Sompting couple’s quirky wedding dance stuns family

FIRST dances are normally a time for a slow, romantic waltz between newlyweds – but not for this dynamic duo from Sompting whose breakdancing skills left their families gobsmacked.
Ben Barnicoat and his blushing bride Jasmin performing their breakdancing routine at their wedding   PHOTO: YouTubeBen Barnicoat and his blushing bride Jasmin performing their breakdancing routine at their wedding   PHOTO: YouTube
Ben Barnicoat and his blushing bride Jasmin performing their breakdancing routine at their wedding PHOTO: YouTube

Ben Barnicoat, 28, and his blushing bride Jasmin, 27, carefully choreographed their first dance and shocked the whole wedding party with the vibrant, up-beat routine involving flips, spins and some slick moves.

The duo, who tied the knot in Truro, Cornwall, on Saturday (August 1), said the routine was a celebration of how they first met.

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Jasmin, who works for East Sussex County Council as a project officer, said: “We really wanted something that reflected our personalities and something that was unique and ‘us’.

“We both met through the Breakdancing Society at the University of Sussex so we knew we wanted to incorporate that in our wedding somehow and it just seemed like a brilliant way to this.

“Our friends and family have not been able to see us perform so it was a really nice opportunity for them to see what brought us together.”

The couple hadn’t danced properly since they graduated together from university, in 2010.

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Jasmin, who lives with Ben in Test Road, added that despite the time away from the dance floor, the pair had no problem getting back into the swing of things.

Although keeping the routine a secret right up to the last moment proved tricky.

“I think people knew something was a miss when the ushers and bridesmaids started clearing the floor and making a circle,” she said.

“We were really nervous. There was quite a lot that we wanted to get right. We wanted to make it amazing.”

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Since the home video of their dance was uploaded to YouTube yesterday (August 4) it has received almost 800 views.

Jasmin added that the breakdancing set was not the only quirky thing about their wedding.

Her mum, Heather Carcary performed a rap speech – in the style of 1990’s sitcom theme tune to The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

When not dancing, Ben is a teacher at Peacehaven Community School, in Peacehaven.

The couple will both be going on a two-week honeymoon trip to Canada later this year.