Posted 02 February, 2010

It could be an extract from a book, or an act from a play. In fact, this very scene played out last Saturday at Wentworth Church.

Chapeltown couple Paul and Lynn Abson, who have been married for 28 years, decided to renew their wedding vows with a Medieval-style ceremony.

The bride, dressed as Guinevere, arrived on horseback to meet her very own knight in shining armour – her groom, King Arthur.

After exchanging emotional vows and commitment rings in front of close family and friends, who had also embraced the medieval theme, the wedding party headed to the Rockingham Arms for a roast platter.

Lynn told Look Local: “We thought about renewing our vows on our 25^th wedding anniversary, but realised that if we waited until our 28^th we could have the ceremony on the exact day we originally married – Saturday, January 30.

“Paul has always been interested in history, and the thought of a medieval wedding really appealed to us both – we thought it would be a colourful, unusual way to mark 28 years together.

“Everything went like a dream – we were even lucky enough to have blue skies and sunshine, exactly like on our original wedding day. Back then, we missed marrying during a snowfall by just a week, and the same happened this time around.

“We exchanged Celtic commitment rings to mark the occasion, which we put on our right hands. A few people jokingly said we’d put them on the wrong hands, but we always intended to keep our original rings on.”

Lynn’s arrival on horseback certainly caught the attention of several members of the public, a couple of whom sat at the back of the church to watch the service.

“They came up to us after the ceremony and remarked how beautiful the whole thing was,” said Lynn.

“Our medieval wedding was everything we’d hoped it would be. I would even say I enjoyed it more than our actual wedding day, in some ways, as I was less nervous and able to take in the whole experience properly.”

However, the happy couple aren’t planning to renew their vows again – themed or otherwise.

“Paul is adamant that this is it now,” laughed Lynn.

“In fact, he even went as far as to say that the next big party would be for his funeral – I said thank you very much, that’s charming!”