A COUPLE who feared they would not be able to have a wedding due to the coronavirus have celebrated their marriage.

Colin Piper and Emma Clothier, who met at a film club in Brighton four years ago, had originally planned a big movie-themed wedding to take place this spring.

But because of the virus outbreak and the Government advice on social distancing and avoiding large gatherings, the couple realised they would either have to postpone their big day or bring it forward.

Colin, of Queen’s Park in Brighton, said: “It was my fiancée Emma who just wanted to go ahead with it and become Emma Piper, which was very sweet.

“She contacted Deborah, the minister at the church, to see if there was any chance of moving it forward, and she said ‘how about tomorrow?’.

“So we had a shotgun wedding.”

Colin and Emma got married at Dorset Gardens Methodist Church in Kemp Town, Brighton, on Thursday morning, with a small group of family members and mutual friends who could attend at such short notice.

Deborah Cornish, minister at the church, said: “It was not the wedding day they had been planning since 2018, but it was a beautiful occasion.

“I think amongst all the nonsense that’s going on at the moment, it was lovely to see people pull together to make it still be a special day.

“In the end it was more important that they love each other and are now husband and wife.

“In the face of what’s happening, nothing else mattered.”

Colin said another reason for bringing the wedding forward is because Emma, who lives in Newhaven, suffers with multiple sclerosis which means she is more vulnerable to coronavirus.

The 64-year-old said: “Because of Emma’s condition we wanted to get married not far from where I live, in case she got fatigued and needed a lie down, but she didn’t in the end.

“We had a number of readings planned and although not all the original people we’d intended to read them were there, we actually got everything in, with music from films too.

“It was very nice and relaxed.”