Real Weddings from Your Bristol and Somerset Wedding

Simply Elegant

Anna met Mat in her home town of Minehead in 2014, while he was in town for a stag do at Butlins. She was sitting outside a local pub when Mat and his mates walked in. Anna's friend caught their eye and they went over to join her table. Anna and Mat hit if off that night and kept in touch after he'd returned home.

Sentimental Journey

Michelle and Paul found each other online and met up in Bath for their first date. It was intended to be coffee, but it soon turned into a small walking tour of the city followed by dinner. "From the outset, I liked Paul's positive demeanour and confidence," Michelle says.

Modern Luxury

Hannah and Tom have been together since they were teenagers. Tom would try to catch Hannah's attention in the corridor between lessons, but she was completely oblivious! Eventually, it was Hannah who decided to add him as a friend on Bebo, as she knew of him at least. He accepted and they spent the next few months messaging each other before deciding to make it official, even though they hadn't met #IRL yet.

Love ast first swipe

We met how a lot of people tend to meet nowadays, on Tinder," says Abbey. She and Andrew were both students at the time and in Abbey's words "rather socially awkward homebodies," so the internet seemed the perfect place to find love. She continues, "My favourite thing about Andrew was how easy he was to talk to. There were never any uncomfortable pauses or lulls in conversation. In fact, we haven't stopped talking for the past six years!"

On top of the world

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.

Burgandy bliss

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."

Opposites attract

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."

Come away with me

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.

Doughtnuts, about you!

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!

Ready, set, wed

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."

You're my world

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."

Modern sophistication

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.

Soulmates

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.