See how other couples celebrated their big day with wedding stories and ideas from County Wedding Magazines' Real Weddings features.
These lovebirds first encounted each other in a Wetherspoons, sporting their pajamas during the yearly medical school pub crawl back in 2013. Emily surprised Gareth by being punctual for once and since there weren't many others around, they immediately initiated a conversation. However, it wasn't until they relocated to Shrewsbury in 2016 that they began dating; the rest is history!
Chloe and Lewis met at Lewis' workplace. Chloe was friends with his boss' sister so they'd go and visit the workshop together. The future couple got on well together straight away with plenty of banter and they became friends. "Everyone wanted to set us up and egged us on to go on a date," Chloe says. "Once we did, the rest was history." Indeed, the first date went so well, Lewis tells us, "Afterwards, I knew I was going to marry her."
Catherine and Lizzie met at work in 2018. "We became good friends, eventually moving in together as part of a house share in 2019," they tell us. "We grew closer and on New Year's Eve, Lizzie shared how she felt and was delighted that my feelings were reciprocated," Catherine says. "Being friends fi rst meant we already knew so much about each other. We loved being together and shared many interests like cooking shows, video games and music."
Dominique and Andrew met through an online dating website in 2019. "We went on holiday together and then when the lockdown happened, I temporarily moved in with Dominique so we did not have to isolate separately – the rest is history!" Andrew tells us. Andrew proposed in the gardens of East Hampstead Park Estate during a weekend away in November 2021 and the couple married the following year.
Prianka and Neel met through a mutual friend at university. "Neel proposed by booking Prianka a surprise day off work through one of her colleagues. "I was getting ready for work when he presented me with packed bags," she tells us. "I thought we were going abroad but we stayed at The Shard in London before taking a short trip to Madrid."
Nicola Williams and Nicola Davies met as members of a Brighton walking group. When a mutual friend, Gill, arranged some walks and meals aside from the main group, the two had the opportunity to get to know each other a bit more. Eventually, Nicola W. asked Nicola D. out for a drink and their relationship grew from there.
Joe proposed to Mary at Disneyland Paris with their daughter, Ava, asleep in her pram. They'd known each other since childhood, having met at infant school. With their hearts set on a rustic barn wedding they set out on their venue search and fell in love with the beautiful Cissbury Barns in Findon, West Sussex. "We knew we wanted a beautiful, barn that was all enclosed for guests to mingle, especially for a running toddler!" Mary explains.
These two lovebirds initially met in 2012 as teenagers in the Army Cadets, but it wasn't until eight years later that they truly connected when Amy decided to reach out to Joe. They clicked during a visit to his local pub, and even though Amy was a bit shy, Joe was keen to meet her again. After a few dates, he asked her to be his girlfriend, and their romance fl ourished. Amy loved Joe's kind nature and his wonderful sense of humour. She has always thought he was handsome since day one.
These charming couple first crossed paths 11 years ago at a party. They instantly connected over their shared sense of humour. They spent the entire evening in fits of laughter, and that joyful night marked the beginning of their beautiful relationship. Fast forward time, Josh surprised Jordan by proposing during a recreation of their first date, which included a drink at a local pub and an evening walk through the fields – it was a complete surprise! Jordan says, "It's a funny story because at that time of year, there's usually a huge sunflower field at the end of the walk. Josh had planned to get down on one knee in front of the sunflowers, which he had checked the week before to ensure they were still there. Once we walked through the fields, we realised they had recently been harvested and were just a muddy land area. At this point, I wasn't aware Josh had planned to propose, so I just laughed it off, and we walked back the way we came from. We sat on a bench, where he knelt and asked me to be his wife. I was shocked and maybe said some swear words before finally saying 'yes'!
These lovebirds first crossed paths at school when they were 12 years old, playing on the playground. David's mother decided to enrol him in a different school than his two older brothers. The moment David spoke to Abigail, he playfully made a flirty comment and flashed a charming smile that she couldn't shake from her mind since that very day. They were just school friends for two years, while Abigail's friends had to endure her constant chatter about how much she fancied David.
Kate and Paul met online. "His good looks are what fi rst attracted me," says Kate. "Once I got to know him, I was drawn to his caring and funny personality." Paul proposed in the couple's living room. "It was Valentine's Day," shares the bride. "We went out for a meal and he asked his mum to f i ll our living room with candles. He made a scrapbook of all our memories together and, at the end, asked me to marry him. It was eight years after he asked me to be his girlfriend and it was a huge surprise."
Lois and Ben met through mutual friends in 2017. "Our relationship blossomed and in August 2022, Ben popped the question," says Lois. "We were away for the weekend in the Lake District and while on a walk up Loughrigg Fell, he asked me to be his wife. Ben had already secretly asked my dad for his permission the day before."
