My precious

Posted by Olivia Gibson on 14 April 2023

Charlotte and Ben met on a dating app, and their sense of humour first attracted them to each other. The bride's strapline was 'looking for a gladiator', and Ben's opening line was 'will a spartan do?'

It's safe to say they were the perfect match and ended up dating. In 2019, Ben proposed during a weekend away to Ilfracombe with their dog Max. On the last night of the trip, they had a lovely shellfish dinner before taking a stroll along the pier during a gorgeous sunset.

Couple laugh as they sign the register Charlotte says, "It's funny because I thought this would be a perfect time for Ben to propose, but there's no way he'd be that organised." She continues, "But then Ben set his camera on the floor to take a video, which I thought was strange as I normally take the pictures. He started to look at me and giggled, by which point I knew what was coming." Ben recited a few lines from the Lord of the Rings, Charlotte's favourite film, and proposed with a replica of the Evenstar necklace as a placeholder ring until they picked one together.

Here Charlotte shares details about their special day...

The Great Barn in Titchfield was the perfect wedding venue! We loved the rustic style and blank canvas space that allowed us to bring our vision to life.

We wanted plenty of flowers and opted for wild cottage-style blooms to match our venue.

My stunning Martina Liana gown featured off -the-shoulder sleeves and a boho style.

Ben wore a tweed suit in sage green with brown boots, a pink bow tie and a flower pocket square. As he always calls me his little sunflower, he also wore sunflower cufflinks to finish off his look.

Rustic We had rustic touches like barrels, apple crates, hay bales, bunting, oldstyle suitcases, wicker hampers and a few Lord of the Rings signs around the property.

Ben and I have enjoyed many camping holidays in his Campervan, so it was nice to travel in an old-style VW Campervan on the day.

Catering was a big part of our day as we're both big foodies! We had a hog roast during the day and offered Krispy Kreme doughnuts in the evening, which was a big hit with guests.

We named the tables after characters from the Lord of the Rings.

Our favours were charity tokens from Victoria's Promise, an organisation close to our hearts.

Excited The day was so surreal as we had to postpone our day twice due to Covid-19. We were both so excited that the day was finally happening!

Our two-tiered cake had hummingbird, chocolate and Biscoff flavours.

The groomsmen wore the same attire as Ben but with pink ties to allow the groom to stand out.

Bridesmaids As my sister was eight months pregnant, I picked simple flowy dresses for the bridesmaids to ensure she was comfortable.

Our DJ was fantastic on the day! He kept the day flowing and played great music in the evening to keep guests entertained. He also brought some advice cards, which were read out before we cut the cake.

The day was full of memorable moments, but the speeches were particularly special – especially my dad's.

Ben's two younger brothers were the best men; they performed an excellent double act for their speech, which had everyone laughing and crying.

Mauritius was the perfect destination for our honeymoon. We explored the beautiful island, tried the local rum, relaxed and went swimming with turtles and dolphins.