Your Hampshire & Dorset Wedding - Nov/Dec 2019 (Issue 77)

Country music lovers Tara and Mat Cooper celebrated their big day in true Nashville style Images courtesy of Lloyd Richard Wedding Photographer A ROCKING romance A s soon as Tara and Mat met they hit it off and instantly bonded over their shared passion for all things American. “The attraction was instant, we talked the night away and had to be asked to leave the pub as it was closing,” remembers Tara. As well as his love for the U.S., Mat was in a modern country band, loved to travel and sealed the deal by turning up for their first date with some American soda. “I’ll take that over flowers any day,” laughs Tara. Fittingly, Mat proposed on their first holiday together in America in September 2016. “We’d started watching the show Nashville because Mat loves modern country music and his dream was to go there. I wasn’t convinced, but as soon as we started following the TV series, I fell in love with the place and had to go,” says Tara. She even bought a pair of cowboy boots to get into the swing of things. “We did all things Nashville – went to famous music venues the Grand Ole Opry, the Bluebird Cafe, the Ryman Auditorium and danced the night away in honky-tonk bars.” Mat chose the perfect location to pop the question; on the Shelby Bridge with views of the Nashville skyline where two of the TV show’s main characters got engaged. “It was perfect in every way!” adds Tara. Although they considered getting married in Nashville, they were worried that all their friends and family might not be able to join them. So instead they tied the knot at Hampshire’s Three Choirs Vineyards in Wickham on 29 th March, 2019. Read on for Tara’s account of their Nashville-themed celebration... REAL WEDDINGS 39 