I married a golden Aldi!
We went from the shopping aisle to the wedding aisle!
Being registered blind makes food shopping tough. I can’t see much and all the packaging is so similar...
Blackberries? Grapes? Who knows what I’m picking up!
Early last year, I was browsing in my local Aldi. I was after some blueberries, so I set off down the fruit-and-veg aisle, unsure of what was what.
So frustrating.
Then I felt someone close. ‘Excuse me, can you help me, please?’ I asked.
Querying whether I’d picked up the right pack, a kind, male voice replied. ‘No, dear, they’re black grapes.’ He found me the blueberries, then offered to help me on my way around the store. What a gent! I thought. It made my shop – which was often a struggle – so much easier.
My knight in shining armour told me his name was Dennis.
‘Wonderful to meet you, Julie,’ he said. I liked him straightaway. We pottered down each aisle, loading things into our trolleys.
Then, ever the gent, he offered me a lift home.
Blushing, I told him not to worry. I didn’t want to be a nuisance. But he insisted.
I instantly trusted him, so eventually agreed, unable to believe I’d met someone like this in the local supermarket!
‘I’ve got three lovely Yorkshire Terriers,’ I told him as we chatted away in the car.
Feeling I could open up to him, I told him about my life as a carer for my elderly mother, who has dementia.
I just felt comfortable in his company.
Not knowing whether I’d ever see Dennis again, we said our goodbyes.
But I couldn’t stop thinking about my supermarket superhero…
Maybe I should go back there, in case I bump into him again, I thought.
But I put it to the back of my mind.
The very next day, I was cleaning the house when the doorbell rang.
Peering through the window, my heart fluttered.
‘Dennis!’ I gasped, as I opened the door.
He was holding a huge bouquet of flowers.
We stood there, gigging on the doorstep like schoolkids – and then he asked me out on a date.
‘I’ll have to think about it,’ I replied, thinking that I barely knew him.
Plus, I had a lot on my mind with the dogs, my mum, my eyesight…
But, after a few days, I decided to give it a go.
Dennis took me out for a lovely lunch, and we chatted non-stop. After three dates, I invited him in for a cup of tea.
We even compared the different supermarket brands!
It was then that Dennis offered to help me out with caring for my mum.
‘I nursed my late wife for seven years, as she had dementia,’ he told me.
He could sympathise with my situation.
I agreed, and he soon started to help out when he could.
What a diamond!
We became good friends, before eventually realising that we meant more to each other than that.
Soon, we’d fallen madly in love, just like teenagers!
Then, in November last year, Dennis popped the question.
‘Ever since meeting you in the shop that day, I knew you were the one,’ he told me,
I couldn’t stop thinking about my superhero…
asking me to marry him. I couldn’t believe it! Booking St Bartholomew’s Church in Ducklington, where Dennis was once a church warden, we were so excited.
Maybe I should let the supermarket know about all this, I thought one day.
We’re engaged and we’re looking forward to spending Christmas together, all thanks to you, I wrote.
I thought no more about it, but they replied, offering us a champagne reception!
They also sent us a celebratory hamper and some shopping vouchers. What a great early wedding pressie!
In August of this year, I arrived at the church in a horse-drawn carriage.
We’d met in the supermarket aisle… Now, I was going up the church aisle in a long, pearly, white dress.
The pews were filled with our family and friends.
‘You look so beautiful,’ our guests told me after the ceremony.
I couldn’t see the dress fully because of my eyesight, but I had so many compliments.
At the reception, we drank the champagne supplied by Aldi, and then happily danced the night away! Of course, Dennis’ speech and his best man’s told about the day we met.
For our honeymoon, we headed to Torquay in Devon. It was my first holiday in 30 years!
Swimming, eating, walking – it was a great trip away to celebrate our love and marriage.
Now, we’re back home and enjoying married life.
‘On the hunt again, are we?’ Dennis jokes with me when I pop to the shops.
Most of the time, we do the food shop together now. And we always reminisce about the day we met.
All my single friends have gone back to that supermarket time and time again, just in case they find their match. I definitely found mine. You never know where you’re going to find love – I found mine in Aldi!
Our Torquay honeymoon was my first holiday in 30 years