A doctor and nurse who had to cancel their wedding plans due to the coronavirus pandemic have married in the hospital where they both work.
Jann Tipping, 34, and Annalan Navaratnam, 30, tied the knot in the chapel at London’s St Thomas’ Hospital, and Morgan Davies Bridal in Hitchin supplied the wedding dress.
Jann, an ambulatory emergency nurse, and Annalan, an acute medical registrar, had to cancel their original plans to wed in August, concerned guests would not be able to safely travel from Sri Lanka and Northern Ireland.
Instead, special permission was given for a private wedding ceremony on April 24, which was live-streamed so friends and family could enjoy it remotely.
Maddy Weston, of Morgan Davies Bridal, said: “Their photographer, who we have worked with on quite lot of styled shoots, got in touch and told me their story and asked if we could lend the bride a dress.
“Jann went through our website and found dresses she liked. We had to work with what we had, and the bride was really petite, but we posted her a dress and it fitted her quite well.
“She wasn’t allowed to wear it until she got into the chapel, so she had to get changed in the reverend’s office. For after the ceremony, they had a pair of black scrubs for Annalan and white scrubs for Jann, which was really cute.
“How they got married was very special, and we were really happy to help.” The story of how Jann and Annalan got together is also a lovely one. “They had met online and gone on a date,” Maddy explained. “Annalan told Jann he was moving to a hospital in London soon. Then, a few days later, she was introduced to the new senior doctor, and it was him. They had no idea they were going to be working together.”
The couple are both working on the frontline in the fight against coronavirus. “When I spoke to Jann, she said it was very serious,” said Maddy. “A lot of young people are dying, and it happens very quickly. She said it’s very scary. That’s why they wanted to get married now. She was quite accepting of the fact one of them could catch the virus.
“They are doing everything they can to help other people, and it’s nice to bring a bit of happiness during these scary times.”
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