Bride Uncovers Identity of 'Unknown Guest' in Her Wedding Photos - OK! Magazine

A bride has cracked a four-year puzzle surrounding an unknown guest in her wedding photographs - after he confessed he had gatecrashed the wrong ceremony. Michelle Wylie had always been baffled by the identity of a 'mystery bloke' who featured in shots from her special day.

He was spotted standing in the aisle and positioned at the very rear of Michelle and her husband John's group wedding photograph. Earlier appeals over the years had proved fruitless but a recent Facebook plea has now uncovered the genuine and amusing tale behind her 'wedding gatecrasher'.

He was identified as Andrew Helliman, who replied to a post and admitted he'd intended to attend a different wedding with his partner that day - but had been given the incorrect venue. He turned up just moments before the ceremony began in November 2021 and only recognised the bride and his partner, who was part of the wedding party he was supposed to join.

Andrew only cottoned on to his blunder when he witnessed Michelle walking down the aisle. He remained for the service at the Carlton Hotel, in Prestwick, Ayrshire, to avoid causing a scene before discreetly making his exit.

Michelle revealed she had attempted numerous times over the years to identify the enigmatic man in her wedding snaps, but none of her relatives, mates or vendors had any clue. However, after tracking him down on Facebook the duo finally met face-to-face yesterday (Thursday, September 11) to exchange their tales and Michelle said she 'couldn't stop laughing'.

After spotting the post from YouTuber, foodie and Scottish telly personality Dazza, Andrew, 33, a painter and decorator from South Ayrshire, remarked: 'I always wondered if this would ever make its way back to me.

'Four years ago my partner was acting as bridesman for his mate Michaela's wedding and I'd been invited as his plus one. For some reason he told me it was at the Carlton hotel in Prestwick at 2pm when it was actually being held at the Great Western hotel in Ayr. He had already left in the morning to help with whatever it is bridesmen do and left me to make my own way to the wedding.'

Andrew disclosed he had been running late and arrived at the hotel five minutes before the ceremony commenced, spotting a piper outside performing and guests heading inside.

'I remember thinking to myself, 'cool, this is obviously the right place'. I parked my car and rushed inside. I make my way into the hall and saw the groom standing and waiting nervously. I had never met Michaela's husband before so I thought, 'alright, this must be Ben'.'

Andrew explained the only two people he knew attending the wedding were his partner and the bride who he assumed were elsewhere. He continued: 'The fact that I didn't recognise a single person in this place didn't raise any alarm bells.

'Then the music started. Everyone stands up and turns around to watch the bride walk down the isle and I went, 'OMG that's not Michaela!'.

'I was at the wrong wedding! You can't exactly stand up and walk out of a wedding mid ceremony so I just had to commit to this act and spent the next 20 minutes awkwardly sitting there trying to be as inconspicuous.'

Following the service, he disclosed that he then dashed outside, made several phone calls and hurried to the proper wedding. He continued: 'I was almost as popular as the actual bride and groom and spent most of the night retelling that story to people.'

Michelle, 38, a digital facilitator for the NHS, from Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire, revealed she was delighted to finally crack the puzzle - and found Andrew's blunder absolutely hilarious. She continued: 'As soon as I got the sample of the wedding pictures I noticed it straight away. We all said, 'do you know who that is?' We were asking around the family and friends and no-one had any idea. No-one remembered him being there on the day and we now know he slipped away straight after the ceremony.

'It has been so long but I thought surely someone has to know who it is and we always wanted to find out the story why he was there. I had reached out on social media and shared posts on Facebook but it had never got far.

'I was looking through the wedding pictures, and I just thought I'm going to message someone with a lot of followers and ask if they can share. Daz put it up and within two hours we had found it.

'It is unbelievable. I just could not stop laughing when I heard the story. It is so funny and the way Adam tells the story is brilliant. You just don't hear about things like this happening. I just can not stop laughing about it. It is great to finally find out who it was.

'it was always in the back of my mind, who was that and why was he there? To find out eventually after all this time is quite something.'

The duo met face-to-face for the first time to share their respective accounts of events - with Michelle revealing they intended to remain friends. She continued: 'I met him for the first time tonight. It was great. He is such a nice guy and we will definitely keep in touch. It is such a good laugh and I'll be telling people about it for a long time.'

'Our wedding day really was the perfect day. But this adds another great story to it that gives us even more special memories.'

'I had thought that he should have stuck around so at least we could have met on the day. But then we wouldn't have had all of this. It just worked out the way it was supposed to. It has certainly put a lot of smiles on people's faces.'