Black Meringue

Weird & Wonderful Weddings

Black Meringue invited readers to wow us with stories of their unique weddings, and the responses were truly breathtaking. Be amazed and inspired, and if you have any stories of your own let us know!

Biker Bride - Rob McCorkell and Tracey Bristow

Both Rob and I wanted to invite everybody we knew, which meant entertaining and catering for a huge amount of people, writes Tracey Bristow.

We decided on a cross between a bike rally, a music festival and a kids’ party – all very informal. It went down a storm and didn’t break the bank. We also happened to get married on the hottest day of the year – at 32° it was a bit too hot! Rob’s army mess uniform and our bike club colours depicted the colour scheme – black, red and white. I made my dress and accessories but bought the black and red leather roses to match (www.englishleatherrose.com).

My trike ride to the church was greeted by the town crier and our two ‘mini Rob’ pageboys, one in matching mess uniform, the other a mini biker. I left the church with my bridesmaid in a Jensen 541 driven by my father. My new husband was leading the pack out front on his Harley!

The reception was at our bike clubhouse on a local airfield. The huge convoy of bikes through Tetbury (a village in the Cotswolds) and the sight that greeted our guests the other end is still talked about – Sumo wrestling, gladiators, a bouncy castle, a marquee, real ale, scrumpy cider, an army catering tent and more bikers!

We opened up a runway for a club photo-shoot while guests settled in and children (young and old) bounced. We returned to find a queue of ladies hitching up their skirts for a ride on a Harley, and even the priest joined in for a spin on the vice president’s bike. Another funny moment was when we collapsed the bouncy castle – somehow so many bikers exceeded the weight limit.

After working up an appetite, a three course roast was served army style and a sit-where-you-like policy seemed to work very well. A large cake with a made-to-order topper and fairy cakes stood on a welded cake stand made from bike parts, and Jack Daniel bottles held a single red gerbera flower on each table. We followed the speeches with acoustic music all over the site: bluegrass, Irish, folk, country and even a pipe organ.

Before the evening guests arrived Rob changed into his biker outfit and I changed my necklace to a nut, bolt and washer ensemble. Rob’s band kicked off the evening entertainment followed by the club’s Glam rock band and another band played ‘till late. To keep everybody going the evening catering was a free fish and chip shop. Many camped and partied through the night, some even sleeping on the bouncy castle – until we unplugged it on our way to the honeymoon caravan at 5.00a.m!