Batman to get married at Wigan Comic-Con

Lee Burns and Kirsty Walkden will be heading to the Robin Park event on the day they tie the knot and bringing the entire costumed wedding party with them.

The couple has chosen the Wigan comics bash as the venue for part of their special day as it was where 34-year-old Lee proposed to Kirsty, 37, in 2015 during the cosplay costume competition.

Lee and Kirsty are planning a wedding to make any fan of fantasy, superheroes and comics jealous with a host of clever twists on marriage traditions to make the day their own.

And they say Wigan Comic-Con is such a special place to them as the scene of their engagement that the borough just had to be included.

Lee said: “Wigan Comic-Con holds a very special place for us.

“We’ve made so many good friends and met so many brilliant people there it has good, fond memories.

“I can’t really think of anywhere I would want to spend the big day more than with friends and family in such a warm, friendly atmosphere as you get in Wigan.

“We were taking part in the cosplay competition at the December 2015 Comic Con and I asked the organisers if I could propose on stage.

“When it was my turn to walk to the front of the stage and strike a pose they handed me the microphone and said that there were a few things Batman would like to say.

“I had kept it to myself so there was a lot of surprised applause and people were really excited. I really took Kirsty by surprise too.

“Proposing in front of a crowd was more nerve-racking than I had first thought so I didn’t quite deliver the movie-quality speech that was in my head, but it went very well and she said yes.

“When we first met we realised that we both loved fancy dress but had never been to a Comic-Con.

“It’s a hobby we’ve got into as a couple and something we’ve built together.”

Lee will get married wearing a Batman costume similar to the one he wore to propose two years ago while Kirsty’s outfit is, in true bridal tradition, a closely-guarded secret until the big day itself.

The moment Lee went down on one knee to pop the question to Kirsty, who was dressed as Wonder Woman at the time, was captured on film and placed online.

The wedding on June 3 will start at the registry office in their hometown of Chorley, with Kirsty’s seven-year-old son Jack dressed as a Pokemon trainer and handing over the rings inside the Pokeballs from the famous games franchise.

Lee and Kirsty will then spend the afternoon at Wigan Comic-Con before heading back to Chorley for an evening function with speeches, cake cutting and all the time-honoured ceremonies.