See how other couples celebrated their big day with wedding stories and ideas from County Wedding Magazines' Real Weddings features.
Charlie and Nikita first crossed paths at a college house party when they were just teenagers. Both were eager to escape the chaos, stealing a quiet moment away from the noise. Charlie figured they'd never see each other again – they were on completely different courses and had separate circles of friends. But Nikita, who wasn't usually the forward type, made a bold move and found her on Facebook, hoping to stay in touch.
These lovebirds met while travelling in Australia. Vicky had just moved into a shared house in Melbourne, where Alex was already living. It took a bit of time for them to get to know each other, as Vicky worked night shifts at a pub while Alex had an early morning construction job. More often than not, she'd come home to find him snoozing on the sofa.
Lauren and Brendan met during lockdown when Brendan was a trainer at Lauren's new job. The first time she saw him over Zoom, when he asked everyone to turn their cameras on, she immediately felt the attraction! "We both thought the other had the most beautiful, excited, deep eyes and instantly fell for each other," Lauren says.
Jennifer and Ryan met at 18 while working together at a hotel and restaurant. Ryan proposed in the Lake District at Aira Force Waterfall. He'd originally hoped to pop the question at the top of a high peak, but the weather changed, so his plans did too. The couple decided to tie the knot at Bunny Hill having been attracted by its countryside rustic barn with a modern twist vibe. So, with the date set for 23rd April 2024, the couple set about planning their big day.
Jessica and Adam met at the University of Reading, in the student union nightclub and it was love at first sight. Within a week of dating, they became official, and they knew they'd found their soulmate. The bond between this couple grew quickly and the 'L-word' was used within a few weeks.
Rachel and Andy met at university in Lincoln. "Andy was a lovely, attractive guy who was completely different to anyone I'd ever met," Rachel shares. "He made me so happy, and I enjoyed spending time with him. I felt lucky when he asked me out." Meanwhile, Andy found himself attracted to Rachel's personality and sense of humour.
Like many of us in this modern world, Angharad and Lewis met online through a dating app. Angharad recalls, "As I'm a teacher, I thought I would add a humorous part to my bio and said that there were perks
to dating a teacher, one of those being unlimited milk and cookies.
Pagie and Jordan met at the Reading Festival when they were teenagers, after chatting online for two years. The two knew they were soul mates the day they met and didn't leave each other's sides for the entire festival. However, they also knew that aged 16 and 17 they were too young to make a long-distance relationship work (Paige lived in Manchester and Jordan in Durham) so, they decided to remain best friends.
These lovebirds met in London, where their love story began! Over time, it became clear just how special their connection was—and they never looked back. Firat proposed in October 2021 during a weekend trip to Bath, creating a moment Dimitria would cherish forever.
Emma and James met online and knew straight away that they had a lot in common. Their instant connection formed a genuine bond where they could talk about anything without fear of judgment – a very strong building block for any successful marriage.
Hannah and Ben met at the car garage where Ben worked. It was following a car accident Hannah's dad was in, the car was a wreck but thankfully Dad walked away unscathed. Fast forward a year, Hannah returns to the garage with her own car and Ben is there.
Tamla and Ben started their love story with a fi rst date at Wetherspoons in Cosham, a perfect halfway point since Ben lived in Waterlooville and Tamla was in Portsmouth. Their connection was instant, and before they knew it, they were enjoying a second date at Queen Elizabeth Country Park, where they strolled through the woods with Ben's dog, Roxy.
Jess and Adam met the oh-so modern way, on Tinder. After many unsuccessful swipes between the two, they eventually matched in early May of 2021. Their first date followed a couple of weeks later. At the time, Jess was living in York, while Adam was in Sheffield. So, he came to see her in York to meet her and they spent the whole day walking, talking and getting to know each other
Emily and Adam were in the same friendship group at school but drifted apart when they went to university. However, when the pandemic hit, they reconnected and formed their own social bubble during lockdown, taking long walks together and having fun being kids again.
Nathan and Lucy met online through Tinder, and their connection was instant. They spent hours chatting on the phone, feeling like they had known each other forever. It was truly love at first swipe. After some time, they decided to meet, and from that moment on, they've been inseparable.
Newly single and having sworn off men, Millie attended a party thrown by a friend and met Todd. Despite staying strong for a few months, turning down repeated invitations for a date, she finally gave in over the phone one night when drunk! And the rest, as they say, is history. The couple shared a long-distance relationship for a while, which included Millie moving to Sweden for a time.
Emma and Daniel met at Imperial College London, where they'd both signed up to do a charity climb of Mount Kilimanjaro. They got to know each other during the climb and subsequent safari and on return kept bumping into each other. It was almost as if the universe was trying to bring them together! They hit it off from there, having fallen for each other's sense of humour and light-hearted outlook on life.
Cameron, from Northern Ireland, and Elise, from Kent, met for the first time at the University of St Andrews in Scotland, where they both attended. Their shared subject and mutual friends pushed fate to seat them next to each other. However, it wasn't until they met the second time on a night out that the romance started.
Jessica and Edward met via the dating app Bumble. "Edward had an incredible photo of himself dressed as a warrior monk, which I thought was a refreshing change from photos of sports cars or tigers," says Jessica. "I was really late for our first date because my bus broke down on the way. Edward started to worry that I might not turn up, but I ran in the door of the café, and we instantly hit it off."
Morgan and Jacob met at college and started out as friends. "We always liked each other, but graduating and taking jobs took us away from one another," Morgan explains. "But one day, the universe brought us back together and we've been inseparable ever since."
Emma and James met in a service station watching Everton play West Ham away back in 2010. A few weeks later, they met up again when their team were playing at home, and the rest is history. James had the engagement ring for 14 months intending to propose, but Covid got in the way.
It's believed that those who are meant to be in your life are attached to you by an invisible string, and when the time is right, fate will pull that string and bring you together – this is very much the case for Jack and Julie's relationship. They both went to the same primary school, but it wasn't until they were in their twenties that Jack messaged Julie on social media; they later bumped into each other at the pub and the rest is history!
Charlotte and Adam met when they were teenagers working at their local golf club. "Adam likes to think it was his singing that got me to say yes to a date, but it really wasn't," says Charlotte. "After more than a decade together, Adam proposed in 2022 during a holiday to my family's villa in Spain.
Katy and Oliver met as students working in the local social club bar. They soon became friends and two years later their relationship blossomed into a beautiful romance! While on holiday in Placa De Catalunya, Barcelona, on one knee pretending to snap a photo of Katy, Oliver pulled the engagement ring out of his bag. "
Charlotte and Jacob's love story begins at work, in fact, it starts in the interview room! Jacob recalls, "Charlotte actually interviewed me and will tell you she was my boss (still not convinced!). Our friendship grew and we started to go out with each other more as the months passed."
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