Lydia and Leith met online. "We actually went to the same secondary school for a few years," says Lydia. "Leith was a couple of years above me at school and I actually remembered him, but he had no clue. We connected almost immediately!
Melissa and Brandon met when her college began working with Brandon's work to learn about business studies. "I came across his profile six months later and we matched on Tinder," says Melissa. "We went on our first date and we have been inseparable ever since. It just felt really natural to be in one another's company."
Gemma and Adrian were instantly attracted to each other. "We have a lot in common, with many of the same interests," says Gemma. "I liked Adrian because he always had something interesting to talk about. He was also nicely dressed on dates and always made an effort."
Chloe and John first laid eyes on each other at work. "Chloe complemented my car one morning as we were arriving to work," says John. "We spoke briefly and I rushed into work, not fully embracing her comment. We then met again during a work party. I set my eyes on her and thought she was lovely, but that I had no chance – not in my league! That turned out to be a false assumption and in summer 2016, we started exchanging messages and we went from there!"
Rebecca and Simon met through work in 2019 after both qualifying as nurses. "We started as friends but our friendship grew into something more during the pandemic," Rebecca tells us. "During this time, there were limited options as to what we could do due to the restrictions, so we went for walks at Camber Sands, picnics and visited the supermarkets!"
Amy and Luke met at the University of Reading in 2015 during their f i rst year. "Luke proposed to me on the 26th of August 2023," Amy tells us. "He ordered cake pops from Pop Bakery that spelt out the words 'Amy will you marry me?' I came downstairs to make a cup of tea in the morning and when I opened the fridge to get the milk, there they were! The proposal wasn't a surprise, but how he did it was."
When Claire and Jack met through a mutual friend, it wasn't long before he asked for her number. In no time, they were off on their fi rst date to the BFI on London's South Bank. "I loved how many diff erent interests and hobbies Jack has," Claire tells us. "He'd say he loved my sense of humour!"
Vicki and Steve met on Tinder in 2017, and got together for a first date at Nettle and Rye in Bristol. At the time, Vicki lived in Clevedon, and made a memorable exit when her Uber driver crashed into a bollard while reversing! The two soon went on a second date and before long they'd bonded over a love of food and enjoyed subsequent dates at foodie hotspots including Bravas and Poco Tapas in Bristol and Scoozi's in Clevedon. As Vicki is a vet Steve also impressed her on an early date with a tour of Bristol Zoo complete with a quiz.
While Pia and Joe were aware of each other at school, nothing happened between them until they were old enough for a bit of Dutch courage, and met up at a pub five year's after leaving. "Although we weren't high school sweethearts, meeting in our early 20s felt like the right time for both of us to have this forever thing going," Pia explains. "It's funny because even when we started dating, Joe said he didn't want anything too serious. Obviously that didn't quite go to plan!"
Laura and Sam attended the same school and met in sixth form. "We hit it off straight away with similar tastes in music and other hobbies," Laura tells us. "Sam proposed to me in Central Park, New York on the 25th of May 2022. I had a feeling that it was coming but I kept telling myself I was imagining it as I didn't want to ruin the surprise. It was one of the best days (and trips) of our lives – and my first time visiting the USA."
Holly and Cory met while working at a nightclub when they were 18 and 19. "We were completely lost in the world, not knowing what we wanted to do in life," says Holly. "We'd have never thought that 12 years later we'd have a house, be married and have two children!"Cory proposed during a break away. "I had planned a trip to New York as a surprise for his 30th birthday," shares the bride. "We went to Central Park at Thanksgiving, which was full of people and there wasn't an inch of it without a tourist with a camera. We walked for hours while Cory tried to fi nd the right place for us. Finally, we found a place called the Cop Cot. Sitting there, we decided to say what we were thankful for, in true American tradition. We discussed the journey we'd been on as a couple, our two beautiful children and just as we were about to leave, Cory explained he had one more question before we left. New York will forever be our special place."
Rob caught Saz's eye while she was out at a bar with her friends. "We exchanged a few words and ended up matching on Tinder a couple of months later," says Saz. "We bonded over our love of festivals, music and rugby. We are both very outdoorsy people. We go hiking and camping quite a lot and have attended lots of festivals and concerts together.
Haley and Kristian met while Haley was working at a pub in Neath. "I became friends with a regular called Ryan," says Haley. "I didn't know at the time that Ryan had a brother, so when Ryan walked into the bar one day and I asked him about his trip away to Butlins and he told me he'd just returned from Egypt with his girlfriend, I was confused! Later on, Ryan came in again and was dressed in a different outfi t! It turned out Ryan and Kristian are brothers and looked exactly the same to me. It was then that Ryan introduced me to Kristian, and well, that was when our story began. We were both in relationships, so we just enjoyed being friends. Kristian was so nice to me and he became my best friend.
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