See how other couples celebrated their big day with wedding stories and ideas from County Wedding Magazines' Real Weddings features.
Rachael and Andrew were high school sweethearts. "We were friends for a little while and eventually got together when we were 15," says Rachael. "It was all very high school; a kiss at a house party, a mutual friend asking if I would say yes if he asked me to be his girlfriend!"
Gemma and Ben met on holiday in Cyprus six years ago where the pair hit it off. What started as a holiday romance, it took them both by surprise when a relationship blossomed on returning to England. "Ben proposed four years later on a return holiday to Cyprus, which was a complete surprise to me," shares Gemma. "It was at the same place we had met, which was where he'd been with his family on holiday from a young age, so it was a place special to him. We were away with friends and family who'd been with us from the start, which made the engagement celebrations even more special!"
Verity and Ed met for coffee and instantly hit off. "I thought Ed was very handsome with a lovely, warm personality," says Verity. "In the first month or so, we were only able to meet up on weekdays as Ed was working night shifts. When Ed had a day off in the week, he would make and bring lunch to my workplace."
Louise and Stephen met while out one evening after work in a wine bar in Fleet Street, London. "We quickly discovered a mutual love of good wine and good bread. Oh, and obviously attraction to each other!" shares Louise. "We met the following week, on three separate evenings. We spent the evenings, chatting, really listening to each other, laughing and getting to know each other. And there was an instant feeling for both of us, that this person gets me, and we both knew pretty quickly during those first few dates that our lives were going to look very different from how we had envisaged and that we would each have a starring role in each other's lives!"
Sarah and James met at a bar in 2015. "I'd decided to have a spontaneous drink with one of my good friends, Jess, after work," says Sarah. "It's fair to say that Jess had a few too many to drink by the time we met James. I was ordering drinks and when I turned around, I saw an overly sociable Jess had started chatting with James' friends. One of his friends pointed James out to me and asked if I was single. I'd sworn off men at that point and Jess was engaged, but we continued to chat and eventually I got talking to James. I could tell he was a very kind, interesting and intelligent soul and we got on well immediately."
Natarsha had just moved to London on a two-year working holiday visa from Australia and got a job working at the pub down the road from where she had started house-sharing with friends. Marcus was already working there as a bartender, and the pair became friends first before slowly falling in love. She says, "I was new to the City, trying to find my feet, and Marcus worked up the courage to ask me on a date after a few months. I was surprised as I had been so overwhelmed with the move with finding somewhere more permanent to live, finding freelance work, trying to wrap my head around the fact that I was living on the other side of the world, getting used to the everyday small things that make up life in London such as Oyster cards and what a Tesco was that I wasn't even thinking about dating
Jess and Sam met nine years ago via a dating app. "I moved to Oxford after meeting Sam and we started a long-distance relationship with him in Pembrokeshire and me in Oxford," says Jess. "I would get the train to Pembrokeshire after my night shifts and he would drive up every Friday night after work and drive back every Sunday. We travelled long distances for three years before Sam moved to Oxford."
These lovebirds met on Bumble, which felt like fate as they had matched before on Tinder – little did they know they'd become engaged in June 2021! When the government issued the roadmap back to normality after the Covid-19 pandemic, Joe told Adesola to save a date in her diary as his friends were coming to visit from Manchester for dinner. She says, "My family had a last-minute barbecue that I agreed to go to as I had completely forgotten! I ended up stopping by and rushing back to prepare for dinner. While I was getting ready, Joe told me to look outside the window. As I leaned in to look closer, I turned around to see him down on one knee and was so surprised – I couldn't stop staring at the ring! It turns out Joe had actually booked The London Edition for the weekend and a surprise dinner at Scott's, as I love seafood. It was even more special because Joe's not usually a planner!"
These lovebirds first met after Trish came into the restaurant Tom managed in the City of London and asked to use the toilet. She was on one of her work trips to London and had been on a run. Her hotel was at the top of the street, but she didn't think she'd be able to make it back in time! Tom comments, "I thought Trish was stunning as soon as I saw her. In a clumsy attempt at flirting, I jokingly told her the toilet was for customers only, so she bought a glass of wine and sat outside. It just so happened that one of the restaurant owners was in that night, and she got talking to Trish outside. Eventually, I managed to join them when the restaurant had slowed down at the end of the night, to see they had joined tables and seemed like old friends. Trish was clever, funny and interesting
Abbie and Alan met through a mutual friend. "We were introduced at a gig – I had expressed interest in him and we hit it off straight away!" Abbie says. "Alan proposed during a stay at a log cabin in Cornwall just after my 30th birthday with our closest friends gathered around. It was a wonderful surprise because he had led me to believe for a long time that he wasn't interested in getting married!"
