Chelsea and Ryan met at a family wedding. “In the evening, we both had a bit too much drink and kissed on the dancefloor in front of everyone,” says Chelsea. “My dad came in between us, and the rest is history!” Ryan popped the question at the Yosemite National Park in California. “We went on a road trip back in 2018,” shares the bride. “Ryan insisted we visit the park, so we spent a couple of days there. We parked at the bottom of a mountain for a picnic. We walked up to the top, which was scary as we had to watch out for bears because of our food! Once we were at the top, we watched the sunset, and Ryan surprised me by asking me to be his wife. We came back down the mountain in complete darkness and managed to find our car. On the way back to the hotel, the car hit a pothole, and we spent an hour changing the tyre!” SETTING THE SCENE “We spent months searching for the perfect reception venue and struggled to find everything we were looking for in one place,” explains Chelsea. “We wanted a bar in the same room as the dancefloor and somewhere which would be safe and picturesque if it rained. My grandad suggested Oatlands Park Hotel in Weybridge, which we had never heard of before. We went there and quickly fell in love. It was perfect! The Mulberry Suite had an open area, high ceilings, a bar and was just beautiful. The gardens were also stunning, with lots of flowers and a rose arch for family photos. The lake was a bonus as I’d always wanted photos next to the water. We booked the venue and scheduled our date for 4th July, 2020, but sadly, like so many couples, we had to postpone due to COVID-19. When it came round to our new date in June 2021, we still didn’t know what kind of wedding we were going to have. Within that year, we sadly both lost our nannies, which was devastating as if COVID wasn’t around, they would have been there. On the day itself, it was scheduled to rain and be stormy, so we brought an umbrella and expected the worst weather. We woke up to rain, and although we were gutted, we accepted it. When it was time for me to leave for the church, the sun came out, and it unbelievably stayed dry and sunny for the rest of the day. We believe it was our nannies shining down on us.” The happy couple had their ceremony at St Mary Oatlands Church. “We have been attending for three years before getting married, and everyone there is so friendly and welcoming,” the bride adds. “The vicar, Folli, is a huge character. He made our wedding special, and all our guests loved his funny comments. When we came out of the church, we had a little surprise for my dad. He is a Londoner and loves Only Fools and Horses, so we organised for Del Boy’s yellow three-wheeler van to hide around the back of the church. When we came out of the church, and my dad saw it, he burst into tears. That was his ride back to the hotel, and we followed him in a Rolls Royce from Clover Care. Our driver, David, was such a gentleman. He used to be in the RAF, and since Ryan is an airline pilot, it was a perfect match. We found out before the wedding that the car was also used for Sophie Turner and Joe Jonas’ wedding in France. We had to have it once we found out as I love Game of Thrones!” Due to COVID-19, the couple was unsure how many guests would be REAL WEDDINGS 43
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