See how other local couples celebrated their big day with wedding stories and ideas from Your Bristol and Somerset Wedding Real Weddings features.
Sammy met Liam through work. "He called 'dibs' when he first saw me," she says. "But we didn't actually have our first date until six months later." The couple were like two peas in a pod even during those early days and they shared plenty of laughs together. Sammy was standing in her pyjamas trying to sort out last-minute laundry and packing for their holiday when Liam proposed. "We both knew we wanted to be together, so getting engaged felt like a natural progression, but I hadn't expected it to happen at that moment," Sammy shares.
Abi and Tom met online and talked for a few months before taking the plunge and meeting up for a first date. They soon discovered much common ground such as playing sport, their taste in music and a love for travel. Abi says, "I was attracted to Tom's great sense of humour, his positive outlook on life and his outgoing personality." Meanwhile, Tom tells us, "Abi immediately caught my eye with her warm smile and deep green eyes. I fell in love with her sense of adventure, kind and caring nature and passion for the outdoors. We complement each other in so many ways and she makes me a better person every day."
Chris and Angela met online. "Not very exciting, but I guess it's the modern way of dating," Angela laughs. Perhaps so, but there is nevertheless a funny story behind how they were matched. While Chris was on holiday in Sweden he'd accidentally set his Tinder account to Singapore, where Angela was working as a nurse at the time! Three months after they started talking, Chris decided to travel to Singapore to meet Angela. "It definitely wasn't love at first sight," she says. "Chris and I are totally different apart from our love of travel. We don't have any common interests at all, but we enjoyed learning a lot from each other. I think that's what excites us, there's never a boring day."
Heather and Chris' paths initially crossed through work. Once through a course they both attended and again two years later on the refresher. It was third time lucky though when they encountered each other once more on Guernsey where they were setting up a new retail store for the company they both worked for. During the short time Heather was there, they bantered as they strolled down to the shop, met for food and drinks in the evening and later went clubbing, where Chris treated her to his best dance moves.
Hayley and James met while working in their local department store as teenagers. Hayley would go to the restaurant for lunch where James worked and he'd give her a meal for free in the hopes she'd keep coming back!
"To me, Hayley was the most beautiful woman in the store. I was instantly drawn to what can only be described as the most unique laugh you can imagine! Paired with her beauty, kindness and smile, I was head over heels."
He finally gathered the courage to ask her out while giving away more free food, in this case a ring doughnut, which has since become a symbol of their relationship!
Gabby worked with Ross' sister in his local, but they didn't exactly start out on the right foot – Gabby says, "I always thought he was quite rude and grumpy." But when the two bumped into each other on a night out she actually found him to be funny, entertaining and very charming. So, when he asked her out on a date she accepted and explains, "I think his demeanour in the pub was just shyness as he's the most caring, kind, polite, funny person you could ever wish to meet."
Jade and Harry met at university. Harry played rugby and Jade was part of the cheerleading team. Romance blossomed when they spent 22 hours in each other's company on a coach trip through Europe on the university's annual sports holiday. They made the most of the long hours on the road discovering a common love of films, travelling and generally enjoying life. Jade says, "Our dates were full of laughter and we always seemed to accidentally have that extra bottle of wine! Travelling and exploring the world is something that we both absolutely love to do and we regularly find ourselves planning our next adventure together."
According to Jason, it was love at first sight when he met Jenny online. The pair went for a meal together in Weston-super-Mare and Jenny soon fell for Jason's sense of humour, "He makes me laugh every day," she tells us.
When a friend got ill and couldn't go to see the Stereophonics with Jenny, Jason stepped in. The couple stayed in a hotel that night and on the way back to Bristol stopped at Porthcawl.
Paris and Rees didn't speak much the first few times they met up on nights out with mutual friends. Even so, each had clearly caught the eye of the other as Paris would tell her friends how much she liked him, and before long, Rees asked her out on a date. "From then on we became inseparable, spending pretty much every day together. We knew we were made for each other and are best friends," Paris shares.
Tom and Elsa met in the mid-noughties' coolest way: on MySpace. "We spent two weeks 'dating' by going to the local bakery on our school lunch break!" Elsa remembers. She was attracted to Tom's honesty and happy energy, while Tom was drawn in by the mystery of the new girl at school. After discovering a strong connection and easy-flowing conversation, the pair made it official when Tom asked Elsa to be his girlfriend.
Jackie and Dan met at their local tennis club, but there was more than one love on the cards. "We embarked on a mixeddoubles losing streak, which we eventually broke," Jackie says. "Dan asked me out at the gates of the club after we played together a few times." They both had similar interests and a mutual attraction, so she agreed.