Jojo and Kane met at work. "We clicked instantly and found that spending time together felt very easy," Jojo tells us. "We quickly realised that we shared the same sense of humour and grew very close."
Sophie and Harry met through mutual friends while attending university in Liverpool. There was an instant attraction, thanks to their similar sense of humour.
Maddy and Dan met seven years ago via a dating app. They didn't live in the same area at the time, so their first date was a bit last minute and brief, just to get an idea of what could be. Neither expected then what it would turn into. During that quick coffee at Cafe Nero, they were struck by how similar they were: both home bodies, passionate about reading, and adore dogs.
Ruth and Sam met in 2012 at a ski resort in New Zealand. It was Sam's third time there as a seasonaire, but Ruth's very first. "So, I had absolutely no idea what I was doing," Ruth says. We're told that there's an unwritten rule when it comes to learning to ski or snowboard: you should never let your significant other teach you if you don't want it to end badly.
Izzy and Alex met at the Truro Hockey Club and both still play for the club now. They became engaged when Alex proposed in St. Ives. "He popped the question with his nana's ring which is stunning," Izzy tells us. "We had gone to do some last-minute Christmas shopping when he asked me to marry him! We went for lunch and then he surprised me by inviting our parents and his brother for dinner. He had secretly booked additional annual leave for us both for the following day and we all stayed in St. Ives to celebrate."
These lovebirds met on a dating app and hit it off immediately! Aimee says, "In one of Ben's photos, he looked very handsome in a threepiece navy suit snacking on a large 'share bag' of blue Doritos. The contradiction of his suited and booted style with his student eating habits was something I immediately knew I wanted to learn more about. So I swiped, and we connected. After chatting for a few weeks, we met at Boltons Bench in the New Forest, a semi-equal distance between Poole and Southampton.
Kelly was cutting her client's hair at their home when she first met Damian, who also asked for a trim even though he was definitely not due for a haircut. Just like that, their love story began!
Rebecca stumbled across Owen's Instagram after seeing his work as a PT at a local gym before following him and meeting at a local pub in Winchester for their first date. She says, "We actually only lived down the road from each other and were surprised that we had never encountered one another. After chatting for several hours, we realised that we were both very family-orientated with the same values, something which we were both looking for in long-term partners."
Paige and Joel met in 2015 through mutual friends on an unplanned night out. Following a summer getting to know each other attending festivals and going on holidays, the couple knew things were getting serious. Soon enough Paige and Joel became homeowners and soon the pitter patter paws of a puppy came along, Koba!
Alex and Hollie met at university. From friendship more blossomed and the pair were inseparable. On a summer's walk along Maldon Promenade, Alex popped the question and of course, Hollie said yes! On Friday 13th October 2023, Hollie and Alexander Martin married at Layer Marney Tower. Here, Hollie tells us more about their day..
The couple describe their meeting as 'a swipe right romance', meeting on Bumble some six years ago. Since then, they've fallen in love over a shared obsession of listening to vinyl, going to gigs and learning new instruments. Megan tells us, "Everyone was surprised when we got engaged as we're not a couple based on tradition. However, it was the easiest yes in the world. Ollie took me to the pub where we first met, and as we walked up to it, he asked where I had stood whilst I waited for him. As I pointed out the spot, he took the ring out of his pocket, went down on one knee and held out the most perfect engagement ring; a diamond set between two skulls. That evening we did exactly what we did on our first date, visited every pub again and got a donner kebab on the way home, perfect!"
When Sherene was looking to have her bathroom redone Horace was recommended to her by a friend. She called him to arrange a time to give her a quote and ended up chatting on the phone for 20 minutes. When he turned up on her doorstep, eyes lit up on both sides but they didn't get together for a further two years, even though Sherene kept asking him back to do more work!
Amber and Jack met through a mutual friend, and Amber straight away found herself attracted to Jack's sense of humour. We fast forward a few years and the couple, now parents, were in their garden for a gathering to celebrate their little girl's birthday, when Jack got down on one knee and popped the question. "We'd spoken about it for a long time, I'd even picked out a ring, but it was still a surprise," Amber remembers.
Annalisse and Greg had known each other as teenagers, but it wasn't until they matched on Tinder that they really connected. "When I got the notification, I pulled the car over so that I could message her straight back, she'd always had a special place in my heart," Greg remembers. "Since then there hasn't been a single day we haven't spoken. It was always meant to be," Annalisse continues.
Kara and Robbie met nine years ago when Kara signed up to take part in a charity boxing match that Robbie was coaching. "The first thing he ever said to me was 'how many fingers am I holding up?' after a roller derby girl smashed me in the face while sparring," says Kara. "Our relationship blossomed and in May 2022, Robbie proposed during a weekend away in Amsterdam."
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