Fran and Tommy met in the Terrace Bar in Wimbledon on New Year’s Eve 2014. “Tommy’s friend Mark asked if he could use our table for their drinks. Tommy got chatting to my best friend Helena and I got talking to Mark,” says Fran. “Midnight struck and everyone kissed. Later Tommy approached me, we got chatting and the rest was history,” she says. They went on to enjoy multiple dates and then Tommy made it official by asking Fran to be his girlfriend. A few years later, Tommy surprised Fran with another special question. “He proposed in Riva in Lake Garda. We climbed a mountain on a very stormy night, and I kept trying to go back, but Tommy was desperate to get to the top, which now makes sense,” she says. “At the top he’d arranged a candlelit dinner for after the proposal, it was very special.” A CEREMONY TO REMEMBER It was important to Fran to tie the knot in church. “I’ve been brought up going to church and still do now, and Tommy was supportive of that,” she says. “We wanted to celebrate with all our friends and family but without spending thousands, so we figured it’s not about where you are it’s more about the company and day itself, so we chose to host our ceremony in the Church Centre. It’s a purpose-built space that looks great when it’s done up,” she says. “The service was amazing. We had the church band who played songs, and everyone was up dancing and singing, it was a fantastic atmosphere. Everyone commented saying they hadn’t been to a ceremony like that before it was so much fun,” says Fran. The rings were brought down the aisle on a jeep driven by Fran’s nephew and the duo’s little boy Ezra, was pulled down the aisle in a tailor-made wedding trailer. “The trailer was painted and built by a dear friend of ours Colin, whose wife used to be my teaching assistant when I was a teacher, they are very dear to us,” says Fran. “I was worried about how this would go on the day, but it all went to plan, our son quite enjoyed the ride.” Fran arrived at church in a classic 356 Porsche Speedstar and the duo took it for a spin after the ceremony. “Making the decision to leave the church and drive around Reigate for a short while was super special. It was just the two of us and gave us some time to soak it all in.” LOOKING THE PART Fran wore a beaded crepe backless Essence of Australia gown with a statement train. “I tried on around 10 different dresses before finding ‘the one’. I took my mum and sister with me, and I knew it was right for me as I got quite emotional,” she says. “The back was important, as Tommy has always said he found my back sexy and it’s a part of me that I really like too. The train was beautiful with buttons down the length of it which I loved,” she adds. “I even had it adapted to make it breastfeeding-friendly, so I could feed my 9-month-old throughout the day.” Tommy looked dapper in a Reiss suit. “We enquired about hiring a suit, but it was expensive, and he couldn’t find one that he liked so he bought one that he could wear again for work,” says Fran. Fran’s bridesmaids wore sage green dresses from ASOS. “Green’s my favourite colour so I always knew I’d want that REAL WEDDINGS 37
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