Clare and Jon first met when Clare worked at his parents’ chip shop as a teenager. They fell in love quickly and spent several years together before life pulled them in different directions. Jon’s culture required him to have arranged marriage with someone with the same beliefs.

“We ended up drifting apart”, Clare told us. “He moved away and I had no idea where he was. But after 20 years we found each other again, got back together and Jon decided he had to follow his heart. Getting married was a dream come true and very emotional. No-one was surprised to see us back together and said it was how it always should have been. It was like the 20 years just melted away and the spark was stronger than ever. A real life Disney fairytale.”

Their wedding became a celebration of a relationship that had waited long enough. Held at Wilbarston Church in Northamptonshire, followed by a reception at the village hall and playground. Guests arrived dressed to match the theme and pink and Disney-themed decorations filled the space. The bride even arrived in a hot pink taxi!

Personal touches appeared everywhere. Their dog, aptly called Disney, had an important role as the official ‘Brides-dog’. Jon built a pink sparkly crisp wall and customised a pair of Crocs for her, inspired by shoes she had loved in the 90s. Their daughter, Dolly, created all the place cards, while Clare’s father made three Disney-themed wedding cakes.

At the reception there was karaoke, a photo booth, an ice cream truck, a face painter, colouring packs for children and lots of glitter hairspray. They had various performers singing Disney songs.

Clare travelled to Wales to have a custom gown made, choosing a glitter-covered pink princess silhouette. A fluffy pink heart fascinator completed the look. Walking into a church that has stood for around 900 years dressed entirely on her own terms felt perfectly in keeping with a couple who had already rewritten the script with their relationship. “We didn’t want formal, we wanted fun,” Clare explained. “It was a dream come true and just so beautiful seeing all the beaming smiling faces looking at us.”

The hardest part was that Jon’s family chose not to attend. Clare was also dealing with chronic illness and a tumour on her spine. She worried whether she would be physically able to make it down the aisle so being able to with her dad was a really special moment.

“We wouldn’t do anything differently as it was the best day ever – well except maybe a unicorn horse and cart!” she concluded. “What started as a tale of heartbreak ended up as a beautiful love story. Don’t ever give up because there is always hope that life can change and be all you ever hoped and dreamed of.”