Prime Minister Andy Burnham recorded a special video message for a bride on her wedding day after she made a tongue-in-cheek appeal for him not to 'ruin' the event. The message was played to Sarah 'Saz' Burwin and her new husband Fred after they tied the knot at the registry office in Manchester city centre.
The government's new northern headquarters, Number 10 North, was opened by Mr Burnham last month in Heron House, facing Albert Square. The registry office is based in the same building, with the entrance around the corner on Lloyd Street. When the building was officially opened, a number of bridal parties were seen making their way in amid a heavy police presence in the area.
Bride's TikTok appeal
In a video posted on TikTok, titled 'Andy Burnham please don't ruin my wedding', Saz said: "I saw you set up your new gaff, Number 10 North, at Heron House. I saw it on the news, gorgeous, love what you've done with the place. But I'm actually getting married there on the 21st of August, and on the news today, the place was surrounded with police, bollards, all sorts. A lot of stuff that wasn't there before."
She added: "My trouble is, I was planning to get nice photos like after, the registry office, outside, and I'm just a bit worried that all of this is kind of ruining the vibe. So I would really appreciate it if you were maybe not there that day. I mean, you're welcome, you're invited. But maybe without the escorts, the police escorts. The guys with the rifles and s**t, because I've got a content creator coming."
Prime Minister's reply
At the time, Mr Burnham's TikTok replied to her saying: "Noted Saz." In an update posted after her nuptials on Friday, Saz shared the video message he recorded for her inside Number 10 North.
In the message, the PM said: "Saz, an absolutely huge congratulations to you and Fred on your wedding day. Thank you so much for the invite, but sadly, I'm honouring your initial request for me to stay out of the way, as I'm filming this as I'm about to leave Number 10 North for the day. Hopefully that's good news for your content creator, though. But I couldn't let the day go by without sending you both a message. I hope you have the best day celebrating and thank you for being such a good sport about Number 10 North suddenly being such a big part of your big day."
He continued: "The DJ set will have to wait for another time, sadly, but I hope you play some good tunes on my behalf, some big Manchester bangers. Anyway, huge congratulations to you both, it's great to see Number 10 North already bringing people together."
Reaction and response
Saz, who had been documenting her wedding preparations on TikTok, could be seen covering her mouth in shock and giggling as the message was played. She said afterwards: "Oh my god! What a lad. I love him," adding: "I'm best mates with Andy Burnham."
In a comment on her TikTok post, Mr Burnham said: "Hope you and Fred had an amazing day Saz! Sorry I couldn’t do that DJ set…" She replied, saying he had 'made our day.'
