It’s a nice day for a wet wedding

When Jamie Wade and Michelle Green decided to take the plunge into married life they had no idea they would be literally going overboard for each other.

And they certainly hadn’t bargained for becoming viral internet sensations.

The couple, who live in Horstead, were celebrating their marriage at The King’s Head in Coltishall when the photographer decided to try something different.

Pouring rain had scuppered the sunset shots they planned, so she persuaded the pair to get into a canoe moored along the river.

“We got in, but when we stood up we started to wobble and fell in,” said Jamie.

After initial fears about the depth and how to get out, the couple said the only thing they could do was laugh.

“We had waited 34 years for that day and within an hour-and-a-half we were in the Bure,” said Michelle, who works in Drayton as a phlebotomist.

And her new husband added: “We just looked at each other and made the best of it!”

Following a year of ill health and bereavements, Michelle said getting wet on her wedding day was no big deal.

“After all the things we’ve been through we could do this – but I did have to wring my dress out!”

They carried on with the reception, only popping home to change when Jamie noticed Michelle’s teeth were chattering – and they thought their adventure would just be a tale to tell in the future. But they were very wrong.

As soon as the video was seen on the photographer’s Instagram it all blew up.

“Normally videos get maybe 1,000 views but ours has now had two million,” said Jamie, who is a builder in Sprowston.

Calls and emails started coming in from friends and family as well as national papers, and they were whisked away to appear on TV.

And while they were on honeymoon in Corfu, Jamie said they became local celebrities.

“We were lying around the pool and out of the blue this woman walked up to us and asked ‘Are you Jamie?’.

“I thought she must know my mum or something, but she said  she had seen us on Good Morning Britain.”

They had fellow holidaymakers ask for photos with them, and on the way home they were stopped by people at the station.

“We thought this must be what Gemma Collins feels like!” said Jamie. “And we were thinking to ourselves, ‘Did this really happen?’”

The couple first met when they were pupils at Broadland High in Hoveton, but went their separate ways and raised families.

Then, nine years ago – both single again and living back in Norfolk – they met in Tesco in Aylsham.

Jamie had been sent to get something by his mum and Michelle was there hoping she didn’t bump into anyone.

“I had no make-up and a messy bun and then I heard someone call my name,” she said. They went for a coffee in the town and romance blossomed once more.

And now, after their dramatic start to married life, they are confident their marriage will weather all the storms and wobbly canoes fate can throw at them.