NOT one, two, three, four but five times their wedding date had to be rescheduled – but they have now tied the knot and couldn’t be happier.

Jo and Richard Dowling swapped Whittle Hall, Great Sankey, for the Courtyard at the Gretna Hall Hotel, Scotland for their wedding, and what a wedding it was. Here is the story of their big day, in their own words.

 

The happy couple: Joanne (formerly Tocher) and Richard Dowling, aged 43 and 33, from Whittle Hall, Great Sankey

When and how you did you meet?: Working for Newsquest (Warrington Guardian)

What did you think of each other when you first met?

Jo - We were very good friends for a long time before we started dating, Richard was always a gentleman and a perfect friend – it was impossible not to fall in love with him.

Rich – I met Jo eight years ago when I started working at Newsquest. We sat near each other and quickly became good friends. I loved her sense of humour and the way she brightened my day with a smile.

For a long time, we were great friends, but the more I learned about Jo the more I fell in love with her. There wasn’t one single moment where I had an epiphany and knew I couldn’t live without Jo, it was a thousand moments, all equally important.

Where and when you got engaged (please also tell us a little bit about the proposal):

We got engaged on Christmas morning 2018. We opened all our presents and then Rich offered to dress our 11-month-old son George. I was busy tidying when Rich came down and plonked him on my knee.

Rich dressed George in a baby grow which said ‘mummy will you marry my daddy’ and I very quickly said yes. The ring was out of this world and everything I could have dreamed of if I purchased myself.

Date and location of the wedding and reception: September 8, 2021 in the Courtyard at the Gretna Hall Hotel

Warrington Guardian:

How were you feeling on the morning of your wedding:

Jo - Excited and happy that finally our day was here without any problems or glitches – I did however feel very emotional and shed a few happy tears on numerous occasions.

Rich – I felt surprisingly relaxed and just wanted to fast forward to the ceremony. We went around 15 hours without seeing each other which felt like forever! I’ve heard people talk about ‘wedding jitters’, but I just felt full of anticipation and excitement.

How would you describe your wedding? Absolutely perfect in every way! Originally, we had booked to marry in Las Vegas and had five dates booked in total.

Our original plan was to go away just the two of us, however, Thomas Cook collapsed and then Covid hit which meant we changed the date five times in total. We were so pleased that we had our family around us after such a difficult 18 months unable to love and enjoy them the way we should.

At the start of Covid – our eldest Tom and his Girlfriend had twin girls at 31 weeks pregnant, not seeing them was incredibly difficult during lockdown especially as they were teen parents with prem babies. Having the girls with us on the day with our Children was just amazing and we are so glad we married this way now.

How many guests did you have? 29 guests in total, we wanted to keep the day intimate and as safe as possible for all our immediate family.

What did your guests eat? Starter (pea and ham soup or fishcake), main (roast sirloin of Scottish beef or fillet of salmon), dessert (chocolate orange mousse or apple tart)

In the evening we had bacon and sausage butties with chips

What are your favourite memories of the day? Having all our family with us together and at the ceremony, a butterfly flew behind me as I walked up the Aisle.

A few years ago, I lost my best friend and a psychic once told me she was with me throwing butterflies in my path. Feeling her presence on my special day just made it even more perfect.

Tell us a little bit about your outfits on the day:

The bride wore a ruffled gown from Mia Mia called lizette – the second gown purchased as the Vegas dress I originally purchased was very lightweight.

With Scotland in mind, I purchased a heavier gown due to the weather (little did I know we would marry on one of the hottest September days in Scotland in over 100 years.

The bridesmaid wore dresses from the Maya Deluxe range – taupe blush colour

Groom, best man and groomsmen wore blue suits from Marc Darcey

Did you go on a honeymoon? If so where?

We had booked a three-night mini-moon in the lake district however on arrival were very unhappy with the hotel. We had paid £1000 for three nights and the hotel itself was in a poor state and the room itself secured with what we can only describe as a bathroom door lock. Sadly, we were refunded and decided to come home as everywhere we looked was fully booked

We still have our main honeymoon to look forward to in Las Vegas (rebooked again for May 2022). We will get there eventually and holding out for it to be safe to travel as we really want to enjoy the experience together.

Tell us a little bit about the things you have in common/why you love each other and why you wanted to get married:

Jo – Richard is the true love of my life, nobody has ever made me smile and laugh the way he does, every day I feel loved and safe when I am with him. He is my soulmate and best friend and the best dad and stepdad to our children. Being Rich’s wife is the best feeling in the world.

Rich – All I can say is Jo has completely changed my life and my outlook on it. Back in my old life, before we met, I knew something was missing and would go as far as to say life felt purposeless.

Since we’ve found each other, I feel complete. Tying the knot has felt like the final step in that completion and now we’re married I finally feel happiness.

SHARE YOUR WEDDING STORIES: 

If you have recently got married we would love to hear about your special day. Email us at newsdesk@guardiangrp.co.uk for a Q&A form