A father-of-the-bride stunned his daughter with a speech that turned into a Hollywood blockbuster to show the mission he went on to bring her beloved childhood doll to the wedding.
Steven Stipetic, 53, thrilled wedding guests at Newton Hall in Alnwick, Northumberland, with an action-packed video of his escapades.
His daughter Laura Finnie had just said ‘I do’ to Lewis Finnie, both 25, and had no idea what was about to unfold when her father stood up and started his speech.
Steven began briefly before rushing out of the room to fetch her beloved Looby Lou, at which point the television screens started showing the dramatic adventure.
The action started as the father-of-three raced away from the venue in his blue three-piece suit and was pursued by police officers in a high-speed car chase.
This was followed by a second scene were he broke into Laura’s house to collect the childhood toy before fighting off a gang of villains.
Laura Finnie had just said ‘I do’ to Lewis Finnie, both 25, and had no idea what was about to unfold when her father stood up and started his speech
Steven Stipetic, 53, thrilled wedding guests at Newton Hall in Alnwick, Northumberland, with an action-packed video of his escapades that included a car chase
The finale came when Steven sky-diving out of a plane with Looby Lou tucked into his waistband to get back to the venue.
As the video had been filmed well in advance of the wedding Steven was in fact standing outside the room listening to the wedding guests’ reactions.
Steven, who owns Cladding Direct, said: ‘When I was standing around the corner after the video had started I was thinking: “Steven, what have you done?”
‘Then I heard everyone laughing and I thought: “Thank God!'”
‘It was a fantastic time. Laura absolutely loved it and that’s what it is all about.
‘It was so special.’
This was followed by a second scene were the father-of-three broke into Laura’s house to collect the childhood toy Looby Lou
The father-of-three then fought off a gang of villains still dressed in his blue three-piece suit
Steven, from Gateshead, explained how the video was created and said: ‘About a year ago my son-in-law asked permission to marry my daughter and I thought “Oh my God, I’ll have to do a father-of-the-bride speech.”
‘I didn’t want to stand there and do the ceremonial, traditional thing. I wanted to do something really memorable.
‘Making memories it what it’s all about isn’t it?
‘I had a light bulb moment and rang my friend, Adam Bouabda, at Couch Potato Films and told him my ideas.
‘I kind of wanted something along the lines of Mission Impossible or James Bond type of thing to get the doll to the wedding.
‘He said I was nuts but he would see what he could do.
‘We had a meeting and it went from there.
The finale came when Steven sky-diving out of a plane with Looby Lou tucked into his waistband to get back to the venue
‘We kept it all top secret, not even my wife knew about it. No one at the wedding could know until it happened otherwise it would spoil the surprise.’
The video was created with the help of Couch Potato Films, the Skydive Academy in Peterlee as well as a pub and a police car.
It took three days to film all the scenes and Steven managed to keep the project top secret until the big day on July 27, he did not even tell his wife, Karen, 48.
Steven said: ‘Everyone was brilliant, they were all so helpful. I really appreciated everyone’s involvement in it.’
Laura, a nurse, said: ‘It was amazing. It was totally unexpected. I was taken by surprise but I loved it.
‘I knew nothing about it. I thought my mam must have known something so seeing her shocked made me realise he must have kept it so quiet.’
Steven said that it was important for him that Laura’s childhood doll Looby Lou got to the wedding
Laura said she and her husband, an engineer, had a wonderful day. The newlywed said: ‘The day went too quickly but it was so amazing.
‘The speech is so memorable, it’s nice to be able to watch it back. Everyone loved it.
‘I’m so grateful to my dad for the speech and for everything.
‘I was amazed he had gone to such lengths to do something so special for me. It means a lot.’
Steven said that it was important for him that Laura’s childhood toy got to the wedding.
Steven explained: ‘Laura’s had Looby Lou since she was born. We have lost her a few times over the years and there were screaming tears when that happened.
‘The doll is part of her childhood and she’s kept her all these years, it’s the most famous doll in the family.
‘The speech was about getting Looby Lou to the wedding and she was going to have an adventure to make it there.’