Couple to renew vows after 'disaster' wedding
A woman who was rushed to hospital after becoming unwell while doing the conga on her wedding day says renewing her vows at Coventry Cathedral "couldn't be more perfect".
Karin Burke said her wedding day with now-husband Richard in February 2005 was a "disaster".
It started badly when the couple's original wedding plan for Mexico was cancelled at the last minute and they had to organise a venue at short notice - before Mrs Burke's hospital dash when she felt sick during the celebrations.
The pair are hoping for a better day when they renew their vows on the weekend of their 20th anniversary, at a mass renewal event at the city's cathedral, organised by BBC CWR.
The pair, from Chapelfields, Coventry, first met in a Gavin and Stacey-style fashion, talking over the phone at work.
Two months later, they met in person at the city's Ikon nightclub although even that event did not go smoothly.
Richard had told Karin he looked like the presenter and actor Richard Blackwood.
But she misheard and so was surprised when they met as she thought her future husband said Richard Bacon - and she was looking for a lookalike to the broadcaster.
The Burkes"I think he was the first person to tolerate me and my energy and my weirdness," she said.
"We just talked about absolutely everything and just got on really, really well.
"We were just best mates."
However their most dramatic episode came on that wedding day in 2005 when a two-month pregnant Mrs Burke was rushed to hospital over fears for the safety of her middle daughter, after she said she felt unwell on the dance floor.
Fortunately Mrs Burke ended up being given the all clear and said she managed to sneak out of the hospital to reach Mexico, finally, for their honeymoon.
Not everything has been plain sailing for the couple, they admit, as they have recently been through tougher times and temporarily split up in 2024.
"I think we're both just stubborn people so we could stay apart," Mr Burke said.
"When you've been together for that long, you can't just give up.
"I think nowadays it's the easy thing but sometimes you've just got to work at it in the long run."
The pair are now planning to renew their commitment to each in a slightly less eventful manner on Valentine's Day, as part of BBC CWR's We Still Do event.
"We're Coventry kids," Mrs Burke said.
"Coventry Cathedral is absolutely beautiful so to be able to do this with our closest friends and our grown up children and have a massive party afterwards...I couldn't imagine anything more perfect."
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