A bride and groom left wedding guests stunned when they performed their first dance to music being played – by a BUSKER.
Lovebirds Claire and John Oliver, both 35, didn’t know who they wanted to play their favourite song on the special day.
But she overheard jazz musician James Burnham playing his violin in the street as she went to collect her wedding dress just a fortnight before her big day.
Claire rushed over to ask if he would perform at their wedding and incredibly James agreed.
The couple didn’t let guests know until the busker suddenly appeared in a car park at the house they rented for their reception.
James even learnt Arctic Monkey’s ‘Mardy Bum’ for their quirky first dance and stunning pictures show them dancing together before friends and family joined in.
Freelance artist Claire, who lives with John in Malvern, Worcs., said: “I remember as I picked up my dress to walk out of the bridal shop suddenly hearing this gypsy jazz.
“I thought ‘this is a sign’ and knew I had to go over to him.
“We had seen him performing a few times around the corner and had discussed whether he might do it but we’d never even spoken to him.
“On that day I just knew it so I went over and said: ‘This is a strange question but would you perform at my wedding?’
“He said: ‘Yeah’ and that was it, we swapped numbers and asked him to learn ‘Mardy Bum’ for our first dance.”
Claire and John booked a large house with a car park that overlooked rural Worcestershire for their party after getting married at Malvern College on May 29.
As guests were drinking inside James suddenly appeared below and friends flocked to the balcony to watch the couple’s first dance at around 5pm.
Claire said: “It’s not what you think of when someone says we danced in a car park, it really is quite a special place with an amazing view.
“Our friends watched us from the balcony steps and when our first dance finished four or five couples joined in dancing.
“It was a bit awkward for me dancing on the hill in my wedding dress though.
“We had only asked him to play for an hour but he kept going for almost two hours which was amazing.
“I’ve always loved French gypsy jazz and so it was just perfect. Arctic Monkeys sounded great as an instrumental too.”
John added: “All our friends went ‘wow’ when he came out and started playing.
“It was really incredible because it was such a hot evening as well and everyone was dancing to him.
“It just shows you don’t need to spend a fortune to have something special, and he really kept the costs down.
“A few weeks after the wedding we saw him in the street and he came over and said what a perfect match we are for each other which was so nice.”
The unconventional wedding came a year after John’s bizarre marriage proposal to Claire at American comedian Rich Hall’s stand-up gig in Malvern.
John said: “I had already asked for Claire’s father’s permission when we went to see Rich Hall but I hadn’t decided how to ask her.
“We were on the front row when he picked on us saying we had been together for two-and-a-half years but I still hadn’t asked for her hand in marriage.
“Because my job is pretty boring, I had lied and told him I was a baker because I thought that would be easier for him to make jokes with.
“He made up a song and got the audience singing along saying ‘John the baker thinks he can have his cake and eat it’.
“Then it finished with something like ‘I have a ring here, propose to Claire’.
“So I just thought I’ll go for it and took his own wedding ring, which is massive, and proposed to her.
“It was incredible, the whole audience just gasped together.”
The couple have since commemorated the proposal by having their pictures taken in the same seats in their full wedding attire.
