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Real weddings and wedding ideas

See how other couples celebrated their big day with wedding stories and ideas from County Wedding Magazines' Real Weddings features.

Monochrome Magic

Ryan and Kay met in 2019 on a random Friday evening at their local social club where Ryan was playing darts for his team. "I'd arranged to meet a friend there for a catch up, and after a few vodkas, I'd mentioned to my friend that I liked the look of Ryan," recalls Kay. "Whilst I nipped to the ladies, unbeknown to me, my friend told Ryan exactly what I'd said. Whilst exiting the ladies, Ryan was stood there confi dently and said, 'Your mate told me what you said about me'. I wanted to die inside, I knew then that I had to play it cool, 'Did she?' I answered, and with that Ryan said 'Yeah, I'll see you later then', and with that he left the club. I went back in and spoke to my friend and before Ryan had even got to the exit, I'd sent him a friend request on Facebook. We met up again that night and have never gone a day without speaking since. Neither of us were looking for a relationship, I'd not long left an unhappy marriage, and Ryan was in his prime on Tinder!"

Timeless Elegance

Jade and James had crossed paths as teenagers through mutual friends, but it wasn't until years later that they matched on Tinder. Despite the time apart, the early stages of their relationship felt incredibly natural; they weren't strangers at all. At that time, both were working unsociable hours, which made it challenging to see each other as often as they'd have liked. However, this only meant they cherished the quality moments they did have together even more. James always made Jade feel like a priority, making her realise he was the one for her.

After All This Time... Always

These two lovebirds met when we were 19 through mutual friends! They got on straight away and were great friends from the word go. After being together more than seven years and previously discussing marriage, they viewed a Harry Potter-related venue as they're huge fans of the franchise. They fell in love while looking around the spaces and decided to go for it and get married! Coming home having booked a wedding venue was a surprise for them both. The bride's engagement ring was her mother's, which is extremely special as she died when Elizabeth was only 10. So, this detail meant the world to Elizabeth.

Zest For Life

Jessie and Joe met via the dating app Tinder at the beginning of 2018. "I was attracted to Joe because he was funny and kind," Jessie tells us. "I was attracted to Jessie because of her gorgeous blue eyes and willingness to laugh at my jokes!" Joe adds.

Autumn Vibes

Nicole and Andy were introduced by a mutual friend during the summer of 2019 and met up on a date at a local pub soon after. "From our first date, it was clear that we got along well," they tell us. "We both have a good sense of humour, are family-orientated and enjoy countryside walks and pubs!"

Something Blue

Charlotte and Josh met at work 13 years ago and became good friends. "Five years later, a good friendship developed into dinner dates and we realised we didn't want to be apart," Charlotte tells us. "We moved in together shortly after and have spent the last eight years laughing, travelling and eating our way through life!"

A Spring Affair

Charlie and Luke met at the yearly Bampton Charter Fair hosted in the village where they live. "Luke asked me out on a date and 12 years later, with two children, we decided to finally tie the knot!" Charlie tells us.

Memorable Moments

Helena and Sam met through a mutual friend who arranged for the group to get together for drinks. Although neither of them was actively dating at the time, they hit it off immediately and began a relationship. Their similar personalities made it easy for them to connect, and they quickly became inseparable. Seven years later, Sam proposed at Harlyn Bay in Cornwall; a place that held a special signifi cance for Helena since she spent her summer holidays there as a child. Sam had planned the entire trip as a surprise, and when he popped the question, it felt like the perfect culmination of their journey together, making it an unforgettable moment.

Woodland Wonderland

It started as just another typical day, a quick bus ride home from the university on the U2B, but today turned out to be anything but ordinary! Janice was laughing with her friends when she noticed Anton, who was recovering from a visit to A&E with his arm in a full cast. "Oh, hi!" she said. "What happened? Are you okay?" Just like that, a beautiful journey began! Fast forward three months, and they hadn't crossed paths since that day until they found themselves at the student bar on a Tuesday night. Their eyes locked once more, and Anton leaned closer to ask, "Care to dance?" From that instant, they were enveloped in each other's warmth, united by their kind spirits, a shared love for adventure, strong family values, and, of course, their undeniable charm! Then came the unforgettable moment on May 17th 2022, on the breathtaking Caribbean island of Saint Lucia.

Autumnal Vibes

These lovebirds met on a night out. Sophie spotted Ed from across the pub, surrounded by his friends, but soon, most of them decided to head to another bar. A couple of Ed's friends stayed behind, and Sophie found herself chatting with them. In a moment of honesty, she confided in one of their girlfriends that she thought Ed was good-looking. That little admission led them to the pub where Ed had gone. To avoid looking like a stranger following him, they crafted a backstory that made it seem like she knew the girlfriend. However, things took a humorous turn when one of Ed's friends approached him and blurted out that a girl had followed him in because she fancied him. They started talking before Ed asked her on a date.

Local Love

Emily and James begun their relationship at work. "Even though we were in different departments, we got chatting one day and realised we both grew up close by to each other and had plenty in common," Emily tells us.

Winter Wonderland

Qusai and Robyn met via mutual connections at work and started messaging via Instagram. "I was attracted to Robyn's carefree attitude," Qusai tells us while she was attracted to my kind eyes and smile. I knew how to make her laugh and be serious when needed!"

