Couple fourth generation to wed at church

Matthew Tyas, originally from Hebden Bridge, and Katie Norman will wed in St Jude’s Church, Savile Park, Halifax, following in the footsteps of Matthews parents, grandparents and great grandparents.

The tradition began 93 years ago when Matthew’s great grandparents Louisa Buckley and Jack Morrow were married at the church in 1922. His grandparents, Sylvia Morrow and Leslie Hanson, followed in 1946, and his parents, Denise Hanson and David Tyas chose the church for their 1970 nuptials.

And on Saturday Matthew, 32, and Katie, 30, will stand in the same spot when they exchange their vows.

Matthew, a user experience manager for the Co-operative, said: “We will be the fourth generation to get married in the church and we thought it would be a really nice thing to do.

“It’s nice to carry the tradition on, I have this picture in my mind’s eye of the area at that time and imagining how it’s all changed.

“But there’s still that link from the 20s, all the way to now. We’ll be stood on the same spot, doing the same thing that someone very close to us did.

“Our parents are really happy for us, it’s lovely for them as they are not the kind of parents who would expect anything like this, so the fact that we’re following in their footsteps is great.

“It’s a lovely church, in a lovely spot. Although my grandparents won’t be there, I am sure they will be there in spirit and it will make it even more poignant.”

Matthew’s mum Denise added: “I’m extremely pleased that Matthew and Katie have chosen to follow in the family’s footsteps by marrying in the same church as the previous three generations.”

And the couple, who now live in Manchester and have been engaged for eighteen months, hope to have a special memento of the day by recreating some of the vintage photographs.

The couple’s reception will be held at East Riddlesden Hall, Keighley, and the pair will jet off to Greece on Monday for their honeymoon.