A Lockdown Wedding With Dame Judi & Co

It’s a tough time for happy loving couples getting hitched right now, with only a fraction of their family and friends allowed to attend the big day.

For Greystones lad Mark Flynn and Belfast girl Jennifer Logan, their small, intimate wedding last week would prove to be something of an international, jet-setting and surprisingly glitzy affair though.

As a seven-minute video of well-wishers hit the big screen on the day, sure, there were familiar faces from work, from home, from years gone by. Only some of those familiar faces wishing Mark and Jen all the best on their big day were very, very familiar.

To pretty much everyone in the world.

In amidst the family and friends, suddenly, there’s Dame Judi Dench, wishing the couple “a wonderful, wonderful wedding day”. Oh, and there’s Taron Egerton, recently Oscar-nominated for his performance as Elton John in Rocketman, sending love and best wishes, and another awards favourite, John Lithgow, stating, “I’m so happy that I can send you happy wedding wishes in an American accent, all the way from Los Angeles“.

Also joining in the all-star love-in was the great Kathy Burke, actor and author Celia Imrie (wishing the couple “a sea of happiness“) and Tara Lynn O’Neill (the long-suffering Mary in Derry Girls).

What. The. Actual. Feck?

The brainchild of Jennifer’s brother, Christopher, the seven-minute video took close to three months to pull together, the siblings both having gotten their first big break courtesy of Kathy Burke.

“They’re both very popular people,” Christopher told The Belfast Telegraph, “so loved, and with so many friends in London. I just thought, wouldn’t it be great to bring them, so to speak, to the party. So, I started messaging around different people and thought a little bit of showbiz royalty wouldn’t go amiss.”

And, sure agus begorrah, he was right, his surprise treat taking the happy couple completely by, well, surprise.

“John Lithgow is such a gentleman,” says Jennifer, “so lovely, and I couldn’t believe he took the time and effort. It was so lovely that Kathy took part in it too.”

For Mark, the seeing all his family and friends taking part, virtually, in the big day was “very emotional, and meant so much to us“. The wedding day on Saturday, October 3rd marked the 23rd anniversary of the passing of Jennifer’s mum, Molly. 

That the video should end with all of them miming to S Club 7’s Reach For The Stars was just the icing on the wedding cake. Boom!

With travel even outside the county currently on hold, the newly-weds are spending their honeymoon at home here in Costa Del Greystones. Once that lockdown lifts though, they’ll be off. To Hollywood. For a house-share with Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes. Probably.

Congrats to Jennifer and Mark – may all your days be filled with stardust…