Couple recreates wedding photo at the top of rollercoaster

By Izzy Hawksworth via SWNS

A married couple recreated their wedding toast photo to celebrate their 25th anniversary - on top of one of the UK's tallest rollercoasters.

Mark Cook, 61, and Carole Noel, 63, tied the knot at Blackpool Pleasure Beach in 1999 and toasted their nuptials on the 235ft high "Big One."

They've visited the theme park nearly every year since and re-created a photo of them on top of the rollercoaster to mark their silver wedding anniversary.

Mark said: "The idea popped into my head a few months ago but it's one of those things that is usually difficult to do with health and safety.

"I had no real thought that it could ever happen but I thought there was only one way to find out and that was to write to the pleasure beach to see if it could be done.

"I was absolutely amazed when I got a letter and a phone call from them and they said they would do it.

"Pleasure Beach made our wedding a day we will never forget and now, 25 years on, has made our silver wedding anniversary just as amazing.

"We now have a unique pair of photos which express the fun and happiness we have enjoyed on all of our visits to the Pleasure Beach over a quarter of a century."

Mark and Carole, a lab technician, met through a mutual friend in 1994 but Mark was already a big fan of the theme park.

The couple, of Ware, Hertfordshire, then went to Pleasure Beach together and when they got engaged five years later, Carole suggested they should get married there.

Mark said: “Early on in our relationship, I asked Carole what her idea of a good day out was.

"She said a theme park and looking back on it, I think our eventual fate may have been sealed at that moment.

"It was actually Carole who came up with the idea of getting married at the Pleasure Beach. I would not have had the nerve to suggest it.

"The more we thought about it, the more logical, and more importantly fun, the idea seemed.

"We'd already had many happy times together at the Pleasure Beach and a wedding would be the happiest of all."

Carole and Mark got married at the theme park's paradise room in May 1999 but due to high winds, the rollercoaster was closed all day.

However, the then-operations manager Keith Allen let the couple ride the rollercoaster and go up to the top with champagne before plunging 235ft.

Instead of a traditional wedding reception, they had a party at the resort where they used more than 240 ride tickets.

Mark said: "It was interesting, it wasn't a huge wedding so we only had 14 guests altogether.

"Our parents were there and completely adamant that they weren't getting on any rollercoasters themselves.

"We had two children come to the wedding and they loved Pleasure Beach because they was lots of stuff they could ride.

"They didn't have to stand at the sidelines and watch the rest of us having fun, they could also join in."

For the couple's first 20 years of marriage, they visited Pleasure Beach single year on their wedding anniversary and would go on all of the rides.

However, due to Covid and family bereavements, they were unable to do so for a couple of years but returned back to the theme park two years ago.

But Mark, a freelance IT consultant, says he loves the park because it 'leads the way' when it comes to releasing new rides.

He said: "Pleasure Beach ticked all the boxes - I've been to all the UK parks but Pleasure Beach has everything.

"It's got history - you aren't going to find many other parks in the UK that have got rides that are 100 years old and all the modern stuff as well.

"Every time a new rollercoaster comes out, Blackpool are leading the way which isn't what you would expect for a family run amusement park that's been there for years.

"You've got everything you could ever want as a ride enthusiast - you've got history and all the modern stuff and it's altogether in a lovely little park.

"So many memories, all of them happy and all of them cherished.

"The Pleasure Beach has been a magical place for us both for more than 25 years."

Amanda Thompson OBE, the CEO of the resort, says it's 'so wonderful' that she's been able to help the couple have their 'unique anniversary gift.'

She said: "I was truly touched to receive Mark’s letter and it’s always so wonderful to hear how much Pleasure Beach means to people.

"Just like in 1999 the weather was doing its best to work against us.

"But we’re never one to shy away from a challenge, and our team pulled out all the stops to make sure Mark and Carole got their unique anniversary gift.

"Congratulations Mark and Carole - here’s to many more years of happiness and rollercoasters."