A groom with terminal cancer collapsed and died at the altar as his horrified bride walks down the aisle with their son.
Father-of-eleven Paul Wynn, 57, from North Ayrshire, Scotland, collapsed at Saltcoats town hall last Friday just minutes before he was due to be wedded to Alison Wynn, his partner of 21 years.
Mr Wynn was originally diagnosed with cancer in May but had only been told it had turned terminal eight days before – prompting him and his partner Alison, 36, to tie the knot before he died.
He was given between six weeks and two months left to live by doctors, who told him his pancreatic cancer had spread to his liver and lungs.
However, he collapsed just as Alison – who changed her surname by deed poll a few years ago – walked towards him during their wedding with first-aiders unable to revive him.
Alison described him as a ‘fantastic dad’ in a heartfelt tribute following his sudden death.
She also revealed that her partner hadn’t received any treatment before his death.
Reliving last week’s tragedy, Alison left her home in the afternoon overwhelmed after organising a wedding at such short notice.
She waited 10 minutes outside the town hall for a friend to bring her flowers after she forgot them at home.
After collecting them, she went upstairs where she saw the groom, who she said looked uncomfortable.
She added: “He had actually been wheeled up in an office chair into the lift and taken up the stairs as he had no energy to get up to the room. He was out of breath and struggling from what I was told.”
Sandy, 20, the couple’s eldest child, walked her mother down the aisle after the guests were seated.
However, as Alison started her walk, she realised Mr Wynn had slumped down in the chair.
She said: “By the time I got to him I called his name a couple of times.
“He didn’t turn round, he didn’t look at me and I realised there was something wrong and I started breaking down and I started shouting his name and we knew something wasn’t right.”
Danielle Sood, a friend of the couple and Mr Wynn’s best woman, at the wedding, got him off the chair and onto the ground.
First-aiders also rushed to administer CPR and use a defibrillator – but Mr Wynn couldn’t be revived.
Paul Wynn with his sons Sandy, Marcus, and Tarquin on his wedding day – before his death
Reacting to her partner’s death, Alison said: “It was hard. I’m having to get up and moving every day for the sake of my children but I can’t eat.
“Paul and I lost a child in 2004 after I had a miscarriage so it gives me a bit of comfort that he’s up there with our child. His mother passed away in 2020 so at least he’s with her now too.”
Mr Wynn first contacted his GP in May this year after constantly bleeding from his navel and becoming alarmed at how much weight he was losing.
He was also struggling to eat and keep food down – eventually only consuming liquids.
An endoscopy showed he had three hernias and a CT scan the following day revealed his pancreatic cancer.
The diagnosis prompted the couple to bring forward their wedding, which had originally been set for July 16.
The couple had met in 1999 through the Jehovah’s Witnesses, before having an on-and-off relationship.
They had five kids together, Sandy, 20; Tarquin, 15, Marcus, 13, Louise, eight, and Poppy, four.
Mr Wynn had six other children, though their mother or mothers are unknown.
A freelance photographer, Paul has been described as one of the most lovely guys anyone could hope to meet.
Alison said: “Paul loved going out and taking pictures of anything and everything.
“We were his life, he would do anything for his kids. He would move heaven and earth for his kids and everyone loved him.
“He would give you every last penny he had. He made sure that everyone got before him. He was there for everybody.
“He really was a fantastic dad and his kids were his life.
“Paul was never a man to go to the pub or anything like that and if he went anywhere he went with me or with the kids; he never went anywhere without us.”
His funeral will take place next Tuesday.