Stewart Dowd and Dana McKinlay are nothing if not persistent.
The couple spent nearly two years trying to lure Great Big Sea‘s frontman, Alan Doyle, to their wedding in Charlottetown, P.E.I. They set up a dedicated Twitter account to make their overtures public, and sent him tweets under the hashtag #AlanDoylePleasePlayOurWedding every single day for 580 consecutive days.
Dowd and McKinlay tweeted about their travels, their friends, their wedding preparations and — most importantly — their love for Doyle’s music, all in the hope that he might drop by for their “kitchen party wedding” on Sept. 15, 2019.
And on their big day, he came through.
Video posted online shows Doyle surprising them at their wedding ceremony in the woods, moments after they’re pronounced husband and wife. Dowd and McKinlay share a kiss in front of their wedding party, then turn around to see Doyle launching into a song.
The bride and groom both cover their faces in astonishment.
“Is this the place?” Doyle asks, before launching into a rendition of his song Take Us Home.
“Alan Doyle’s playing at my wedding!” Dowd shouts. He then picks up McKinlay and spins her around in excitement.
Doyle later gave the couple his signed guitar as a wedding gift.
The couple gushed about their wedding dream come true on Twitter afterward, adding that they had no idea that he would actually show up.
“We are totally overwhelmed,” they tweeted. “So much love. And @AlanThomasDoyle played our wedding!!!”
They described Doyle as “the most amazing man” in a later tweet, and thanked him “a million times.”
“What a lovely day,” Doyle tweeted on Monday. “Congrats to ye both.”