Delight for Rochdale councillors as they tie the knot one day after they are both re-elected

Two Labour councillors in Rochdale have marked a double celebration recently- they got married just one day after they were both re-elected to their wards in the recent local election.

On Saturday 7 May, Councillor John Blundell tied the knot with Councillor Elsie Wraighte, of the Labour and Co-operative Party, hours after they were both by their constituents. Representing Smallbridge and Firgrove, John received 1312 votes and Elsie, who represents Balderstone and Kirkholt, received 1062 votes.

The husband and wife were wed in an intimate ceremony at St Chad's Parish Church in central Rochdale and celebrated their reception at The Baum pub on Toad Lane. This was their third attempt to get married, as their wedding had to be postponed twice during the pandemic.

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It was important for the couple to get married in the borough of Rochdale, where they carry out their community work. Planning a wedding at the same time that they were campaigning for the election was "stressful" for both, but worth it in the end, they said.

Speaking to the Manchester Evening News from their honeymoon in sunny Spain, the pair opened up about the thrilling new chapter in their lives.

John, 28, who has been a councillor since 2014, said: "Both the election and our wedding went well, so it was doubly nice.

"We are obviously overtly political people, so the election was important to us. But wereally wanted to get married, so we literally took the first opportunity and got married on the Saturday following the election.

"We couldn’t have found anywhere better than St Chad's Church and The