On the whole, most weddings follow a pretty familiar pattern of events.... vows, photos, wedding breakfast, speeches, toasts and cake cutting. But for one couple they paused the flow of the day for one pretty special moment, the groom getting a buzz cut.
For Stephen and Victoria Clarke there was one person they wanted at their wedding who couldn't be there, Steve's dad Derek, who was diagnosed with dementia in recent years following a Parkinson's diagnosis in 2000. A keen fundraiser before getting ill, Derek raised thousands for Parkinson's UK and Steve wanted to honour his dad and made an impact with the sponsored shave mid-way through the couple's special day at Fairyhill in Gower. Victoria did the honours by shaving all Steve's hair off during the speeches.
Steve, who is quite fond of his previous head of hair, explained: “My dad was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2000. Before his diagnosis he frequently gave blood and when this was no longer an option, he started to raise money for charities instead. He volunteered for door-to-door donations, shaved his head at a fundraiser and sailed around the Isle of Wight raising thousands for Parkinson’s UK in the process. He was later diagnosed with dementia and was unfortunately too ill to come to the wedding.”
