See how other local couples celebrated their big day with wedding stories and ideas from Your Yorkshire Wedding Real Weddings features.
Sophie and Elliot met via Match dating site. The couple laughs that it's an ongoing joke that Elliot paid more for Sophie – as Sophie had a discount code for the site! What a bargain! Sophie adds, "We met relatively early on in our subscription, so we did have to have the conversation about whether or not we needed to renew!" As luck had it, the stars were aligned for these two teaching professionals and now, they have their six weeks summer holidays to spend together!
The name's Wilks, Mr & Mrs Wilks
Jemma and Jack met on Tinder. As Jemma recalls, "We wish we could give a more romantic story, but a modern-day Tinder romance it is. I was actually sat with one of my close friends having a coffee and she was looking through the app on my phone and found Jack – Jack is actually her cousin! So, she swiped right, it was a match. The rest is history." Jemma and Jack married on 17th June, 2022 at Wharfedale Grange. Here, Jemma tells us more about their day...
Sam and Victoria met at work. Victoria tells us, "We realised we had a lot in common, liked the same things and found ourselves eating pizza and drinking wine at the local restaurant shortly after." During lockdown, on Christmas morning Sam proposed. Of course, Victoria said yes, and wedding planning began! On 28th May 2022, at Ripley Castle, Harrogate, the pair said their vows. Here, Victoria tells us more about their day...
Amelia and Dom met on a typical guys and gals holiday when they were young, free and single. And who says holiday romances don't last? Some eight years later, Dom got down on one knee whilst on holiday in Portofino, the picturesque fishing village on the Italian Riviera coastline.
No one could have predicted how Tabs and Nick's first date would have started out seeing as she was supposed to be being set up with someone else! Not hitting it off with her date, Tabs asked to swap seats discreetly with her best friend, Eve, after the meal and ended up sitting next to Nick - the rest is history! Tabs tells us, "Nick's intelligence was one of the things I was most attracted to along with his sense of humour and how unbelievably kind he is. Nick was most attracted to my sense of humour - you can't take yourself too seriously!"
Jessica and Charlie Hogg met through friends and fell in love instantly. Jessica tells us, "We're extremely similar to one another, we're each other's best friends and soul mates." Charles popped the question in December 2019 when he took her to admire the view from one of Ilkley's famous rock formations, the cow and calf. Jessica remembers, "I turned around and he was down on one knee and asked me to marry him. It was a huge surprise; my mum and dad knew and had a bottle of champagne waiting for when we went to tell them."
The big day was set for 16th July, 2021 taking place at Hollins Hall Hotel & Country Club.
Caroline and George Rispin met at work in York back in 2014. Caroline tells us, "I loved George's energy and humour – he made me laugh like nobody else and I remember one afternoon we were working together and were so engrossed in conversation that we just didn't answer the phones! Everybody loves George when they meet him, he's so fun to be around and he's incredibly caring."
"We're both very ambitious and are attracted to each other's independent drive. We have such a strong bond because we share the same values – our relationship has been built upon trust, honesty, transparency, and an unwavering love and respect for one another." Just like their high expectations in life they also had the same expectations in another area as Caroline jokes! "We were also looking for a partner with height! I'm 5ft 11, so I needed a tall man and he's 6ft 5 – so I'll be forever looking up to him!"
Anna and Jack met in the summer of 2011, and fell madly in love. "I was friends with Jack's sister," Anna says. "I moved into a house in Manchester but it badly needed renovation work; the solution was to stay with their family in the Orkney Islands for a few weeks while the work took place – gatecrashing a family holiday!" Anna and Jack soon connected as friends, before it grew into something more.
Both teachers, our newlyweds met when Rio interviewed Robbie for a teaching post at the school she works in. "At first, he thought I was quite intimidating," Rio laughs. "We grew very close as work colleagues, before deciding to give our relationship a go during the summer holidays. We soon realised it was exactly what we both wanted." It was on a magical trip to New York at Christmas that Robbie popped the question in the most romantic of ways. "While walking through Central Park, I heard a guitarist playing my favourite song: Dreams by Gabrielle," Rio says. "I noticed rose petals and framed pictures of us next to where the guitarist was playing – I then realised Robbie might be about to propose. He got down on one knee and asked me to marry him; it was a complete surprise and one of the most perfect moments in my life!" After clarifying that Robbie had asked her dad (he had!), Rio said "Yes!"