See how other couples celebrated their big day with wedding stories and ideas from County Wedding Magazines' Real Weddings features.
Heidi and Michael first crossed paths as children at church. "I attended with my family and Michael was an altar boy along with my brother," says Heidi. "Years later, I caught Michael's eye on social media, but he did not recognise me at first. He messaged me asking why I had numerous photos with celebrities; my brother was manager at a nightclub at the time. I read the message, recognised him immediately, and shocked him with my response, 'Didn't you used to be an altar boy?' We arranged to meet and quickly became friends, which soon developed into a relationship."
Samantha and Craig met at a pub. "I was working there and Craig would regularly visit," says Samantha. "I was attracted to Craig from the moment I saw him, especially his dazzling blue eyes and his gleaming white-toothed smile. Later, I realised he also had a great sense of humour and personality. He always made me laugh; there was never a dull shift at the pub when he was there. We got chatting quite often and after a few months, we went out on our first date."
Jen and Chris met by chance at the Glastonbury Festival in 2016. "It was at the Arcadia stage while the DJ Andy C was playing," the couple tell us. "Our friends hung out and we kept in touch. When we got married, we walked up the aisle as husband and wife to the song Heartbeat Loud by Andy C which was very relevant!"
Cornish Charm
Emma and Aaron met in a local pub through a mutual friend. "Aaron was quiet while I was outgoing and making jokes all night," Emma tells us. "Aaron was too shy to ask me out so he asked his friend to invite me to spend time with them both and eventually plucked up the courage to ask me on a date - the rest is history!"
Joe proposed to Kaite on 22nd February 2017 on her 30th birthday at the top of the Empire State Building in New York. The trip was a complete surprise and it wasn't revealed where they were going until Joe asked Katie to look up the flight number on the departures board. The couple have continued to make memories ever since. Katie and Joe became Mr and Mrs Harrison on 15th July 2023 at The Compasses at Pattiswick.Here, Katie shares some of her favourite moments from their big day...
Laura and met when we were just two years old at playschool. The friends then went on to infant, junior and senior school together. Back in the days that after school you logged into MSN Messenger, the two pals would sit and type to each other. Laura tells us more, "We'd chat for hours on end until one evening, 18th December 2008, Elliott built up the courage to ask me out one final time and to his surprise I said yes - (well, I typed yes!). He considers himself a hero for doing the impossible and making it out of the friendzone! From that day on we've been the best of friends, soul mates and each other's biggest supporters."
Even though they had probably known each other beforehand, Hannah's first memory of Sean was of a (slightly worse for wear) stranger knocking on a friend's door to take a break from winding his merry way home from a wedding. He leaned against the kitchen counter and the rug slipped out from under his feet, leaving him in a heap on the floor. Hannah comments, "Our mutual friend tried to convince me to give Sean a lift the rest of his way home, but that wasn't going to happen!"
Lucy and Greg met on Tinder, "We swiped right and matched! The mutual photos of travelling the world also attracted us to each other."After a relationship beckoned, fast-forward to 2021 and Greg whisked Lucy off to Mauritius for her birthday. "He proposed two days later on a deserted beach at sunset!" adds Lucy.
These lovebirds met each other on tinder in 2015! Katie was very busy with work so told Dan that it would be a while before she could actually meet up and he was fine with that! The pair finally met on a Sunday at 2pm and didn't get home till midnight! Safe to say, they hit it off straight away. Dan planned an amazing day; they went to a rooftop bar overlooking St Paul's and then on to a restaurant for dinner.
Lydia and Ben met through mutual friends, and as Ben was in the RAF, they were only able to spend the odd weekend together in the early stages of their relationship. "We'd travel for hours just to see each other for a few days," Lydia remembers.
Jamie proposed to Sarah in Edinburgh where they were enjoying a picnic in the castle gardens. Soon after, they started to plan their big day in the Caribbean, which was something they'd both dreamed of. Still keen to celebrate with friends and family though, they discussed the possibility of booking a UK venue too for a reception. The Titanic Hotel immediately sprung to mind as this is where they met at a Christmas party. So, they went along to enquire and were shown West Bay. "The venue itself is absolutely beautiful, even without being dressed for a wedding," Sarah says. "The brick, the lighting, the size of the room..."
