A nurse and doctor who planned to tie the knot this August, had to cancel their plans and wed in the hospital’s chapel due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

Nurse Jann Tipping and doctor Annalan Navaratnam decided to cancel their august wedding plans as they worried Jann’s family wouldn’t be able to travel from Northern Ireland, and Annalan’s family from Sri Lanka to the UK due to strict immigration laws being enforced due to the pandemic.

So instead of waiting till the pandemic subsides, the couple tied the knot at the hospital they both work in- St Thomas’ hospital, as the management allowed them use their chapel with two witnesses present and their family and friends watching on Zoom.

Jann, 34, and Annalan, 30, from Tulse Hill in South London, said their vows at the end of April in the hospital chapel after asking the hospital’s chaplaincy team if it was possible to have a private wedding ceremony in the chapel.

Jann, an ambulatory emergency nurse, said: ‘We wanted to have the ceremony while everyone was still healthy, even if it meant our loved ones having to watch us on a screen. We wanted to make sure we could celebrate while we were all still able to.

‘The chaplaincy team worked hard to get permission for us to be married, which we appreciated greatly at a time when so much was going on.

‘A date was set within two weeks and we hadn’t bought my dress, our rings and other things we needed so we rushed to get everything done quickly.’ 

Jann said: ‘It was nice being just us, it felt very intimate. One of our witnesses live streamed the service so our friends and family could watch. ‘It was a lovely wedding and the chapel is beautiful, although it did feel surreal getting married where we work, and in a hospital. St Thomas’ is such a special place to us both, and especially to me, having been here for the last six years. Now there is an extra reason why it’s so important to us.’

The couple sent guests champagne for the reception to their homes in advance and hosted a virtual reception complete with a first dance and speeches.

Jann added: ‘We had a beautiful wedding day which we will always remember. It was a nice thing to happen in the middle of an anxious time. We’re so grateful to the chaplaincy team who went the extra mile to make it possible.’

Annalan added:  ‘Jann and I wanted to get married from the moment I proposed. We’re so happy that we have been able to commit ourselves to one another and that the hospital has been able to support us to do that.’