A HALTWHISTLE couple, who met by chance, tied the knot in a romantic winter wonderland-themed wedding.
Terry Christie, 51 and Rachel Hardy, 41, believed it was ‘love at first sight’ when they saw each other at the late-night shopping event in Haltwhistle in November 2018. They met after Terry opened his business, The Manor House, after an extensive refurbishment.
Since then, Terry, a busy business owner and town councillor for Haltwhistle, knew Rachel, a research midwife and nurse was the one for him and had planned to propose.
He said: “I had planned a romantic proposal in Paris but the Covid pandemic put a stop to those plans.
“I then planned another proposal with family and friends at The Manor, but Covid also put a stop to that.
“In the end, the proposal was just the two of us at home. I had left a little card on the bedside table with Rachel’s name on it, and as Rachel began reading the card, she turned to find me down on one knee.”
Rachel adds: “Of course the answer was yes and the happiness seemed all the more precious because the pandemic was taking its toll and everything in the world seemed so scary and uncertain.”
From them the plan was to make use of what they could do and organise amazing stag and hen dos.
Rachel’s Hen do was a 1980s-themed event in Edinburgh, whereas Terry’s stag do was in York and decided to have it on the same day, last October.
The couple got married at 11am on Saturday 11th December 2021 at Holy Cross Church, Haltwhistle, conducted by Reverend Keith Teasdale of Haltwhistle. 
Rachel walked down the aisle in a Sophia Tolli ‘Deanna’ dress in ivory, a classic trumpet bridal gown with a twist. Intricately beaded and corded schiffli lace appliques adorned the entire gown, softly flowing down to a sheer chapel train and finished with a back corset. The dress was customised with ivory lace straps and applique over the sweetheart neckline with a ivory faux fur stole. 
Waiting at the altar for Rachel was Terry with father of the bride, David Hardy, retired Haltwhistle town and Northumberland county councillor in S&S Attire suits.
The wedding reception venue was The Beaumont Hotel, Hexham, where 180 guests were treated to a champagne reception on arrival at 12.45pm, while the wedding breakfast was served at 1.45pm.
The meal was a traditional Christmas dinner, roast turkey, pigs in blankets, Brussels sprouts, pancetta and chestnuts, roast potatoes, seasonal vegetables and gravy. The dessert was traditional Christmas pudding with brandy sauce and all drinks were supplied by the couple on the day.
The couple had local pianist and vocalist Lucy Bewley, a friend of the bride and groom, sang A Thousand Years by Christina Perri for their first dance.
The pair agreed that the best moments of the day were when the pair saw each other in the church, when they both said ‘I do’ and lastly, the first dance.
Rachel said: “It is so hard to choose, the whole day felt like a beautiful dream,”
For the honeymoon, there was only one place Rachel wanted to go.
Rachel said: “Terry asked me where I’d like to go on our honeymoon and offered ‘anywhere in the world’. I chose the first place we ever had a weekend away together, Lynton Lodge studios in Keswick where we stayed for a week.”