See how other local couples celebrated their big day with wedding stories and ideas from Your London Wedding Real Weddings features.
Yasmin and William met on Twitter in 2014. "We spoke for a year before William finally decided to visit me in London," says Yasmin. "We spent the most amazing weekend together. Following that, we met five more times before William decided to move to London and the rest is history," she says. A few years later William pulled out all the stops for his romantic proposal. "We'd planned an anniversary meal at The Shard and had gone up to the rooftop. There were other people around, so I had no idea what was coming," she says.
Emma and Dan met at a music festival in Clapham during one of the sets. "Dan saw me in the crowd and came over to talk to me – the attraction was immediate," Emma recalls. "Not many people get to experience love at first sight, but we certainly did!"
Three happy years later during the November 2020 lockdown, Dan proposed. "It was very sweet because we'd planned on getting engaged but then when the country went into another lockdown, I thought it'd never happen," says Emma. But Dan had other ideas. "He totally surprised me by meeting with the jewellers on Zoom and ended up securing an engagement ring and proposing just weeks later!" she says.
Rebecca and David met in a local bar on Christmas Eve, so a seasonal wedding was always on the cards for them. "Linking our day to that time of the year was very special to us," Rebecca says. "David was like no man I'd met before. We took the time to get to know each other and found that we were both attracted to what we wanted from life and how we were going to get there, and we share the same sense of humour, which helps!" she says.
Mariam and Charlie are both solicitors and have worked at the same firm since 2014. "We were great friends but that turned into something far more fantastic," say Mariam. So fantastic that eventually Charlie proposed. "He asked me to marry him on Tower Bridge on our anniversary," she says. "I wasn't too surprised to be honest. The first proposal attempt was aborted – Charlie thought he covered it well, but he didn't!" she recalls. "It was supposed to be by St Paul's Cathedral where we had our first kiss, but the filming for a DC movie made it impossible."
Both leading busy lives, Neda and Pedram didn't have much spare time to meet anyone – until they were introduced via the dating app Hinge. "Within a matter of days of being on the app, we matched, and the rest was history," says Neda. "What attracted me to Pedram was his charm, intellect, and great looks. He was a breath of fresh air. Not only did he tick every box, he brought the best out of me; a side of myself I never knew existed," she says.
Becky and Rob met at university at the age of 18. "We did the same drama course and one day Rob asked me out for lunch. We had a sandwich together on the sports field and have been together ever since," says Becky. Around 13 years later, they decided to tie the knot. "We both travel a lot for work and hadn't seen each other for about six weeks so while we were away in different parts of the world, we arranged to meet up mid-trip in New York," recalls Becky. "One night we were drinking tequila and eating burritos when we decided to get married," she says. "Rob didn't have the ring with him so instead he bought me an I love tacos t-shirt from a shop above the bar we were in, which was quite funny." What Becky didn't know was that Rob was already planning to propose when he got back to the UK. "When we returned we made tacos in our little flat. Rob had already bought a ring and he hid it in one of the shells and then officially asked me to marry him again," she says. "It was a double surprise as I didn't know he'd already been planning it."
Holly and Thanasis met in the summer of 2014, whilst having drinks in Soho and hit it off immediately. "We spent the next few hours laughing and discovering shared interests and similarities," Holly recalls. "We'd arranged the second date before we'd even finished the second round of drinks!" It was obviously meant to be because five years later, Thanasis proposed. "It was a complete surprise, albeit a lovely one after a long work week!" she says. They celebrated with Champagne before heading out for dinner. "Amusingly if anything I might have expected Thanasis to propose the following week as we were going on holiday to St. Lucia. However, I got to pack my bag with lots of wedding magazines and we enjoyed kicking off the planning process from our sun loungers with cocktails instead," says Holly.
With a shared love of skiing, Rosie and Ollie's pistes crossed in 2008, on a ski season in Whistler, Canada. "We both went out there to teach kids to ski with thirty other like-minded Brits," says Rosie. "We had a lot in common. Our shared sense of humour, laid back nature and appetite for travel and we still do!" she shares.
Ten happy years later Ollie proposed. "We went back Whistler where it all began on our ten-year anniversary of being together. It was a lovely surprise," Rosie recalls.
Both working in the insurance industry in London, Abi and Andy's paths were destined to cross. "We were introduced by a mutual friend one evening in a bar after work when Andy asked for my number. I took his business card and sent him an email after a few days," Abi shares. Their first date was at Mews of Mayfair and then Hakkasan where they soon realised they had a lot in common – they shared a taste for great food and wine, both love cooking and going to Ibiza. "I knew he was the one when he never complained about all of my partying. He's an only child and I come from a very big family, so it took a while for him to adjust to the mayhem that brings!" she adds.
Devon McDaniel and Rob Newman met while they both worked at the same company for many years. "When I relocated from the U.S. to London in 2014, we started working closely together and had an immediate connection," recalls Devon. "Our friendship developed easily over team lunches and after-work pub trips, and we began dating in 2015." Fast-forward three years later and Rob proposed while the couple were on holiday in Oslo, Norway in December, 2018.
Making history for Jonathan and Jay
Before the days of Tinder there was Plenty of Fish, and this is where Jonathan and Jay first met. "It took months for us to have a first date as we had so many holidays booked," Jonathan laughs. "We finally locked in a date for 4th June, 2013, and we agreed to meet in Soho Square." Thank goodness they did get a date in the diary, because after a successful bar crawl across Soho the pair were inseparable. Fast forward to March 2018, and the pair are on a trip to an incredible safari hotel in Rathambore National Park, India, where Jonathan popped the all-important question. Of course, Jay said "yes," and on returning home the couple started planning their dream wedding.
Hana and Brendan first met while they were playing hockey at the same club – although their relationship didn't get off to the best of starts. "I didn't like him at first, after he poured prosecco on me while we were on tour," Hana laughs. "However, in classic cliché form, we got to know each other and a romance kindled." The couple had discussed getting married, and with a trip to New York coming up, Brendan knew the time was right. "He proposed in our hotel room after we checked in," Hana tells us. "There was a sign on the wall saying "Marry me" and some flowers. It was a surprise at the time as I missed the sign – I was too busy deciding which side of the bed I wanted to sleep on!"