Did you ever have one of
those gags where you aren’t quite sure how it started and you really had no
idea how far it would go?
Well, let me tell you the
story of Wedding Monkey. We first
met Sureka and John at a wedding fair at Kempton Park while they were planning
their big day. While talking to a couple
I will sometimes make offers to “seal the deal”. Sureka and John were planning their wedding
on Monkey Island on the River Thames at Bray, but apparently there are no
monkeys on Monkey Island. The obvious
solution here was to promise that if they were to book Silverball Leisure for
their wedding day, they would receive a monkey so that for one day at least
there would be a monkey on Monkey Island.
The day was wonderful – but
hectic! The load in was over a narrow
footbridge, the ceremony was to be outside.
At the time I wasn’t using the flightcases that I use now, so there were
boxes and a sweaty DJ, but I had time to set up…until the weather started to
look iffy and the ceremony was moved indoors!
Rapid tidying up, ensued, boxes stashed and hidden everywhere while the
chairs were set up indoors. (At the end
of the night I had to search for some of the boxes!) Then the weather looked ok again so we all
moved chairs back outside!
The bride looked stunning,
the ceremony went without a hitch, and when the happy couple sat down to the
reception Wedding Monkey was sat on top table waiting for them, holding a
wedding day card. The monkey was popular
and kept changing hands, so the event manager promised to protect him, and he
spent part of the evening sat high up on top of a disco speaker for his own
safety!
The story doesn’t stop
there. Sureka and John went off on
honeymoon to America – and took Wedding monkey too! In fact, not only did they take pictures, but
he had his own album on their facebook page!
The story doesn’t stop
there! After some time passed, Sureka
and John were blessed with their first child.
A photo popped up on facebook of baby in cot…along with Wedding Monkey. When they were expecting daughter number 2 –
guess who made the announcement? He was in the newborn’s cot again – now firmly
a family mascot. When the twins were
born it was no surprise to see who sneaked into the photos!
Sureka and John celebrated
their wedding anniversary with a post on social media celebrating their
marriage and family. There were more
photos of wedding monkey in that post than there were of husband John!
Whenever I see a picture of
Wedding Monkey, I get a small lump in my throat. What started as a gag has become something so
special – for that couple, for that family and for me. To see repeated reminders that I played a
part in the history of a beautiful family is something that makes my “job” such
a pleasure and a privilege, and I hope that wedding monkey demonstrates not
only that I treat my “clients” as friends but also I have the imagination to
make every single event that little bit different and a little more memorable.
Happy Anniversary Sureka and
John – and Happy Birthday Wedding Monkey!
