Rob and Laura's Wedding in Stafford, Staffordshire

Our Real Wedding

A blind date never really seems like a good idea, and neither of us held much high hope when a mutual friend put us in contact. So much so, Rob organised a 2 o’clock coffee date so we could bail out at our earliest convenience. At 5 o’clock the café shut, and we were still enjoying each other’s company so much, we decided to take a stroll around the village and down to the river. 7 o’clock came and I got a call from my friends, who I was meeting for dinner, to check everything was okay and if I was still going to make it. I think we both knew it there and then when we said goodbye, both too nervous to go in for a hug or a kiss, so instead awkwardly exchanged numbers, we’d found something special.

4 and a half years later, on a trip to the Lake District, unbeknownst to me, Rob had set his mind to propose at a special spot he used to visit on Lake Derwent with his Grandad. As I enjoyed the last day of holiday, eager to get home and sorted for the week ahead, I was totally unaware of the nightmare Rob was having. His spot he’d picked to propose in had flooded overnight and was now underwater. Not panicking, he drove us around for one last tour of the lake, secretly looking desperately for somewhere to pull over and propose that would be romantic. When that failed, a well-deserved lunch break was taken while he googled and searched frantically for plan B. At this point, I’m thinking about bank holiday traffic and how long it’s going to take us to get back, and I’m eager to get on the way. Instead, Rob suggests driving back to wrong way to see the lakes one last time. Confused, I agree, wondering why we’re not just heading for the motorway. Rob is now very stressed, he’s going to have to abandon his plan, doesn’t know whether to laugh or cry, when we get halted in our tracks by about 50 pheasants all sat chilling in the middle of the country lane we are in. As it turns out, a group of pheasants is called a bouquet - rather fitting in retrospect. Finally, as we reach the heights of the views overlooking Derwent water, a parking space appears out of nowhere, and Rob thinks his luck has changed. We take a romantic walk to a bench overlooking the most stunning autumnal views of the lake and sit there taking in the moment. As I sit there wondering… is this it, is this the moment… another comedy of errors happens as Dorris and Bert pull up directly behind us, wind down their window and start enjoying a Greggs pasty and coffee overlooking the view.. I mean, where do you even get a Greggs pasty in the Lake District? Finally they leave, a calm settles and Rob saw his moment, with the most beautiful speech, he got down on one knee and popped the big question. He says that day was a reminder to never give up, for me it was the happiest moment of my life up to that point!