Emma
From the minute I met Chris, well… I wasn’t sure, to be honest. I was glad I had an exit plan arranged with Natalie - who knew we’d go on to write about this night and that one day she’d be our wedding celebrant!?
Chris was wearing a T-shirt in the middle of winter, so that was an immediate no. His hair was nicer and longer than mine and he was also really quite nervous, though he claims to this day that wasn’t the case… it must have been the cold and lack of layers making his voice shaky!
True to my own style, I was late for our date and arrived to find Chris sitting in his interesting choice of socialist pub surrounded by old men wearing flat caps and drinking Bitters. Not only was I a little flustered due to my lateness and stressed from work but I also had no cash on me.
Being a pub that probably had its last laugh in 1996, I had to ask Chris for change, and we pooled our pennies together to buy my first drink of the night. A gin and tonic with no ice and certainly no slice. I told the bar staff what I thought of their service style and looked over to Chris, who was sat in silence and probably filled with regret.
You could say that the night started on a back foot, but it certainly did have a quick turn around when we moved on to food and cocktails - my choices. I couldn’t tell you what we talked about for the rest of the evening or how we got to get on like a house on fire but the next thing I knew, the bar had called last orders and I hadn’t stopped smiling all night. This was something special.
He was something special.
From a simple Tinder swipe a few weeks before to our first kiss on our first date, everything was just effortless and fun for us from the get-go.
Our relationship has gone from strength to strength and the positive influence we’ve had on each other and the love we have for each other is just amazing and something I feel so lucky to experience every single day.
I cannot wait to see what the future holds for us and certainly can’t wait for one of my best friends and exit plan connoisseurs to help us celebrate officially at our wedding.
Chris
Taking this time to look back and reflect on how Emma and I met, feels like the first moment I’ve had to catch my breath since the day she kicked down the door to my life and strode on in.
In similar (and as I would soon learn) signature fashion, she burst through the entrance of that quiet little pub we met in - with those rosy cheeks and big bright eyes, as old men in flat caps & overcoats looked up from their papers, peered round corners and squinted through the bottoms of their half-supped pints. She demanded attention from everyone in the room - what else could I do but abide?
Looking back, it was probably an odd choice of venue from me - I’ll admit it. The kind of place that considers lager & lime a cocktail and keeps the big light lit on a Saturday night. We didn’t stay long...
We headed over the road to our next stop where we got acquainted over a couple more drinks and a bucket of wings so saucy Colonel Sanders would blush. Soon Emma’s infectious personality had well & truly taken hold, and I found myself wearing the dumbest grin for the rest of the evening.
The night flew by and as we moved on to our third and final venue of the evening, little did we know the significance it would have in our lives going forward. I’d been myself before but stepping into Frederik’s that night with Emma felt like I was walking into her world. By the time we sat down by the fire, I felt like I’d known Emma for years - which would have been quite plausible, as she seemed to know everyone else!
In August 2021 Emma and I are getting married, with our reception in that same bar, by the same fire - and in so many ways, not a lot has changed. She had my attention from that first night, just now she has my love to go with it too!
Photography: Stella Photography Engagement ring: Wongs Jewellers Ceremony: The Florrie Reception: Frederiks