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Spam, dead parrot and a giant foot: Monty Python fans' themed wedding | |
(about 7 hours later) | |
A British couple spent two years and thousands of pounds planning their Monty Python-themed wedding in the hope of inspiring other superfans to try to find their Python-mad soulmate. | A British couple spent two years and thousands of pounds planning their Monty Python-themed wedding in the hope of inspiring other superfans to try to find their Python-mad soulmate. |
John Wood, 59, who once won a competition looking for the biggest fan of the surreal comedy sketch show, and Gemma Harris, 35, tied the knot in a “totally bonkers” ceremony in West Sussex on 5 October, the 50th anniversary of the first Monty Python broadcast. | John Wood, 59, who once won a competition looking for the biggest fan of the surreal comedy sketch show, and Gemma Harris, 35, tied the knot in a “totally bonkers” ceremony in West Sussex on 5 October, the 50th anniversary of the first Monty Python broadcast. |
When Wood got divorced from his first wife, who didn’t like Monty Python, he was certain that his next partner had to appreciate it. | When Wood got divorced from his first wife, who didn’t like Monty Python, he was certain that his next partner had to appreciate it. |
Monty Python at 50: a half-century of silly walks, edible props and dead parrots | Monty Python at 50: a half-century of silly walks, edible props and dead parrots |
“The way I look at the world, everything reminds me of it,” he said. “I wanted a woman who likes and understand Monty Python. It was the most important thing in my search for a new partner.” | “The way I look at the world, everything reminds me of it,” he said. “I wanted a woman who likes and understand Monty Python. It was the most important thing in my search for a new partner.” |
Wood even set up his own dating platform for Monty Python fans, a Facebook group called Pythonesque Dating. Harris saw an article about him and joined. “That’s how we met,” Wood said. | |
After a proposal staged in front of Python stars Michael Palin and Terry Gilliam at a fundraising event in London, the two social media managers from East Grinstead spent more than two years and £15,000 to create their dream wedding. | |
During the ceremony, attendees were treated to farting noises as the bride walked down the aisle, a “hand of God” pointing at the couple, and later a sketch featuring the bare bottoms of the groom and three friends. | |
“There was a 9ft parrot, a handmade albatross, all sorts of things. We commissioned artists to make some of the props, but most things we did ourselves,” Wood said. | “There was a 9ft parrot, a handmade albatross, all sorts of things. We commissioned artists to make some of the props, but most things we did ourselves,” Wood said. |
“Instead of saying ‘I do’, I said ‘perhaps’, to which Gemma replied: ‘Oh, say you do!’ To which I replied: ‘Oh, all right then.’” | |
Even the menu didn’t escape unscathed, with wedding guests enjoying salmon mousse as a starter (which killed the dinner party guests in Monty Python’s Meaning of Life film) and a main course garnished with spam, in reference to another famous sketch. Dessert was “strawberry tart without so much rat in it”. | |
Instead of cutting the cake, the newlyweds squashed it with a foot. | Instead of cutting the cake, the newlyweds squashed it with a foot. |
“It was all silly for the sake of it,” Wood said. | “It was all silly for the sake of it,” Wood said. |
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