GOTHIC romance Tracy and Neil met when they were teenagers, but slowly drifted apart until fate brought them back together Images courtesy of Pengelly Photography Tracy and Neil met when Tracy and her older sister were walking along the main road on Canvey Island. Neil and his friend stopped on their motorbikes to ask where a certain pub was and they got talking. “Neil was 17 and I was 13, but we quickly became friends doing everything together within our friendship group,” says Tracy. “The first thing I noticed about him with his shoulder length black hair and dark eyes. My teenage years were idyllic with Neil and our group of friends, but when Neil went to college, we seemed to drift apart. We stopped seeing each other and lost contact. I heard through mutual friends that he was working in America and had got married. I eventually got married too, but never forgot about Neil. Many years later, when our marriages were over, Neil contacted my sister asking how I was and we started talking.” Their relationship blossomed and Neil asked Tracy to marry him over the phone while he was in America. “Neil moved back to England and we went to Hatton Garden to purchase our rings. That evening when we returned from Hatton Garden with my beautiful engagement ring and the wedding rings, we went to my mum and step dad’s house and Neil got down on one knee in front of me and my parents and proposed properly. It was a big surprise as he’d already proposed, but both my mum and I cried. It was a wonderful moment.” Here she shares some of her favourite moments from their big day... 51 REAL WEDDINGS
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