Watch more of our videos on Shots!
and live on Freeview channel 276

A Buxton couple will share their wedding day with thousands of festivalgoers this weekend, as the groom prepares to take the stage at Eat in the Park just hours after saying ‘I do’.

Ash Burgess, 33, and Kate Butler, 37, will be married in the Pavilion Gardens on Saturday morning, just as the festival is getting started outside.

After a short hop in a classic VW camper van to their reception at the Brasserie, the whole wedding party will return to the park to see Ash drum on the main stage with stellar covers band the A’Ups at 5pm.

Ash said: “We played the festival last year and it was a brilliant day. Me and Kate came back on the second day and it was such a fantastic atmosphere that Kate said we should get married here.

Congratulations to the happy couple, Kate Butler and Ash Burgess.

“It felt like a great idea and everybody we spoke to loved it too. It’s something a bit different and it fits our personalities. A lot of our friends are musicians in other bands so they’ll be coming and going during the day to play their own sets. This is what we’re all about.”

Organisers expect sold-out festival as Buxton Eat in the Park returns

Preparations to combine the two events in one day have taken a bit of juggling, with Ash in rehearsals every night this week and also having to deal with a bomb scare at the Harpur Hill laboratory where he works as an engineering technician during the day.

He said: “I can’t take any credit for the planning, fortunately Kate has dealt with most of it around her job and the kids. Jake and George who run the festival have been really great about it and the staff at the Brasserie have made organising it an absolute joy. There’s nowhere better to have a party.”

The A'Ups. From left, George Baxby, Ash, Andy Hibbert and Charlie Willcox.

Around 4,500 people are expected at the festival on Saturday, among them 100 wedding guests and the couple’s two children Halle, eight, and Aiden, four.

Ash said: “I just hope everyone has as much fun as we will be. It’s a day for happiness, good food, good beer and good people. We’ll be surrounded by kindred spirits.

“I won’t ruin the surprise but we’ve added a new song to the start of our set especially – a song our singer says we should never have learned.”

“In these confusing and worrying times, local journalism is more vital than ever. Thanks to everyone who helps us ask the questions that matter by taking out a subscription or buying a paper. We stand together.” – Louise Cooper, editor.

Buxton couple to share wedding day with 4,500 revellers at Eat in the Park

“In these confusing and worrying times, local journalism is more vital than ever. Thanks to everyone who helps us ask the questions that matter by taking out a subscription or buying a paper. We stand together.” – Louise Cooper, editor.