See how other couples celebrated their big day with wedding stories and ideas from County Wedding Magazines' Real Weddings features.
Although Claire and Jack knew of each other from school, it wasn't until they were a bit older that their paths regularly started to cross during nights out in town. "We started talking on my birthday one year and that's when Jack finally asked me out on a date," Claire tells us.
Jess and Ryan first met when they were 15 and 16 years old. "Ryan has never failed to make me laugh and has given me belly giggles since we met," says Jess. "We have been through every big life event together, such as first jobs and cars, and unlike many childhood sweethearts that sometimes grow apart, we grew up together and remained close."Ryan proposed on a mountain in Lake Garda in 2018. "He got it all on video and it was magical," shares the bride. "It was a complete surprise and Italy has since become our favourite destination."
Anna and Chris met online. Although Chris messaged first, he then took a week to respond to Anna's reply. When it finally did come, the note just said: "I'm rubbish at messaging people back. Shall we just meet?" They'd both discovered a common interest in CrossFit and he attended a gym Anna was herself interested in joining, so she thought: "Why not?" They got together for a lunchtime Nandos, and having both made strange requests with their food, immediately felt comfortable with each other. "We both had a lot in common, but were also both independent. Having our own interests was very important to us both," Anna says.
Ellie and Tim met online and instantly hit it off during their first date at a local pub. "We discovered that we both shared a joint love of travelling, Christmas and good food and drink," Ellie tells us. "Tim proposed during a trip to Peru as we were climbing Machu Picchu. It was a complete surprise - I had no idea!"
Kath met Josh at a party and the minute she saw him turned to her friends and said, "I'm going to marry him!" How right she was, two short years later, Josh proposed on holiday in Majorca. "It was such a surprise," Kath says. "He was all nervous because he'd not been able to get in touch with my dad to ask for his blessing." Nevertheless, all went perfectly and it was soon time to start looking for a venue for the big day.
Lindsay and Dave both swiped right on Tinder and went on a first date. "I loved that Dave had two dogs, lots of hobbies and is a good prosecco drinker too," Lindsay says.
Nicky and Dave met at Tabley Point To Point – "Neither of us were looking for love, just a couple of wins on the horses," Nicky says. "Our friend introduced us later that evening playing Cilla, and surprise, surprise we went off on our first date a week later!"
Vikki and Andy met at school where they were best friends. "We got back in contact 20 years later and never looked back," Vikki tells us. Andy proposed on the 4th of July 2020, the day that the lockdown was lifted. "We were in our local pub with all of our friends gathered around us when he asked me to marry him," Vikki tells us. "It was a great surprise!"
Hayley and James met through mutual friends and after becoming a couple, James proposed in Barcelona on the rooftop of the Yurbban Passage hotel where they were staying. "The staff knew about it so they made sure that the rooftop was off-limits for other guests," Hayley tells us. "Afterwards, when we headed back to our room, it was full of flowers and champagne which was incredible."
Dulcie and Bobby first met at college and ended up attending the same university. Their friendship grew stronger over time, retaining a comforting link to home. "We always had so much in common, sharing the love of the same books (Harry Potter, obviously), TV shows and movies", says Dulcie. She continues, "We lived together for our second and third years, where our friendship grew into something more during this time. We ignored and denied it for a while but eventually took the risk and never looked back. Fast forward time, we have shared 12 years of love, 16 years of friendship and one year of marriage!"
These lovebirds met through a mutual friend but became closer thanks to their shared love for the gym and lifting weights, a hobby they still do together today. Henry proposed shortly after the pair purchased their first house together. He organised a treasure hunt that finished with candle-lit lanterns in the garden and a sign saying, "Will you marry me?" – it was an easy "yes" for Cheryl.
These lovebirds met at college through a mutual friend before discovering their shared personalities and sense of humour. Fast forward the years, Aaron proposed at home on Chelsea's birthday. It was a surprise, although they had been together for a decade.
Lauren and Ed met at Leicester University in 2018. The pair matched on Tinder and everything progressed from there. Ed was studying a four-year course and Lauren was doing a three-year course. However, a last-minute decision to stay on to do a Masters, meant that the two crossed paths. It was certainly meant to be!
