Sarah 'Saz' Burwin and her husband Fred were left 'speechless' after Prime Minister Andy Burnham left them a personal message during their wedding ceremony at Number 10 North on Friday (August 21). The message came after Sarah went viral a month before the big day when she jokingly told Burnham 'please don't ruin my wedding'.
Viral moment
Speaking about the moment which has racked almost 500k views in less than a day, Sarah said: "We literally thought it was our family members who couldn't make it on the day and recorded a little message."
"When it was him, I was speechless. It took me a few hours for it to sink in, to realise what had happened."
Sarah also explained how the surprise was a team effort that needed a secret family group chat to come off. "Apparently someone from Downing Street reached out to a couple of my friends," she said.
Secret planning
"So, there was a group chat with my friends, my content creator and my sister-in-law. They were all organising this behind the scenes and I had no idea."
"Everyone had kept it a secret, it's crazy."
The day itself proved to be a great success in more ways than one thanks to the Manchester weather turning for the better just in time for Sarah and Fred's 'amazing day.'
"The day before, we were travelling up to Manchester and it was torrential rain," she explained. "We woke up on Friday and it was a beautiful day, it was so good. I met up with my friends after and I was telling them all what had happened."
Number 10 North
The government's new northern headquarters, Number 10 North, was opened by Andy Burnham last month in Heron House, facing Albert Square in Manchester city centre. The registry office is based in the same building, with the entrance being around the corner on Lloyd Street.
In a video posted on TikTok, titled 'Andy Burnham please don't ruin my wedding', after it opened, bride-to-be Sarah 'Saz' Burwin 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: "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."
At the time Mr Burnham's TikTok replied to her saying: "Noted Saz."
Special message
In an update posted on the social media site following her nuptials on Friday, Saz shared a special video message which Mr Burnham recorded for her inside Number 10 North, and which was played to her and her new husband after they tied the knot.
In it, 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."
Saz, who had been documenting her wedding preparations on the social media site, 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.'
