Zoom wedding lunch and gift deliveries help Stubbington couple mark postponed wedding

Loved-up Matt Milham and Tracie Bruno, from Stubbington, were due to spend Saturday, May 24, getting married after six years together.

Instead, the pair have had to push their celebrations back until next year due to coronavirus restrictions.

Their friends did not let the day pass without note however, and pulled out all the stops to help celebrate.

They sent the couple wine, canapes, balloons and a wedding cake, as well as taking part in a cream tea wedding lunch over Zoom, and held a Mr and Mrs quiz in the evening.

Tracie, 53, said: ‘When Matt and I were at a low due to the postponement, our friends kicked in and made the day one we will cherish for a long time.

‘We are blessed to have such wonderful friends and cannot thank them enough.’

Everyone dressed up smartly for the virtual event, with Tracie wearing a wedding dress she wore during her Butlin’s hen party in March for an 80s weekend.

Tracie met Matt, 43, through her 13-year-old son Alfie when he joined Gosport and Fareham Rugby Club at the age of four. Alfie became friends with Matt’s son Thomas, now 14, and so the parents knew each other for years and became friends.

Both Matt and Tracie have two children from previous relationships, with the children all going to school together and Matt’s 15-year-old daughter Olivia even sharing the same birthday as Tracie’s daughter Emily.

When they decided to make a go of it as a couple, the four children were supportive.

Matt and Tracie will marry on May 1, 2021, at St Edmund’s Church in Stubbington, with a reception at Gosport’s Explosion Museum of Naval Firepower – but are amazed at how special their friends managed to make the original date.

Tracie said: ‘It just took our breath away, it was so emotional for us. We’re looking forward to getting married and seeing everyone - we just miss our friends even more now.

‘In these circumstances, people’s true nature really shines through. You really know who your friends are. Things are not all bad, just make the best of what you have got.’

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