A COUPLE deemed their small and intimate wedding 'perfect' after only two months of planning!
Sammy Coxell, 39, and Graham Atkinson, 38, decided to make their Christmas wish of becoming an 'official' family come true by planning a wedding in two months
Sammy, who works for the NHS said: "We met through friends six years ago when Graham had returned from Portugal, and we were both living in Ovingham.
"It was love at first sight and I knew that I would marry him, so did our friends who set us up.
"Our first date was at The White Swan in Ovingham.
"We didn’t have a traditional proposal. We have a one-year-old daughter and decided on December 23 2023, that we wanted to make our family ‘official'.
"We didn’t have a stag or hen because the wedding plan was short notice, nor have we had a honeymoon.
"However, we feel like we have celebrated with family, and we spent New Year and January in Spain, France and Portugal in our camper with our daughter Fen and Black Lab, Snax. Sadly, he wasn’t at the wedding."
The pair married at Hexham House on February 17 in front of intermediate family members before celebrating at the Beaumont Hotel with a four-course meal.
Sammy said: "We wanted to have a very small and intimate wedding as Graham is a bit shy, and we are also expecting our second child.
"We got married with Graham's parents, Ken and Jane, his sister, her partner and two children along with my mum, Peach, two brothers, their wives and children as witnesses.
"I wore a linen dress from Poetry and a Shawl from Vivienne Westwood, and it was a beautiful, brief, joyful ceremony. We were surrounded by our closest family, and I held our daughter throughout.
"We added some special family links to the wedding, such as my wedding band - which belonged to my mum as sadly my dad passed away, so it’s incredibly special to me.
"Graham's ring was a wide, matte, hammered band made from heritage gold from my family.
"After having our meal, we tasted our wedding cake, which was made by my mother-in-law, Jane, an amazing baker who often picks up prizes at Stanhope show where she lives.
"The cake was a vanilla sponge, and I decorated it in a semi-baked style with lemon butter cream and gooseberry jam from my allotment.
"We then stayed at the Beaumont Hotel for two nights."
Who helped on the day?
Photographer/videographer - Jade Victoria photography
Rings - Sarah Hickey Jewellery in Hexham
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