CORONAVIRUS restrictions have unfortunately led to many wedding plans being put on hold this spring, but some couples were fortunate enough to walk down the aisle just before lockdown.

Whether it was the perfect memorable occasion or there were a few mishaps along the way, the lucky brides and grooms have been sharing their wedding stories in their own words.

Names: Lorna and Michael Brown

Ages: 27 and 34

Live: Latchford

Date of wedding: February 29 at Mere Court Hotel in Knutsford

Warrington Guardian: Lorna and Michael - Eclipse Imagery and PhotographyLorna and Michael - Eclipse Imagery and Photography

When are how did you meet?

Lorna: We met in 2008 watching our favourite sports team, Warrington Wolves, but we didn’t start dating until 2014.

The proposal

Michael asked me to marry him under the water in the Great Barrier Reef in Australia on November 28, 2017.

He put the ring box in his wetsuit and when the time was right, came swimming up behind me with the ring box open.

In shock I asked him, “Where did you get that from?”, not realising he had it all along.

I struggled to keep afloat because I was in that much shock and a swim back to the boat was needed to allow me to catch my breath.

Finding the dress

The first time I went dress shopping at Wife to Be in Warrington I tried on maybe three dresses and then I tried on ‘the one’.

I tried on a couple more just to make sure.

My mum wasn’t 100 per cent sure with the dress I really liked but she made some adjustments to the corset, stepped back and burst into tears.

That set my maid of honour and I off as well!

Everyone dreams of the moment they know what dress they are getting.

I didn’t tell the rest of my bridesmaids I was going dress shopping and also didn’t let them see it until the day.

Their reactions on the day were priceless – tears of joy!

Warrington Guardian: Lorna and Michael - Eclipse Imagery and PhotographyLorna and Michael - Eclipse Imagery and Photography

Before the wedding

I stayed at the venue the night before and had a nice night with my bridesmaids, family and a few friends, which seemed to calm my nerves.

On the morning of the wedding I was fine and I didn’t feel nervous when I was getting my hair done.

It was only when I started having my makeup done that I started to feel it.

Then, I was a bag of nerves when I had my dress on.

Mick stayed at the hotel down the road with his dad.

They went to watch the rugby the night before which was supposed to calm his nerves, but the result didn’t go our way.

Mick only really got nervous when he was sat at the front of the ceremony room waiting for me to walk down.

The big day

Our wedding was a magical day.

It started off with heavy rain, which cleared up enough to have photographs outside our beautiful venue.

I got to marry my best friend, we spent the day with family and friends and then partied the night away with a room full of people.

What are your favourite memories of the day?

My favourite memory is how beautiful the weather turned out to be considering the weather leading up to the wedding day.

Also, being carried over to the pagoda because the grass was very wet and I didn’t want to ruin my dress.

We were completely overwhelmed by the sheer amount of people that came to celebrate our special day and helped make the memories we will have for a lifetime. 

Warrington Guardian: The wedding party - Eclipse Imagery and PhotographyThe wedding party - Eclipse Imagery and Photography

The honeymoon

We went on a mini-moon straight after the wedding to a glamping place in North Wales.

We have our honeymoon booked in November, for what was supposed to be after the end of the rugby league season.

So fingers crossed we get to go, but also don’t miss any important Warrington Wolves games!

What do you have in common?

We are both big Warrington Wolves fans and follow them both home and away.

We added bits of primrose and blue into our wedding, including smoke bombs and a Warrington Wolves surprise cake, where each tier represented a year of a shirt that was special to the both of us.

The impact of coronavirus

Coronavirus had only a few cases in the UK at the time.

I don’t think we even thought it would affect us but there’s been a lot of people who have said we were lucky to have the wedding when we did.

A few weeks later and we would have had reduced guests and maybe even have had to postpone it.

It doesn’t bare thinking about – all the planning that goes into the big day, having to move it and re-plan must be a nightmare.

Warrington Guardian: Lorna and Michael - Eclipse Imagery and PhotographyLorna and Michael - Eclipse Imagery and Photography

Get in touch

We would love to hear from more Warrington couples who managed to tie the knot earlier this year or during 2019.

To feature on our wedding page, you’ll need to send us some photographs from your wedding and fill a short form.

Please ensure you have copyright permission for all photographs you send across.

For more information or to request the form, email reporter jessica.farrington@newsquest.co.uk