Childhood sweethearts finally marry...72 years after he ended romance
TWO childhood sweethearts have finally married – 75 years after they met.
George Coffin and Irene Lanning, both 89, dated for three years as teenagers when they lived 200 yards apart.
But when George ended their relationship they drifted apart and went on to marry different partners, both of whom have died.
George and Irene, from Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, finally met again last year after she got a message to her former beau at the funeral of a mutual friend.
And they wasted no time rekindling their romance over a cuppa.
Grandad-of-eight George popped the question six months later and they finally tied the knot on Saturday in a ceremony at Blackwood Methodist Church in Streetly.
Irene wore a blue and white floral print dress with a white jacket and blue headpiece, while George was in a navy suit, blue tie with a blue flower in his lapel. They were joined by around 70 family and friends at the church and at the reception.
Irene said: “It’s a real life fairytale being able to marry George, I was really upset when we broke up as teenagers. We both went our separate ways and married other partners but there was always part of me that wondered what happened to him.
“Our wedding day was one of the happiest days of my life, we had all of our closest family and friends there to celebrate. I had gone out with my maid of honour to pick a lovely dress and George looked very smart in his suit.
“I was quite nervous for the couple of days before the wedding – I wanted everything to go perfectly. Happily, it did.
“I knew as soon as he arrived when I invited him over for tea there was still a spark between us. But I never imagined we’d soon get married.
“After letting me go the first time around he has a lot of making up to do but he’s certainly doing a good job so far.”
George said: “We are very happy to be finally married. We have so much to catch up on but we can now spend as much time together as we like. It’s lovely having Irene here with me now. We’ve been able to pick up where we left off 72 years ago.”