They say everything happens for a reason and it seems the stars aligned for Jo and Nick. Nick moved back to the village that he grew up in to take over the running of the local village pub with his cousin Adam - and on that opening night is when Nick clapped eyes on Jo! They had met their match. Jo tells us, "Nick proposed to me in Budapest at the Szechenyi Thermal Baths on the 5th December 2019." A little later than expected due to lockdown, on 6th October 2023, the day finally came and Jo and Nick tied the knot at Houchins.
DDanny and Paige met the modern way, via Tinder. Love blossomed, as Paige tells us. "Our proposal was just perfect. In 2021, shortly after the birth of our son, Freddie, my now husband Danny booked us a holiday to the Greek island of Santorini. We've always had a boat day on any holiday we've done together, so it was only right that on this trip, Danny booked a boat for the afternoon. However, this wasn't any tourist boat this time. I arrived at the port, and a luxury private yacht was waiting for me with the captain handing us a glass of champagne each. We spent the afternoon jumping into the ocean, sipping wine and nibbling on Greek snacks. At sunset, we were taken to the middle of the ocean, where Danny got down on one knee and presented me with a stunning pear-shaped diamond ring."
Precious met Sean when they were younger as he is the best friend of her brother; fast-forward 19 years and they have now tied the knot! After Sean proposed in a treehouse in the Cotswolds the day before Precious's birthday, the big date was set for 27th August 2024, with the bride's family home in Virginia Water setting the scene.
Lauren and Rob met at a football match 13 years ago. "Rob's a semi-professional football player and has been a goalkeeper most of his life. I guess you could say Rob was tall, dark (he had hair at the time) and handsome!" shares Lauren.
Lauren and Jon met on a train in 2013. "I couldn't read the sign, so I decided to ask Jon for help," says Lauren. "We hit it off and spoke for a few months before things fizzled out. By chance, we met again three years later at a station. We went for drinks, and the rest is history."
Rebecca and Bradley met in March 2020 and had an instant connection. "After five dates, lockdown hit," says Rebecca. "We spent three months talking via FaceTime, and at that point, we knew if we could get through lockdown, we could get through anything. Straight after the restrictions eased, we went house hunting and nine months later, we finally managed to move in together
Me'sha and Darren are musicians who met when she was performing her original music at Shepherds Bush Cricket Club. "He's a drummer, educator, and two-time all-natural bodybuilding champion; I'm a singer, actor, and vocal coach," says Me'sha. "I had a habit of firing drummers from my band, so when I first set eyes on Darren, I thought, 'Oh no! He's really handsome!' Annoyingly, he'd been really attentive when learning my music, brought his own drumkit to the gig, knew all the lyrics to my songs, and was really good with children. We were also both members of the faculty at a specialist music school in London, so not long after that, we started dating, and I didn't have to fire him from my band!"
Becky and Mikey met at Winchester University 11 years ago and bonded over a shared love of football, "We both had found great humour and laughter in conversations and were both tall!" adds Becky. "It was great to have a man who was still taller than me even when I wore heels."
Evie and Alex met through mutual friends. "We went for a meal in Windermere for our first date," says Evie. "For our second date, we went on a boat trip across Lake Windermere to an aquarium. It snowed heavily the whole time we were there, and it was beautiful."
Danielle and Iffan met at work. "It was my first day in critical care; I asked him for a handover and he was rude to me," says Danielle. "He was so rude, I decided not to speak to him again, but we kept running into each other at work and eventually started talking. We met again at a work's do, sparks started to fly, and the rest is history!"
Heather and Joe met while studying at university. "Although we were on different courses, we lived together in the same accommodation during our first year," says Heather. "We were friends for a year and got together the following summer. I always found Joe attractive, particularly because of his bright blue eyes. He was always the funny one in the group, and we would spend a lot of time together as friends."
Nicholas and Michael met on Tinder during one of the national Covid lockdowns. They chatted online for a while until it was safe to meet up. But even then social distancing restrictions were still in place, so they were forced to resort to a MacDonald's car park – "Very classy," laughs Nicholas.
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