Your North West Wedding- April/May 2020 (Issue 61)

THE GREAT outdoors Katie and Oliver had a fun celebration in a quirky tipi Images courtesy of Maddie Farris Photography K atie and Oliver met at infants school. “We were in the same school until we were around seven years old,” says Katie. “I had a massive crush on him, but seeing as I barely spoke, I never said a word to him! I did, however, treasure the tea towel that we both drew our faces on as part of a school activity. Ollie and his family then moved 163 miles away to Tiverton, and I assumed I’d never see him again. Then one day, 16 years later, he popped up as one of my suggested friends on Facebook. I added him and sent him a message to see if he remembered me. Much to my surprise, he replied within seconds and said ‘Yes! I still have a tea towel with your face on it!’ We messaged back and forth for weeks, bonding over our love of music and comedy. Then I moved to Manchester, and he went travelling. We chatted online for about a year before planning Ollie’s first trip to Manchester, where I took him on a surprise Legends Tour of Old Trafford for our first date.” Oliver asked Katie to become his wife after five wonderful years together. “Every year Ollie and I have a barbecue at our house to celebrate our birthdays,” shares the bride. “On the 23 rd June, 2017 we’d invited friends and family from all over the UK to celebrate Ollie’s birthday. Everyone arrived, and the party was in full swing when it started raining. Ollie insisted that everyone go into the dining room and I couldn’t understand why he was making such a big deal about the tiniest bit of rain. When we got into the dining room, he got everyone around in a circle and started to make a speech. He thanked everyone for being there and reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring box, got down on one knee and asked me to marry him! I saw straight away that he’d had a ring designed and made for me based on one I’d seen years ago. Rather than saying ‘yes’ I just kept saying ‘you had it made!’ and he had to remind me that I needed to answer. As soon as he stood up, he hugged me and kissed me, and we had the biggest group hug. The party continued late into the night, and we were over the moon.” Here she shares some of her favourite moments from their big day... 37  REAL WEDDINGS