‘Magical’ Christmas Eve wedding for Chichester couple who rearranged big day in just 24 hours

A Chichester couple who tied the knot on Christmas Eve after hastily rearranging their wedding in just 24 hours said their big day ‘could not have been more magical’.
Sarah and Simon OstlerSarah and Simon Ostler
Sarah and Simon Ostler

Sarah Ostler, née Dimmock, 27, and Simon Ostler, 28, got engaged on Christmas Day last year and began planning their wedding straight away.

Everything was ready for the big day in January 2021 – the couple agreed on everything and ‘got so lucky’ with the professionals they booked.

But then the pandemic hit.

At the churchAt the church
At the church
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At first, the couple continued with the planning, hoping that everything would be back to normal by January.

But on December 22, at around 6pm, with the news of more areas going into Tier 4, they decided within the hour that – rather than reschedule – they would bring the wedding forward.

In just 24 hours they were able to contact the vicar, organist, hair and make up lady, manicurist and photographer – all of whom were free or willing to drop everything to help out.

Sarah, who works for West Sussex County Council in Children’s Services, said: “23rd December would have been a day where we would have snuggled up watching the Polar Express, having our regular Zoom call to family in France and be sat completing our fifth Christmas puzzle of the year.”

One of the wedding photos taken by the photographerOne of the wedding photos taken by the photographer
One of the wedding photos taken by the photographer
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Instead, Simon was busy in the kitchen baking scones and gingerbread, while Sarah and her mum were making buttonholes and bouquets and sorting out a wedding cake – a Christmas Yule log with ‘just married’ spelled out in freshly baked gingerbread letters.

On Christmas Eve the pair tied the knot at St Wilfrid’s church in Chichester.

Sarah said: “We had lots of friends and family tuning in via Facebook live stream and the day as a whole couldn’t have been more perfect.

“To top it off, just outside the church on the green there were sheep to form part of the community nativity walk, along with indoor Christmas trees in the church.”

The pair hastily rearranged the wedding in 24 hoursThe pair hastily rearranged the wedding in 24 hours
The pair hastily rearranged the wedding in 24 hours
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She added: “We made it happen and it could not have been more magical! Re-Planning a wedding in 24 hours for Christmas Eve and during a global pandemic? Nailed it!

“We just love Christmas time even more now. It’s the best gift we could have ever asked for.”