Nick and Pam met when they were both in their early twenties at Surrey Police headquarters, where they were training for different roles. “While there was the start of something, I moved away to Southend to become a local church minister while Nick’s life remained in Guildford,” recalls Pam. “Aside from the occasional message, we mostly lost contact until Nick reached out at the beginning of the Covid pandemic. We started to date (socially distanced!) and re-kindled what was there before. We often joke that it took us 10 years – but we got there!” After romance blossomed, Nick proposed on 22nd January 2024 at Newlands Corner, Guildford, “This was somewhere we’d been for dog walks together or breakfasts over at the Plucky Pheasant across the road,” adds Pam. “Nick had been to Marlows Diamonds in London where Jo works (she would go on to become my maidof-honour along with her wife Sarah). Nick had taken Carina, his best woman, with him while I was on an away day at work. He had planned for a New Year’s proposal, but illness meant he had to keep his secret for a few more weeks. The proposal was a total surprise to me, although Nick had been to see my family to speak to them about it in that time, and most of our friendship group had been in on the secret!” The big date was set, 12th April 2025 with St Mary’s Church Caterham, Surrey and Surrey National Golf Club providing the big-day backdrop. SETTING THE SCENE The couple knew they wanted a church ceremony but picking a location was difficult! “We settled on Caterham because it’s where I grew up and was somewhere accessible for our friends and family who were travelling,” shares Pam. “We picked St Mary’s especially because we loved their inclusive approach to ministry and once met Rev Trevor, who made the whole planning process enjoyable, we knew we’d made the right decision.” One of the groomsmen, Jim, suggested Surrey National Golf Club after some online searching, “It seemed like a great fit and once we visited we knew it was exactly what we wanted,” shares Pam. “They had fairlylights and drapes up which were absolutely stunning, and the different rooms available meant we had loads of flexibility in how we could set up the space – as a family with lots of children, having a suite for softplay meant the youngest guests were entertained!” For the finer details of the day the couple booked Jen Live Illustrator for wedding favours which doubled up as entertainment, “our guests loved having their portraits taken and Jen’s combination of painting live or from a photograph meant people could find different ways to be involved,” explains Pam. The table plan was a Monopoly board with locations special to the couple, “For example, it included Newlands Corner as the place we got engaged and our local rugby club – and we switched ‘chance’ and ‘chests’ for prayers and blessings to tie in the church element too,” adds Pam. The centrepieces included spray painted Monopoly pieces to match the seating plan, “and again were personal to us, they included handcuffs, a dog, a motorbike (since we both ride), and others. They were displayed on wooden log slices alongside a police lamp and a gold cross to reflect both our roles,” says Pam. The bouquets were designed especially by Special Day Bouquets, “the company has since named my bouquet design ‘the Pamela’ on its website. It’s a stunning arrangement of white and navy roses with eucalyptus.” For the big-day cake, the couple opted for a four-tier design which they personalised with a cake topper and navy ribbon to tie it in with the colour scheme; as were the gold and navy place names on-theme. Surrey National Golf Club is beautifully decorated as standard, however, By Emerald Events provided a number of other items including a mailbox, chair covers and A-frames for the couple’s signage. A highlight of the day for the pair was the transport! “We wanted to make it really easy for guests to get between venues, so we hired a London bus to take everybody to and from the church/reception. I travelled separately with my dad (Chris) in a white wedding taxi. After the service, Nick and I took the wedding taxi for a drive to process that we had just gotten married! We celebrated with champagne before getting the bus back to Surrey National Golf Club with all our guests.” 25 REAL WEDDINGS
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