyway so I kind of thought that after our luck with not having to change the date at all - our wedding was on the first date we picked - I thought maybe our luck had run out!”

Samantha’s friend and Maid Of Honour, Laura Keon, then quickly put out an appeal on a local Kettering Facebook page asking if any vicars were available to save the wedding, which was hanging in the balance.

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After what Edward described as “the longest hour of our lives”, Reverend Kathryn Evans came to the couple’s rescue.

Reverend Kathryn stepped in to save the wedding! Photo: Luke Hardy PhotographyReverend Kathryn stepped in to save the wedding! Photo: Luke Hardy Photography
Reverend Kathryn stepped in to save the wedding! Photo: Luke Hardy Photography

Reverend Kathryn said: “I phoned the bride and groom and said ‘Hi, my name’s Reverend Kathryn, would you like me to do your wedding?’ They were very very happy! So I met them that afternoon at two and hit it off actually and, do you know what, I’ve not had that much fun in ages.

“They’re lovely people, the whole lot of them are just absolutely super, great sense of humour, lovely people so we had a great time on Thursday afternoon and we had a lovely time on Saturday as well.”

Sammy and Edward felt “complete relief” after their conversation over the phone with Kathryn and their wedding rehearsal went ahead as planned just three hours later. Their wedding day - two days later - happily, went very smoothly too.

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Edward said: “We are so grateful to Kathryn for stepping in. It just made the whole thing more relaxed because we were both quite nervous because it was our wedding day but the last minute change just threw everything up in the air and made the church service more relaxed.”

Daisy the dog wanted to be "front and centre" in the photoshoot! Photo: Luke Hardy PhotographyDaisy the dog wanted to be "front and centre" in the photoshoot! Photo: Luke Hardy Photography
Daisy the dog wanted to be "front and centre" in the photoshoot! Photo: Luke Hardy Photography

Sammy, talking about Reverend Kathryn’s service, added: “She’s so funny, she made everything a lot easier and it’s quite nice that, during the service, she mentioned: ‘I only met you two days ago!’

“She was really lovely about it and she was so complimentary about us and the way we are with each other so it was really nice - I think it worked out for the best.”

One of the biggest highlights of the wedding was that Daisy, the family’s 12-year-old German Shepherd dog, walked down the aisle with the bridesmaids during the service.

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Sammy said: “She is one of those dogs who will come and stay with us for a bit and then she mainly lives with Ed’s mum and I thought she’s getting old now and she needs to be remembered so, even our pre wedding photoshoot, she came with us for it and she inserted herself in all the photos.

“We just let her off the lead thinking she would go and do her own thing and the minute the photographer started taking photos, she wasn’t having any of it, she wanted to be right there front and centre.”

The wedding reception, after the service, was based at Edward’s mum’s house in Daventry, where she has a furniture business called Lou’s Emporium. This is where much of the homemade decor was sourced.

Samantha’s sister, who also owns her own cake business called Dezille's Kitchen, had the job of baking three wedding cakes because the couple could not decide on one flavour.

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A snack table and tipi had been set up for the children so that they could keep themselves occupied after the wedding.

The happy couple left for their romantic honeymoon on the Isle of Wight the following week, which was where they went on their first ever holiday together. They stayed in the same hotel and knew the island like the backs of their hands.

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