REAL WEDDINGS 29 These lovebirds met through Tinder and never looked back! Ellie had just moved back home after living in Paris for a year and wanted to meet new people. Besides his good looks, Steve was extremely kind and proactive with arranging dates and remembered little details about her. He comments, “Ellie was great fun to be around from the start; we just made each other laugh all the time. As she had just returned from Paris and wasn’t working yet, she would come and meet me during my lunch break, which I really enjoyed!” The pair was in Paris when Steve proposed! His original plan had been to pop the question on the Bir Hakeim Bridge, which has the perfect view of the Eiffel Tower. Ellie says, "When we got there, Steve set up the camera under the guise of taking some family photos as we had our one-year-old daughter with us but was actually going to film the proposal. However, a wedding photoshoot came along, and the photographer asked if he could take a photo of us – with the intention of getting us out of the way quickly! Our baby then started getting fussy, and the moment was ruined. So, he had to think of another plan. We got up early the next morning and set off to the Île de la Cité. As it was early, and there was nobody around! We sat on the edge of the island under a willow tree, looking over the river Seine, and that was where he proposed. It was our 8th anniversary, so it was really special and a total surprise!" SETTING THE SCENE The pair had initially planned to have a big wedding surrounded by loved ones and actually went to see a few wedding venues before falling in love with one. After getting quotes for their desired day and totalling up costs, they realised it would probably be a while before they could afford the wedding of their dreams. At a friend’s house early in July, the pair discussed having a small wedding followed by a big party later due to Covid restrictions. That conversation planted a seed in their head. Ellie said the next day to Steve, “What’s the point in waiting to afford a big wedding? The whole point of it is to be married, let’s just have immediate family there”. As Steve’s sister lives in Abu Dhabi with her husband and two young children, they realised that they would have to arrange the wedding for when they were next in the country. Luckily, they were about to come over for the summer but only had one date that they could do. The couple had looked online at a few local registry offices, but as soon as Ellie saw photos of the arches at the Hertford Registry Office, she knew it was the perfect setting. They decided to call the registry office and see if they had any wedding slots available for August 5th 2023, which was only five weeks away. Lo and behold, the date was available! So, the pair took the plunge and booked it. The bride comments, “When I reached out to our photographer Sophie, thinking there was no way she’d have a Saturday in August free, she said she had been purposefully not booking anything that day as it was her anniversary. However, I had the same name as her daughter which she took as a sign and accepted the booking. I knew the stars were aligning, and this was the date we were always meant to get married!” The couple had been to the restaurant Lussmanns the year before the wedding for Steve’s birthday and remembered how beautiful the leaded glass windows in the restaurant were as well as the food. Again, they knew it would be the perfect place for the wedding breakfast. The restaurant offered two different layouts they could accommodate, and the lovebirds ended up going with an L-shaped one to create a more intimate setting. Lussmann’s has a summer lunch menu focusing on fresh, local produce. It was perfect for the day and went down as a treat with guests. The newlyweds had planned to book a room in a bar or pub in Hertford for the reception but knew it might be tricky on a Saturday in summer, especially with the children. Luckily, the mother-of-the-bride offered to host the celebrations at her house, which was the perfect
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