Loving union made on two special anniversaries
For lovebirds Kelly and Paul Smith, their wedding day coincided with the groom’s parents’ golden anniversary and the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. With their 100 guests, the Farlington couple tied the knot at a teatime ceremony at the Square Tower in Portsmouth on June 2.
Kelly, 39, said: ‘We asked [Paul’s parents] if they'd mind if we got married on their wedding anniversary because that was the only date that the Square Tower could accommodate us [after we rescheduled].
‘They were actually quite happy with it. All of Paul's family thought it was lovely.’
Paul, a franchise manager, met Kelly when they were at King Richard School together at Paulsgrove and they’ve remained friends ever since.
Years down the line, the pair got together and their friendship blossomed into romance, which Kelly believes has ‘helped them get on like a house on fire’ to this day.
In 2019, Paul, 45, proposed to Kelly at home on New Year’s Eve. After two years of their wedding plans being held back due to Covid, the pair were ‘delighted’ to get their wedding by the sea – and the pandemic made them rethink their plans to tie the knot abroad.
‘Covid made us want to get married in the home town where we live,’ explains Kelly.
‘It went better than we could have ever imagined. The sun was lovely and we had the best weather for the whole bank holiday weekend.
‘Some of our friends who hadn't even met all got on and they all had such a great time.’ Kelly’s daughter, Belle, was one of the couple’s bridesmaids alongside her niece and friend; while her son, Louis, 20, walked her down the aisle. Paul has one son, Taylor.
For Kelly, née Jeffery, wedding day nerves didn’t hit her until she pulled up outside the venue in a Rolls-Royce and the reality of her dream wedding sank in.
But despite pre-wedding jitters, Kelly was ‘relaxed’ about the rest of the evening’s proceedings thanks to the organisation from Square Tower staff.
‘The last three years have been quite easy and straightforward because we just wanted a party,’ explains Kelly.
‘We were quite relaxed about everything. [The Square Tower] contact all your entertainment so we didn't have to organise much. It's a unique building so they have to know what they're doing.’
The happy couple jetted off to Jamaica for their honeymoon which was their favourite adventure together yet. ‘We've had a lot of adventures and a lot of laughs,’ says Kelly, a trainee legal executive. ‘Jamaica was our favourite place we've been.’