WHEN Alan Cross woke up on his 60th birthday he had no idea later that same day he would be marrying his long-term partner of 17 years.
On Saturday Debbie Cross, 51, of Summer Lane, Wombwell, gave Alan the surprise of his life when she told him she had arranged and paid for their wedding later that day as a birthday surprise.
Alan opened his birthday card which said inside: ‘Happy 60th birthday, hope you have a wonderful day, how about marrying me today?’
The pair have had plans to get married twice before but Alan has been ill both times so they have had to cancel the wedding but now he is fit enough, Debbie decided she wanted to do something really special.
“It’s been really difficult keeping it a secret, we don’t have secrets from each other. We tend to talk through everything, even the small things, so keeping it quiet since November has been really difficult,” said Debbie.
“I got a lot of Alan’s friends and family that he’d not seen in a while to come because I wanted to make the day as special as I could, I just wanted to show him how much I loved him.
“I saw the shock on his face when he read the card and he looked up and said ‘really? I haven’t got a suit’.
“So I told him that I got him one specially made and that everything was sorted, all he had to do was turn up.”
The pair got married at the town hall on Saturday and then went to the The Old No 7 pub for a drink where Alan’s next surprise waited for him.
When they got to the pub he was greeted by some of his friends who had come to pick him up for the Barnsley match.
“After we got married he had no idea that he was going to the football, I booked the Legends Suite (hospitality box) for him, his sons and some friends to go and watch the match.
“When he went there me and my daughter and daughter-in-law went home and made sandwiches ready to have a buffet for when he got home. I wanted the day to be about Alan which is why I did it all and it was so special to me too because I saw just how happy he was throughout it all.
“There was one of his friends, Kevin Hanson, who helped me phone people and get in touch with everyone including some of his old friends, he did a lot of hard work and I really appreciate what everyone did for me.”
Alan said: “The day was absolutely unbelievable from start to finish.
“When she brought me up my card that said do you want to get married I had to have a good look at it again.”
