Missing family members star on Portsmouth couple's wedding day

Catherine, a support worker from Portsmouth, decided on St Michael's and All Angels Church at Paulsgrove for their ceremony because of the sentimental value it has held since she was young.

She says: 'The reasoning for having our ceremony at that church is because my mum and dad have passed away.

'As a child, that's where we did a lot of things with our parents and were involved in the social side of it.

'We had a vicar, Fr Ian Rutherford, who I knew as a child who came back and did our service for us, so it was a lot of memories.'

Catherine's brother, Phillip Amey, is a priest so he also played a part in the couple's service.

The couple wed on August 5 with about 80 of their family and friends, followed by a reception at the Still & West in Old Portsmouth.

Catherine, 39, explains: 'I couldn't fault anything, it was stunning. It was perfect how they did it all for us and all the little details. We had pictures of our family who aren’t with us any more. Both Paul's son George and our son Harrison [the best men] gave speeches.

'Paul, whose mum had already passed away, was kind enough to let me have lots of lemon-coloured things, which were in memory of my mum because she loved daffodils.

‘It was lovely that everyone could meet again because it had been such a long time where nobody had seen each other.’

Paul, 47, a delivery driver from Portsmouth, first met Catherine in 2007, and they had their first date at the Bridge Tavern in Old Portsmouth.

Paul says: ‘My favourite thing about Catherine is her kindness and I like it when she laughs. We are total opposites like ying and yang, so it works perfectly.’

When Paul finally proposed to Catherine 12 years later she was 'in total shock'.

Paul picked a scenic location, a place the pair had visited before. But the historic site overlooking Southlake Moor, Somerset, with the ruins of a roofless church at the top of a hill, wasn't your average beauty spot.

Catherine says: 'The second time we went, he said “imagine if I proposed here” and then he did.

'I knew we were happy and together, but because we've been with one another for such a long time even then, I didn't know it was coming.

‘He's quite a joker. He made a ring out of a twig first of all, and said, "oh look what I've got", and I said "oh that's funny," and then he went, "oh, what if I've got a real one" and then obviously he did.'

The couple honeymooned in Somerset with Harrison, a place they go to most summers. The family have plans to fly to Euro Disney when Covid rules allow.

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A message from the editor, Mark Waldron

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