Jonathan GeddesBBC Glasgow and West reporter
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Michelle and John Wylie were bemused for years as to the identity of a stranger at their wedding
Michelle and John Wylie had a blissful November wedding four years ago at a boutique hotel on the South Ayrshire coast, surrounded by friends, loved ones – and one complete stranger.
The couple noticed the mystery wedding crasher only when they received photos of their big day – a tall man in a dark suit, with a noticeable look of puzzlement on his face.
They quizzed relatives, friends and staff at the venue, even asking the wedding photographer about the guest. No-one could provide any answers.
But now, after an internet sleuth joined the search, the mystery man has finally been identified.
Andrew Hillhouse, who was supposed to be a guest at another wedding two miles away, told BBC Scotland News he only realised he was at the wrong venue when the bride walked down the aisle.
Michelle and John were married on 20 November 2021 at the Carlton Hotel in Prestwick, surrounded by family and friends – or so they thought.
“It wasn’t until I got the first few photos back from the photographer and me and my husband were looking at them that we went ‘who’s that?’,” recalls Michelle, who lives in Kilmarnock.
“We started asking our parents first of all, then going through my aunties and the rest of the family, then my friends. Absolutely no-one knew who he was.
“Then we got on to the Carlton Hotel if they had an idea, but nope. We wondered if this was someone who had been helping bring the register down, but not a single person knew who he was.”
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Andrew (tall man on the right), shortly before he realised he was at the wrong wedding
A Facebook post by the bride did not provide any answers either, and as time passed trying to solve the mystery fell by the wayside.
However Michelle told the BBC it kept niggling away at the back of her mind.
“It would come into my head and I’d be like ‘someone must know who this guy is’. I said a few times to my husband ‘are you sure you don’t know this guy, is he maybe from your work?’
“We wondered if he was a mad stalker.”
Other theories included a new partner of the daughter of family friends or someone helping wedding photographer Steven Withers.
Then an appeal to content creator Dazza, asking him to share their pictures and attempt to track the wedding crasher down, finally revealed the man’s identity.
Michelle and Andrew are now Facebook friends and recently met in person
On that same Saturday in November 2021 Andrew Hillhouse was running late for a wedding. With five minutes to spare, he pulled up at the venue he’d been told to go to, hurried in, and took his seat.
His partner David was to be among the bridal party, and Andrew was relieved to be there on time.
It was when the bridal party began walking down the aisle that a sinking feeling crept in.
“I assumed David was in another room with the bride so the music starts up, everyone turns around to look at the bride and the second I see her I’m like ‘oh no, that’s not Michaela, what’s going on here?’,” he says.
“But I was committed at that point, because you can’t walk out of a wedding in progress so I thought I better double down. I’m 6ft 2in and I’m taller than everyone else, so I was trying to hunch down a bit and get out the way.
“I was just sitting there thinking ‘please, let this be over with’.”
Andrew’s partner had given him completely the wrong venue – the wedding he was supposed to be attending was taking place at the Great Western Hotel in Ayr.
He only knew his partner and the bride to be, which is why he didn’t raise any eyebrows at not recognising anyone else in attendance.
“There was a piper playing outside, and all these well dressed people, so I thought I was in the right place.”
Once the ceremony ended, Andrew, who is from Troon, headed for the exit to phone David, only to find he couldn’t escape just yet.
“I make a beeline for the doors, and hear ‘can we get everyone together for a picture’ and I was just going ‘noooo’ inside.
“So you can see my big head in the back row, trying to get out the way.”
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The couple’s wedding was attended by friends, family and one panicking stranger
Andrew was finally able to get out, though he admittedly took a drink of cola on the way. He phoned his partner to ask where they were, and it was only then he realised how far away he’d been sent.
“He told me they were taking photos at the fountain, and I’m looking around going ‘where is this fountain?’ Eventually I asked where they were and he tells me they’re at the hotel in Ayr.”
He was then able to go the actual wedding he was planning to attend, where his mishap provided a fun tale for the other guests.
Andrew Hillhouse
Andrew Hillhouse inadvertently crashed the Wylies wedding
Finally a friend sent him the social media appeal, and he was able to explain online why he was there four years ago.
Andrew’s explanation for his unintentional gate-crashing on Dazza’s social media post garnered more than 600 comments and over 29,000 likes.
It has also put him in touch with the bride Michelle – the pair are now Facebook friends and have since met in person to share a laugh about their unlikely connection.
“I could not stop laughing,” says Michelle.
“We can’t believe we’ve found out who he is after almost four years.”
“Michelle said I’d been haunting her for years,” Andrew adds.
“It was much easier to crash a wedding than I’d have thought – I was in and out like an assassin, even if I only got a bottle of cola for it all!”