US mayor marries couple moments before bride gives birth

A US mayor had his morning turned upside down when a couple asked him to marry them just 45 minutes before the bride was due to give birth.

Pete Buttigieg, mayor of South Bend, Indiana, had just arrived at his office after an early morning run when the young couple approached him with the unusual request.

"In my mind I saw the rare few minutes of free time I had left vanishing, and without meaning to be discouraging, tried to hint that I did not have a lot of time for unplanned meetings," Buttigieg confessed in a Facebook post.

That's when the pair, Mary and Gabe Jones, revealed they wanted to be married before Mary delivered their child—the only issue being that it was 8:15 am, and Mary was scheduled for a caesarean section at 9 am.

But the couple had come prepared with all the paperwork required and wanted to see if Mayor Buttigieg would "do the honours."

"Obviously there's only one answer to that question," the mayor wrote.

Buttigieg explained that he "corralled" a few staff to witness the marriage, filled out the paperwork and wed the expecting couple right then and there.

One of his colleagues even found ribbon for Mary and Gabe to use as rings, as their own rings weren't ready yet.

The newlyweds then rushed to the hospital, where Mary made her appointment and gave birth to their new daughter, Jade Katherine Jones: "South Bend's newest resident."

They even sent the mayor a photo of their precious baby girl, which he shared alongside the caption: "Congratulations to the newlyweds and new parents, and welcome, Jade, to this unlikely and lovely world!"

Mayor Buttigieg recently announced that he hopes to run in the 2020 US presidential election as a Democratic Party candidate and, if nominated, would be the first openly gay presidential candidate.

But it's the little things that make the job so rewarding, with Buttigieg writing of the unusual wedding: "It's moments like this that I'll miss when my term as mayor comes to an end."

Maybe US politics could use someone who appreciates sweet moments like these.