Real Weddings

Hannah and Steve.

Who says that dating apps can’t lead to enduring love? Enter our first Tinder couple, Hannah and Steve, who after successful mutual swiping are now happily married and living in Bicester with a cat called Maxwell. Hannah works for an academic publishing company; Steve runs his own recruitment company.

“Steve proposed in Venice, after a little bit of ‘light’ (read: a lot of) persuasion from me,” says Hannah. “He got down on one knee in St Mark’s Square and presented me with my dream ring. I said yes straight away. 

They were married at Caswell House in Brize Norton. “I fell in love with the photos on the website before seeing it in real life,” says Hannah – which seems entirely appropriate, given that Steve had initially caught her eye online.

“We both knew at once that it was the place for us.  As well as being beautiful, it offered the possibility of an outdoor ceremony, accommodation on site, separate bride-and-groom getting-ready areas – it ticked all the boxes.

“We had 85 guests during the day and another 40 in the evening. I loved every minute of it, but being able to let our hair down in the evening with all our friends and family was probably the best part. Steve serenading me with the help of the band was another highlight! 

“For the wedding breakfast, I created personalised menus that also doubled as name settings, which looked lovely on the tables. I think the guests also enjoyed the home-flavoured vodka favours!”

And Hannah’s top tip for brides and grooms to be?

“Shop around. If there’s something you’ve your heart set on, there’s probably an option out there to suit your budget. Don’t accept the first price you’re quoted; I found that prices really varied.”

A number of Hannah’s friends had already used the GettingMarried site and been impressed by it. “It seemed the best way to provide the most amount of information to guests,” says Hannah. “Using the site meant we could keep the invitations minimal, which looked better and cost less.

‘It was also so useful to be able to list all the local accommodation, as the majority of our guests weren’t local and needed somewhere to stay. Having everything on one website definitely reduced the number of questions I would have received otherwise.”  

And guests were duly appreciative: “As well as the ease of having all the information they needed in one place, everyone enjoyed the profiles I added about Steve and me. I had a lot of positive comments about those!”

Images supplied thanks to Katie Hamilton Photography