Groom tragically dies at altar as bride is walking down the aisle with her son

A bride has shared her devastation after her husband-to-be died at the altar, just minutes before they were due to wed.

Dad-of-eleven Paul Wynn, from North Ayrshire, Scotland, was terminally ill when he collapsed at the ceremony in Saltcoats town hall, Ayrshire Live reported.

The 57-year-old was about to marry his partner of 21 years, Alison Wynn, after proposing in October 2019.

His 38-year-old fiancée has now paid a heartfelt tribute to her partner, who she had five children with, describing him as a “fantastic dad”.

Eight days before he died, Paul had been told by doctors he had cancer. Doctors gave him the devastating news that he only had between six weeks and two months left to live, after the cancer in his pancreas had spread his liver and lungs.

So, the couple brought their wedding date from July 16 forward to June 25 in a bid to tie the knot within the short time they had left together.

Sadly, Paul wasn’t able to realise his dream of marrying his partner as his health took a tragic turn just as Alison was walking down the aisle.

Alison – who changed her surname by deed poll a few years ago - told the site: “If I had known we didn’t have long I would’ve tried to arrange the wedding for the beginning of the week.”

After organising a wedding on short notice, Alison was so overwhelmed on the big day she had forgotten to bring her flowers to the venue. So she had to wait for ten minutes outside town for her friend to deliver them to the town hall.

By this point, she said everything seemed to be OK, although Paul appeared to be a “bit uncomfortable”.

The ceremony began just before 2pm, with the couple’s eldest child, Sandy, 20, walking Alison down the aisle in front of 20 guests. However, as she made her way to Paul, she soon realised Paul didn’t look well as he sat slumped his chair.

“By the time I got to him I called his name a couple of times,” Alison said. “He didn’t turn round, he didn’t look at me and I realised there was something wrong and I started breaking down and I started shouting his name and we knew something wasn’t right.”

Paul was helped off the chair and moved onto the ground. First-aiders arrived to administer CPR and used defibrillator in an effort to help Paul, but sadly he couldn’t be revived.

The couple first met in 1999 through the Jehovah’s Witnesses, and had an on-and-off relationship over the next two decades.

They share five children together: Sandy; Tarquin, 15; Marcus, 13; Louise, eight; and Poppy, four.

Alison said: “We were his life, he would do anything for his kids. He would move heaven and earth for his kids and everyone loved him.”

A fundraiser has been launched on GoFundMe to help the family pay for Paul’s funeral, which will take place next Tuesday.