Havant childhood sweethearts tie the knot after 13 years of love and laughs

With their 60 guests, the Havant couple tied the knot at the Newtown House Hotel, Hayling Island, on January 22.

Amy, 29, says: ‘We were lucky because the date we had chosen was always our original date.

‘We chose this time of year because we actually got together on January 23 - 13 years ago, so the date for us was special as well.’

Amy, née Hambry, and Ryan met at Warblington Secondary School when they were 15 and 16.

While the pair were dating, Ryan would take Amy to the cinema to watch films from the Twilight saga each time one was released.

It was this shared memory that was echoed in their ceremony song as Amy walked down the aisle.

Amy adds: ‘Our ceremony entrance song was an instrumental version of A Thousand Years played by the pianist.

‘A Thousand Years is our song anyway.

‘It reminds us of years ago when Ryan used to take me to see all the Twilight sagas.

‘That was something that was always special to us,’ says Amy.Ryan would scrupulously save his money from his weekend job to take Amy on dates while they were at school.

The happy couple now share two daughters, Hallie, seven, and Ava, three, who were their bridesmaids along with Amy’s sister, Emma, sister-in-law, Amie and best friend, Charlotte Lilley.

When Ryan proposed to Amy in October 2020, he admits he had had ‘butterflies in his stomach’ for months.

He’d asked Amy’s dad for her hand in marriage on a family day out at Portchester Castle.

‘I did want to ask her, but because Amy knows I’m not really a confident person who would do it in front of loads of people it was quite nerve-wracking.

‘At the time I really wanted to do it on a helicopter or something.‘But it was all dependant on the weather, so I just thought well there’s nothing better than doing it in front of all our loved ones on Amy’s birthday,’ says Ryan, who works as a roofer for Jones Bros Roofing.

Amy and Ryan had been carefully planning their wedding during lockdown and were delighted to finally be able to search for a wedding venue when they started to open up again in May 2021.

Amy, a makeup artist and hair stylist at Georgina Chambers Studios, Southsea, says: ‘We wanted something fairly local so all our local family members could join us.

‘There were a few people who had to travel but we’ve always liked Hayling Island and that place was really local and we fell in love with the venue straight away.

‘They were so accommodating. They said they could make whatever we wanted happen.‘It was what we wanted, it was perfect.’

But for now they are in no rush and would rather wait until they feel safer because of the pandemic.

The couple would like to thank the ladies from Georgina Chambers for doing Amy’s hair and makeup and Havant-based florist Miss Floristry.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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