When you are a journeyman midfielder playing for a country that hasn’t qualified for a major tournament since 1958, arranging your wedding so it doesn’t clash with the final of Euro 2016 might seem a tad presumptuous. However, having not been presumptous, and with Wales in the semi-finals, Joe Ledley has had to postpone his marriage to Ruby May Ridgeway, because it was scheduled for Saturday, the day before the final.
A postponed wedding may be traumatic for some, but for others, it’s the key ingredient to a sporting fairytale.
Dream come true
Dominika Cibulkova, a 27-year-old from Slovakia, said it would have been a “dream come true” if she’d had to postpone her wedding this Saturday – the day of the Wimbledon ladies’ final. “We chose the date because I never saw myself as such a great grass-court player,” she said after reaching the quarter-finals. Perhaps fears of missing her big day were playing on her mind as she played Elena Vesnina today in the quarters. She was hammered in straight sets.
Postponement hat-trick
Jamie Vardy bagged a hat-trick of wedding postponements as Leicester City romped to an unexpected Premier League title. Perhaps he was sensible to get married to Rebekah Nicholson before the Euros began – but then again, since when have England players had to worry about doing well at a major tournament?
A bad break
When it came to choosing between marrying his fiance, Laura, or being called into the England squad for a friendly against Belgium before Euro 2012, Norwich City goalkeeper John Ruddy chose his wedding. But shortly before the big day, Ruddy was injured in training and missed the Euros. His mishap? He broke his wedding-ring finger.
Sabotage
Michael Essien had to postpone his wedding in 2012 because a match he was due to play for Real Madrid match was sabotaged by someone with wire-cutters, who took out the stadium electrics. The match was hurriedly rearranged – and then clashed with Essien’s big day.
Forward thinking
Liverpool attacker Adam Lallana brought his wedding forward from 14 June 2014 to Boxing Day 2013 after England’s qualification for the World Cup in Brazil. His foresight was rewarded: he made his competitive debut for England on 14 June. Novak Djokovic also postponed his wedding that summer to concentrate on Wimbledon, which he won for a second time before marrying Jelena Ristic four days later in Montenegro.
Welsh wisdom
Wales’s unexpected success has caused more than one cancelled holiday in their squad, and defender Chris Gunter will miss his brother’s wedding in Mexico on Thursday. But Gareth Bale has proved wiser: he didn’t book his summer holidays until the Euros were over. “I fully believed that we could do something,” he says. “I am not like the others.”
