The first time we met was in 2004, aged 16 in 6th form. Dan was the new boy and Laura was the weird girl with the Dr Who scarf.

After disappearing for several years and joining the Navy, in 2011 Dan took a cottage that he retreated to on a weekend for Big Nights Out in Kendal. Laura started to retreat there too in order to save money on a taxi home, although always vehemently denied that she liked Dan. We fell out many times because we are both as stubborn as each other, but - allegedly - we had agreed that if we got to 40 and weren’t married, we’d be the other’s back up plan. But then life took us out separate ways again and lost touch completely.

10 years later one slid into the other’s DMs during one of the lockdowns and Laura finally realised that Dan was actually quite nice after all.

We got engaged in November 2023, when Dan got down on one knee with a broken foot in the waves of Sandy Lane beach in Barbados, and we are looking forward to ending 20 years of will they/won’t they with an “I Will” at our wedding in July 2025.

Photos