Laura and Andrew

(lovely pic - courtesy of Laura and Andrew)

How can you feel that you know a couple without even meeting them? And yet, before meeting these two we were already sending emails and texts like old friends, so when I think of these two, a lovely big smile just spreads across my face. Laura and Andrew are the winners of the wedding competition that I held at the Wedding Journal Wedding Show back in September 2008. They sent me their story via email and their photos, and after a lot of decision making, I sent a very excited email to Laura to tell them the good news, which resulted in a very excited email back and a photo they had just taken of themselves and their big smiles, to show just how happy they were!! So a few weeks back, I officially met them in my mums paint your own pottery shop and I have to say they lived up to my expectations because they were absolutely, genuinely lovely.

I managed to not even notice them enter the shop, (I was washing a cloth to clean the table that I wanted to have the meet at!) so when I turned round, with a wet orange cleaning cloth in my hand, I think my first surprised words were something along the lines of 'I was just cleaning a table...!' and I think I said that as my legs carried me forward, and whether Laura had wanted one or not, she got a big massive hug!! Andrew too. And I don't even remember what we said to each other. In fact now that I think back on it, and think we all stood and laughed and smiled! =)

So Mum made us her fabulous hot chocolate, marshmallows and all (our hot chocolate happens to be the best in Donaghadee!) and we began to chat. A chat that lasted two hours, which ranged from topics such as, well, their wedding for starters! to music, ipods (I think Andrew nearly died when he saw the state that mine was in - it has been dropped so many times - even into the sink whilst brushing my teeth one morning so it has some water damage, but I like to use the term, well loved! - Andrew's was in a special protective ipod cover and I definitely saw no tangles in his earphones - I had discreetly removed the mass mess that was my earphones before the comparison!) favourite films, books, Seasick Steve - Andrew was going to the concert that evening and so was my mum and dad! The concert was up at The Grand Opera House - only Andrew's second ever time being there! In my shock, we quickly established that his first time was seeing West Side Story a few weeks before with Laura and so he was quickly forgiven!!

But I honestly can't say enough lovely things about these two! Even when they left we were still exchanging texts!

I don't know if this is a suprise to Laura and Andrew or not, but talking as much as we (and I!)did that day - a meet up with what was essentially two strangers - talking so easily and laughing so heartily is only something I do so quickly with people I feel most relaxed and natural with. It was effortless, and without their knowledge they have found themselves on my gold list. The list that exists only in my fondest memories, of people I've met in the past, who I didn't know beforehand, and left the conversation knowing that it was a person I would never forget.

Thank you both and you've heard me say it a million times, but I can't wait to be a part of your day, I already feel that I'm going to have to stash some tissues somewhere because it's going to be truly wonderful to witness you both get married to each other.