‘My father died in my arms at my wedding’

On his wedding day, Tim Sullivan's much-loved dad suddenly collapsed and died on what should have been the happiest of days. But what he learned has shaped his life

It was all set to be one of the happiest days of my life, 9 September 1989. I was getting married. Everything leading up to the date had gone smoothly. The wedding was taking place in a small church, St Teilo's in Bishopston Valley on the Gower peninsula. About 130 friends and family had made the trip down to South Wales. After the ceremony, Rachel and I were going to process up the hill from the church to the reception at my in-laws' home, led by a small jazz band and followed by our guests. But as we left the church, my father suddenly collapsed and died in my arms. He was 65, exactly the age I am now as I write this.

It's a moment I remember vividly. A moment that affected what I went on to write about in my career and how I wrote it. A moment that demonstrated how tragic things have a habit of occurring at the happiest and most unexpected of times.