For many engaged couples 2020 has been a year of disappointment, having to cancel nuptials and postpone walking down the isle.
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That was the case for musicians Jodie Gibson and Joel Henderson who were set to marry in Port Douglas, Queensland on October 17 this year. But with the COVID-19 pandemic still not under control and frequently changing border closures, they were forced to make the tough decision to cancel the wedding.
"We were going to hold on right down to the wire because we didn't want to let down the people in Port Douglas who had worked so hard to organise everything," Ms Gibson said.
"We finally had to make the call on the weekend because flights were getting cancelled and the border closure.
"I had a cry and then we thought 'okay let's have a wine and sing about it'."
The pair from the NSW Hunter region, who perform under the name Lese Majesty, produced a hilarious rewrite of the song Valerie which provided the ideal chorus to fit Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk's name into the lyrics.
Some of the lines of note include; 'Got to push our wedding back, just because someone ate a bat' and 'Maybe we should go to Clive, I hear he's got a good lawyer'.
WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:
Initially they recorded the song and sent it out to their wedding guests as a way to announce the cancellation, but friends and family demanded a public release of the video which has since picked up momentum online.
"It has gone a bit crazy," Ms Gibson said.
"We know at a time when people are really sick that a wedding is not that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things. This was just a way to put a lighthearted spin on things.
Jessica Brown
Jessica began her journalism career in 2009 as a cadet at The Port Stephens Examiner before moving to London for a two-year stint working in magazines and digital publishing. The Lake Macquarie local returned to Australia where she took up a reporting role at The Maitland Mercury. She worked across several rounds including local council, police and property before moving into digital journalism and joining the team at The Newcastle Herald in 2017.
Jessica began her journalism career in 2009 as a cadet at The Port Stephens Examiner before moving to London for a two-year stint working in magazines and digital publishing. The Lake Macquarie local returned to Australia where she took up a reporting role at The Maitland Mercury. She worked across several rounds including local council, police and property before moving into digital journalism and joining the team at The Newcastle Herald in 2017.
