Couple recreate wedding toast on rollercoaster

Mark Cook and Carole Noel married at Blackpool’s Pleasure Beach Resort in May 1999

A couple have recreated their wedding toast on the top of one of the tallest rollercoasters in the UK for their silver wedding anniversary.

Mark Cook, 61, and Carole Noel, 63, married at Blackpool Pleasure Beach in May 1999 and chose to toast their nuptials at the top of the Big One.

They travelled back to the resort from their Hertfordshire home to recreate their wedding photo and cheers to the “ride of their lives”.

The theme park gave them special permission to pop the champagne 235 ft (72m) above sea level.

“It was actually Carole who came up with the idea of getting married at the Pleasure Beach," Mr Cook said.

"I would not have had the nerve to suggest it."

Mark was a big fan of the Pleasure Beach in Blackpool, and was one of the first people to ride the Big One rollercoaster on its opening day in May 1994, and introduced Carole to the theme park in 1995 and the pair went on to visit many times.

Their wedding ceremony took place in Pleasure Beach Resort’s Paradise Room in May 1999 and the weather nearly scuppered their plans for the photograph at the top of the Big One.

'So wonderful'

Due to high winds, the rollercoaster was closed all day, but then-operations manager Keith Allen made special provisions so that it could run once and the newlyweds could get their photos.

The train was stopped at the top of the lift hill and the couple toasted their marriage with champagne, before plunging down on the rollercoaster’s record-breaking drop.

The couple had returned to the Pleasure Beach every anniversary for 20 years until Covid-19 shut the country down.

However, their tradition resumed in 2022 and they returned to Pleasure Beach to celebrate both their wedding anniversary and Mark’s 60th birthday.

Amanda Thompson OBE, CEO of Pleasure Beach Resort, said: "It’s always so wonderful to hear how much Pleasure Beach means to people."