Real Weddings from Your Glos and Wilts Wedding

A Waterside Wedding

Leah and Ryan chose to get married at the stunning De Vere Cotswold Water Park, a hotel and event venue that overlooks the lakes which spread across the Cotswold Water Park, with 152 in total. Turn to page 25 to read all about De Vere Cotswold Water Park as a wedding venue.

Countryfile

Lauren and Matt met through work when they both embarked on the same graduate scheme straight out of university. "I'm from Leicester and Matt is from Liverpool so if it wasn't for the graduate scheme, we probably never would have met," Lauren says. "We were both very similar in terms of what we wanted out of life and what we enjoyed – mainly food and travel! For me, it was Matt's accent that won me over!"

Wedding Belles

Becky and Andy became legally married in Qatar and wanted to hold a wedding reception in Wiltshire to celebrate with their loved ones. They chose Bowood hotel, spa and golf resort as their venue, which has recently won VisitEngland's Silver Award for Large Hotel of the Year 2023. Here, Becky tells us all about their special day.

Something blue

Rosie and James first met 12 years ago and were friends for years. "I allowed him to take me on a coffee date after he sent roses and chocolates to my office – how could I say no!" Rosie tells us. From then we became inseparable until James was deployed to Afghanistan in July 2019 for a four-month RAF tour." The couple became engaged when James returned to the UK in time for Rosie's birthday. "We went on holiday to Thailand to celebrate his homecoming," Rosie tells us. "We travelled to Phuket, Ko Phi Phi and Bangkok where we stayed in the tallest hotel. The suite was incredible with far-flung views across the city and just as James pointed out some fireworks in the distance, he got down on one knee!"

Summer lovin'

Danielle and Adrian met at a charity soapbox race. "Adrian said that he spotted me when he went flying down the hill on his fox cart," Danielle tells us. "He decided to make a move by borrowing a friend's dog as an excuse to walk over to me. We exchanged a few words but we didn'tspeak for long. He plucked up the courage to come over to me again at the end of the day and ask me for my number. From then on, we became best friends instantly, and after a couple of dates our relationship began."

Summer lovin'

Paris and Elijah met at her sister's wedding in 2018. "We haven't gone a day without speaking since," Paris tells us. Elijah proposed on his 21st birthday. "After he asked me to marry him, we headed to his home to surprise our families with the news and celebrate - it was a big surprise for everybody!"

Love at first swipe

Emily and Will met at Bath Spa University but it wasn't until years later that they came across each other on a dating app and decided to go from a drink. "Will proposed on the evening of 17th September 2020, on a pier at the Liberty Lara resort in Antalya, Turkey," Emily tells us. "We visited the pier to take some photos and everyone seemed to be leaving so we had it to ourselves. Will told me that he had an accessory to add to our photographs and got down on one knee before presenting me with a stunning solitaire ring that he had designed himself and had made which was a wonderful surprise - I didn't even see the ring for the first few minutes because I was crying happy tears!"

New beginnings

Michelle and Chris met through mutual friends in June 2006. "We attended a group meal at Pizza Express in Salisbury where we couldn't stop looking at each other," Michelle tells us. "Chris proposed in August 2011 over dinner in Pizza Hut. He wanted to ask me in the same pizza restaurant where we had met but it was fully booked so he had to improvise! It was a complete surprise and I cried happy tears," Michelle says.

It's party time

Emily and Ben met on a night out 10 years ago. "We were instantly attracted to each other and went on a date the following week," Emily tells us. "We became engaged in December 2019 during a romantic winter proposal in Switzerland. We stayed in Geneva and had arranged to go on a bus tour for a day to Chamonix-Mont-Blanc in France to explore the snow up in the mountains but almost didn't make it because there was a high risk of an avalanche that day. It was magical and a wonderful surprise when Ben asked me to marry him against the scenic snowy backdrop."

Fun times

Hannah and Declan met in 2014 at work. "I had transferred across from another store and Dec, thinking I was temporary staff for Christmas, took it upon himself to show me the ropes!" Hannah tells us. "He won me over with his cheeky personality and a few weeks later we started dating, much to our manager's disappointment! We had to be separated at work because neither of us got much done!"

The couple became engaged on holiday in Fuerteventura on 20th July 2019. "We enjoyed a walk along the beach after dinner and there, in front of the sunset was where he proposed!" Hannah says. "It was a big surprise although I should've seen it coming because there were some tell-tale signs!"

Simply chic

Daisy and Alex met when they were introduced by a friend. " "We both lived a few hours apart but regularly made time to spend with each other and the rest is history!"

The couple became engaged during a holiday in Canada. "Alex asked me to marry him at the top of Sulphur Mountain as we exited the gondola," Daisy says. "It was a beautiful day and a wonderful surprise."

A winters tale

Beatrice and Andrew met on the dating app Bumble and enjoyed their first date in Cheltenham. "We instantly got along and felt very comfortable with each other," Beatrice tells us. "I could tell that he was a cheerful person which attracted me to him and Andrew tells me that he loved my smile and sense of humour."

The couple became engaged on 24th August 2020. "We had been out for dinner at Gallimores Kitchen in Cheltenham and decided to go for a wander around the Imperial Gardens which is where we had enjoyed our second date," Beatrice tells us. "Andrew got down on one knee and surprised me with a beautiful ring and those four words!"

A family affair

Alun and Ben met online. "We started chatting on a Saturday afternoon and decided to meet for a drink the day after. We wondered why there were so many couples out, both forgetting that it was Valentine's Day!" they tell us. "The first thing that attracted me to Ben was that on our first date, I paid him a compliment and he accepted it," Alun says. "I enjoyed how talkative and confident Alun was, he made the conversation seem effortless," adds Ben.