Hilsea couple go from living a nightmare to a fairy tale wedding after their critically ill baby makes a recovery

In January this year, Mariah Allen and Liam Doyle's seven-month-old son Hudson contracted Covid pneumonitis and had to be put on life support to recover his depleting oxygen levels.

25-year-old Mariah says: ‘This year has been so stressful, I’m still in trauma therapy from the things that we went through, it’s been a constant nightmare.’

Thankfully, after weeks of successful intensive care and treatment at Southampton General Hospital, Hudson returned to their Hilsea home in February.

Mariah says: ‘Ever since then it’s not calmed down. We’re still in and out of hospital, he has so much intense follow-up as a result of everything his little body went through.’

After Liam, also 25, proposed in November of 2021 – a complete surprise to Mariah – wedding deliberations were far from the pair’s mind after a shocking start to the following year, but as little Hudson got stronger, they decided it was just what they needed to lift their spirits.

Mariah says: ‘It was just so much doom and gloom and negativity, we just thought we needed something. The start of the year was awful, so we just wanted to end it on a massive high and round off our year and celebrate our family and obviously that Hudson made it through.

‘Having the wedding to plan was a huge distraction. It really helped us to have something else to focus on,’ she added.

Mariah, who says she has a ‘go big or go home’ mindset when it comes to planning, knew the kind of wedding she wanted. And after the year the couple had had, she wasn’t going to settle for less.

She says: ‘We did the huge church wedding with a horse and carriage; you name it, we had it! It was a lot to do in the space of six months, but I can’t not be doing anything, I need to always be busy planning and writing lists!’

The couple were married on October 7 at St Mary’s Church in Fratton – the very same church Mariah’s parents got married in 26 years ago – surrounded by 60 of their closest family and friends including now 15-month-year-old Hudson and their daughter, two-year-old Pixie.

‘I’m really extravagant, so when I heard [St Mary’s] had the biggest and longest church aisle in the whole of the south of England, it had to be that!

‘It was just amazing, we’re still just looking at the photos, just obsessed with the day, it was exactly how we imagined it, like a real fairytale, it was just beautiful.’

It was a day of healing not only for the family, but also for their nearest and dearest, many of whom have had not seen Hudson since his diagnosis.

Mariah adds: ‘It feels like a fresh start for our family. We did it quite intimately, we purely wanted the people that were there for us the most to all be together since everything happened.’

‘It was the first time a lot of the family have seen Hudson since he came off life support, it was quite emotional for a lot of people. Where his condition is respiratory, he’s very vulnerable, so we’ve had to be so careful and keep him isolated. Pixie loved it, she just wanted to stroke the horses the whole time!’

After their son was admitted to hospital on New Year’s Day the couple have had their fair share of distress, so are over the moon to be given a ‘clean slate’ and are looking forward to life together now the dust has settled.

Mariah added: ‘I’ve never known anyone like [Liam], he’s so caring and gentle and calm, I’ve never seen him annoyed about anything. The bloke works 11 hours a day and comes home and cooks me dinner!’

The newly-weds chose to forego their wedding presents, asking for donations to Southampton’s paediatric intensive care unit (PICU).

‘We just didn’t want anything else other than our family, when you go through these things you realise nothing else matters,’ added Mariah.

‘We were there, we saw what they do every day, they’re literally saving children’s lives.’