A BESOTTED bride popped the question to her husband after she was wooed by his dance moves.

Kelly Nagar, 36, a stay-at-home parent, and Tony Bowes, 38, a shipyard worker, tied the knot at Barrow Register Office in October.

The pair first met in 2006 through a mutual friend at The Ambrose in Barrow, but sparks did not immediately fly.

“I thought he was a bit of a weirdo at first,” the now Mrs Bowes said.

“I’d not been in Barrow very long and hadn’t met any guys up here yet. Then I didn’t see him again until the following March on a night out in Manchester.

“I didn’t see much of him on the night out, but saw how much of an amazing dancer he was.

“That was when my head turned and I thought oh wow.

“Then we went out again and we’ve been together ever since.”

A year later, Mrs Bowes decided to deviate from tradition and asked her future husband to marry her.

“We were on a drunken night out and we’d gone back to his house and I asked him will you marry me one day?”, she said.

“I think he thought it was just the drink talking, but the following Monday I booked a table at our favourite restaurant, Salvos, went ring shopping and told him we’re going out for tea.

“Later when we got back to the house, I said look down the side of the bed and there was a ring box and I asked him to marry me.

“I’m not a traditional person at all — and don’t mind doing something a bit random.”

The couple were forced to cancel their traditional Holbeck church wedding booked for April last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Mrs Bowes said: “We had everything arranged then Covid came and the whole thing was shut down.

“We kept pushing the date back and eventually thought this isn’t going to happen. I have family down south and it wouldn’t have been safe for them to travel so we thought why don’t we buy a house and just get married at the register office instead? It was perfect — just me, Tony, my mum, Tony’s sisters and our two kids were there.

“We managed to get a hotel room at the Crofters and took photos at Abbey House.

“The only thing I would’ve wished for is that we could’ve had more of our family there. It was really nice because it was just us without the added stress.” The newlyweds are hoping to go on a familymoon some time in the future.

All photography in the article has been taken by Kolette Cartmel Photography and edited by Katrina Elizabeth photography. Their combined services can be accessed at www.katrina-elizabeth.co.uk.