All aboard the love train

Our wedding was right on track...

Staring at an old wedding photo, I marvelled at how time flies.

It was July 2015 and almost our silver wedding anniversary. Yet it didn’t seem 25 years since me and Gary had tied the knot.

It was something to be celebrated.

‘Let’s renew our vows,’ I said to my hubby Gary, 52.

‘Great idea, love,’ he grinned.

Gary was always up for a party, like me. It was one of the many reasons we worked.

Party animals!

Plus it’d be lovely to have a second wedding.

When we’d first met, some doubted we’d go the distance...

We were from different backgrounds.

Gary’s Mum died young and he was raised by a neighbour, while I’d had a privileged upbringing with a close family.

We’d got chatting in a car park, of all places, in October 1985.

Gary made me laugh and there was an instant spark.

Five years later, we married.

It was a small wedding, though, as we didn’t have much money.

A few guests at a register office.

So, this time, 25 years on, we’d throw a big bash.

My mum, Marion, 74, would be there, and our sons, Jack, then 11, and Jason, 9. I started planning. Came up with a budget, made party favours and table decorations.

And I bought a beautiful second-hand wedding dress on ebay for £125.

Then my thoughts turned to wedding transport.

I’d always liked to stand out. So I wanted something different to a bog-standard Rolls Royce or horse and carriage.

Maybe a tractor?

I tracked down a farmer in the village who had one. Only, he’d just sold it! But he suggested I speak to Ian Morrell.

Or as he’s more commonly known in the village, Papa Elf! He owned a steam train. ‘Perfect!’ I gasped. The steam engine, named Puffing Billy, was infamous in the Northeast.

It was an old-fashioned locomotive that could be driven on the road.

It usually chugged through the village at Christmas time. The local kids would line the streets to see Santa and his elves – hence Papa Elf’s name!

Now Ian offered it to me for the wedding. ‘I love it!’ I grinned. It’d certainly get me noticed. So, come September 2015, I slipped into my ivory frock.

Then, in the late morning, Puffing Billy pulled up, adorned with white ribbons and streamers.

Steam billowed from the funnel, and the familiar toot of the horn filled the streets.

It looked like something out a fairy tale.

‘All aboard!’ Ian cried, dressed in a smart jacket and cap.

Me, Gary, the boys, and our two best friends all bundled on. And off we went! We drove though the village, as people smiled and waved. I felt like a princess! Arriving at the village church in a cloud of steam was as incredible as I’d imagined.

I certainly made an entrance!

Then Gary and I exchanged our vows...

Declared our love in front of all our friends and family.

It was everything I’d dreamed of.

‘Here’s to the next 25 years!’ I grinned to Gary as we partied into the night.

Our big day was just the ticket for us.

And our marriage will never run out of steam!

The familiar toot of the horn filled the streets!