Stand By Me

Charlie and Alice met on Hinge during lockdown and had their fi rst date the day the pubs reopened. What a day that was! Charlie was attracted to Alice's sense of humour, smile and love of sport. Alice was attracted to Charlie's handsome smile and the fact he also happened to be a Chelsea FC fan. Post lockdown, the pair moved to New York and worked and breathed city life there for 13 months.

Rustic Romance

Through the power of social media, Louise and Paul found each other. Louise remembers, "We both felt really comfortable in each other's company from day one. The proposal was a complete surprise as when I met him, he was very anti marriage due to his past experience."

My Forever Crush

Vadim was the keyboard player of the worldwide metal band Dragonforce, famous for fast heavy music and featured in Guitar Hero III and the Despicable Me 4 movie - Natalie was a fan of the band. The couple met at a Dragonforce concert where Natalie was photographing the show, and Vadim noticed her in the crowd and thought she was naturally beautiful and stood out. After meeting at the end of the show, they fell in love very fast and had the, 'when you know, you know' feeling. Natalie was already a fan and had posters of the band on her wall as a teenager, so she was really surprised that her crush noticed her and was interested in her.

After All This Time... Always

Danielle and Aaron met online in 2021 and spent their fi rst date in Liverpool where they visited Roxy Ballroom and played beer pong. "I think we were attracted to each other because of our common interests. We're both Harry Potter geeks, and like Disney, quizzes and travel. We're also close to our families and share similar values," Danielle says.

One Ring To Rule Them All

Stacey and Dan worked together at Debenhams, but didn't meet each other properly until after work drinks one evening. Despite not talking much, that night Stacey had a dream about Dan! In the dream she was married to him, and they were late for her best friends' wedding. "Which, quite frankly, I enjoyed," Stacey says. She told her best friend about it, who wasted no time in sharing the information with everyone she knew, including Dan! One morning, he found her changing the store's front window and proposed to her as a joke. Stacey was mortifi ed, but since then it's been a whirlwind of romance for the two of them and here they are today, married, just as Stacey predicted. "We both make each other laugh, which everyone around us loves, and we enjoy the banter we share. We never argue," Stacey shares.

Love In Lavender

Megan and Tom met at work and immediately felt comfortable around each other. They soon became fast friends having discovered plenty of mutual interests. "Mostly, we made each other laugh and really happy," Megan says. Tom proposed to Megan in August 2022, while on a family holiday in Spain. "We were all out together enjoying a meal and Tom suddenly dropped to one knee. I'm not sure it was the most romantic of settings, but it was a surprise and felt very special having our family with us to celebrate," Megan shares.

Made You Blush

Sarah and Ben met at work and were friends for many years before they grew close through social events. "We were both attending an exercise class and went for a drink after one session, and the rest is history!" shares Sarah. "Ben proposed to me on Christmas Day 2021 at my sister's house with my family – it was a total surprise! He wrapped the ring up as a 'pass the parcel' game and got my niece and nephew involved – which was special to me; he got them wearing T-shirts asking me the question 'Will you marry me?' which they revealed at the end."

Te Amo Te Amo

Lucy met Hugo when they were teenagers, "Hugo was at an all boys school when I attended and all girls school. I was attracted to Hugo's beautiful twilight eyes and thick black hair. We were the same age but he was very mature and really kind and caring; he always had lots of interesting things to tell me." Hugo adds, "Lucy also had beautiful eyes, she was so shy and cute."

Love Is All Around

This couple crossed paths on their very fi rst day at university in Guildford, Surrey, and enjoyed a friendship for about eight months before becoming a couple. A mutual friend was the one who introduced them, and she remains a dear friend to this day. She had the honour of being Caitlin's maid-of-honour at her wedding – a little spoiler there! Greg proposed during a lovely walk in one of their favourite spots, and he had planned an exciting day in London fi lled with delicious food, drinks and exploring the city. While it was a surprise that day, they had previously discussed getting engaged.

It Must Be Love, Love, Love

Vicky and Jamie met at work in East London, and an offi ce romance soon blossomed into something more after lunchbreaks together and after-work drinks. "Things escalated one evening after work which ended up with us singing Backstreet Boys and trying to ballroom dance in the karaoke room!" recalls Vicky.

Mountain High

Megan told the story of how she met James best in her wedding speech: "We didn't romantically bump into each other in our favourite coffee shop, instead we met on the well-known dating site, Hinge. When I came across James, I couldn't believe my eyes. The first photo showed him in an open water wetsuit, the next he was on a road bike, the next on skis... I thought 'wow'! He looks like the fun, outdoorsy guy I'm after! It turns out he posted six photos from a single triathlon that his brother forced him to do three years prior and he rather prefers lying horizontally on the sofa drinking beer and binge watching The Office. I'd been catfished!" All jokes aside, the two hit it off from their first date, when they discovered plenty of similar interests and aspirations for their future. They both love travelling, trying new food and spending time with friends and family.

All Things Bright and Beautiful

Helen met Dan when he joined the company she worked for. Over time they became friends, eventually best friends. Six years later, they realised their strong connection was something more and became a couple. "We call ourselves split-aparts (Plato's theory of soulmates) and constantly share the same thought at the same time. It's kind of spooky actually," Helen says. "We laugh at the same things and are impossibly co-dependent, which in turn makes everyone else laugh at us!"

Irish Charm

Ronan proposed to Gráinne outside the house where they fi rst kissed in White Street, Brighton. The couple live in Ireland, but met in Brighton, which was where it all began for them back in 2011.