The wedding crasher mystery solved after four years
When Michelle and John Wylie tied the knot at the Carlton Hotel in Prestwick on 20 November 2021, they thought they were celebrating with family and friends – until an unfamiliar face appeared in their wedding photos.
Among the smiling guests was a tall man in a dark suit, looking rather puzzled. Neither the couple nor their families recognised him. Even the photographer and hotel staff drew a blank. For years, Michelle – who lives in Kilmarnock – admitted the mystery “niggled away” at her. She even wondered aloud to her husband, “Are you sure you don’t know this guy? Could he be from your work?”
A Facebook appeal brought no answers, and theories ranged from a distant relative to a rogue assistant helping the photographer. At one point, Michelle even joked he might be a stalker. Then, years later, content creator Dazza shared the appeal online – and the mystery man stepped forward.
His name was Andrew Hillhouse, from Troon. He had been running late for a wedding that same Saturday but accidentally arrived at the wrong hotel. Believing he was in the right place – smart guests outside, a piper at the door – he slipped inside with five minutes to spare.
It was only when the bride walked down the aisle that Andrew realised something was wrong. “The second I saw her I thought, oh no – that’s not Michaela,” he told BBC Scotland News. But once the ceremony had started, he felt it was too late to leave.
At 6ft 2in, Andrew tried to “hunch down a bit” to avoid attention. He even ended up in the group photos, desperately hoping to go unnoticed. After the ceremony, he grabbed a cola before quietly slipping out and calling his partner – only to discover the real wedding was at the Great Western Hotel in Ayr, two miles away.
His accidental gate-crash turned into a story to share at the right wedding later that day. Years afterward, when he spotted the social media appeal, he came forward to explain.
The revelation delighted Michelle: “We can’t believe we’ve finally found out who he is after almost four years. I couldn’t stop laughing.”
Andrew, too, sees the funny side: “It was much easier to crash a wedding than I expected. I was in and out like an assassin – though all I had was a glass of cola.”
The story has since racked up thousands of likes online and even brought Andrew and Michelle’s niece together in person – proof that sometimes, a wedding mishap can blossom into a light-hearted friendship years later.