Kassie describes the proposal as, "out of this world!" Kassie elaborates, "When I fi rst met Rob, he said he doesn't do things by halves. He wasn't kidding. He took me to our favourite special place a hotel called Ashdown Park in West Sussex, a place we visited when we fi rst got together and where we fell in love." Having checked in, the pair went for a drink in the hotel bar. The surprises started there, as Kassie's best friends crept up behind her, revealing they were there for a belated birthday treat!
Emma met and became friends with Vic and Lee in the Philippines while travelling and arranged to meet up with them again in Melbourne at a music event. Unfortunately, or fortunately as is turned out, they couldn't make it having decided to stay on in Vietnam and instead put Emma in touch with Jack. They both did a little Facebook stalk before meeting up and decided they weren't interested romantically, but both now agree that this all changed the moment they sat down together in that bar in Melbourne. They became inseparable from that night on. "Jack made me laugh so much and had such a good energy, I just wanted to be around him all the time," Emma says.
Natasha and Cameron met on the number 12 Arriva bus to school when they were just 12 years old. Cameron sat behind Natasha but was too scared to speak to her as she was in the year above him. He'd go home and tell his mum all about this beautiful long-haired red head from the bus though, and eventually, thanks to his mum's advice, he did pluck up the courage to sit next to her and ask her out. They remained extremely close throughout their teenage years, even living together at university.
Bethany was working as a ward nurse when one day while doing her usual 5pm drug round she found herself faced with a man looking for his younger brother who'd had surgery earlier that day. As she showed him the way, she thought to herself, "Why couldn't I have met this man when I was looking slightly more put together?" Happily for Bethany though, this man was Matthew and he hadn't been the slightest bit put off by her old nurse's uniform or lack of make-up and had felt a connection too. Later that evening, he asked her out for dinner, and she gladly accepted.
Lou and Sam met while working together at a big gym venue, but it wasn't until a year had passed that they actually spoke to each other. Once they did though, they soon discovered a common interest in music and pets, and before long set up their first pub date.
Olivia and Luke met in 2018 at work. "I was Luke's boss," says Olivia. "He convinced me that he was a qualified personal trainer, so we started going to the gym together, became best friends, and ended up falling in love."
Dan was Fay's personal trainer at her local gym, which is how the two met. They got on like the proverbial house on fire with Fay often listening to his tales of recent girlfriend trouble. The two officially started dating once the aforementioned troublesome girlfriends were off the scene and began meeting socially outside of the gym. Eventually, a few beers at a rugby match led to their first kiss!
Amy and Chris met at work and started talking after they were introduced by Amy's boss. "We became friends and the rest is history," says Amy. "We have three children between us and in 2020, they said: 'Will you marry our dad?' with my mum's engagement ring in hand. It was a complete shock and the most perfect proposal, as the kids were included. My mum sadly passed away in 2018 from cancer, so it means a lot to me that he used her ring."
Hayley and Simon were set up on a date by a mutual friend. "He was kind and loyal and we wanted the same things in life," says Hayley. "He was also very chatty and funny."
Rosie and Michael met, like most modern couples, online. "We were attracted to each other's sense of adventure and love of the outdoors," says Rosie. "Michael almost missed out though, as he cancelled our first date at short notice because he'd found a lost dog while out on the fells and, in the process of reuniting the dog with his owner, managed to get sunstroke. It was only because my mum persuaded me to give him another chance that I agreed to reschedule!"
Marguerite and Jason met eight years ago in London. "I was looking for a space to rent and Jason's house share had a room available," says Marguerite. "I was in touch with Jason's flatmate, but at the last minute he couldn't show me around, but he mentioned that his flatmate, Jason, would do it instead. It's a bit cliché to say it was love at first sight, but since the moment he opened that door, I knew I wanted to get to know him better. I even called one of my friends after the visit and said that if I don't get the room, I'll ask for his number. In the end, I didn't need it, as they offered me the room. Once I moved in, we started to chat a lot and go out as friends until six months later, when we finally admitted our feelings to each other."
When Harry met Megan online, he immediately found himself attracted to her confidence as she was the one to send the first message and had included some witty banter about his profile. The early attraction bloomed into a romance and Harry proposed in 2022.
In March 2016, Daisy arrived at a pub in Kington, Worcestershire. "I was there with another man," says Daisy. "Barnaby, the barman and waiter for the evening, caught my eye. We chatted and flirted, but then I left with the other man. After a swift 24 hours and enlisting the help of my maid-of-hour, I hunted for this mystery bar man via the pub's Facebook page, scrolling through hundreds of photos until I found him. I immediately added him on Facebook and the rest is history."
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