Stuart & Amanda are both customers of our Supported Independence service in the North East and have known each other for years. They used to see each other nearly every day when Stuart was a Learner at The Compass Café – a learning service part of Leading Lives – and Amanda was a regular customer. Stuart would serve her coffee and make her favourite Cheese & Onion Toastie.
March 2020
When the world was taken over by Covid 19 and we were all told by the Government that we had to stay home, Stuart and Amanda were both anxious about being on their own and isolated from the world, so they decided to temporarily move into together as support for one another. Months went by and they absolutely loved being together and becoming a team – Amanda would cook tea, whilst Stuart would tidy the flat.
February 2021
Stuart & Amanda decided to permanently live together. Their relationship had grown and blossomed. One of their support workers said “They are perfect together and without each other’s companionship I think they would have really struggled during the Global Pandemic and especially during 4 lockdowns!”
The romantic proposal!
Friday 30th April 2021
This was the special day when Stuart asked Amanda to marry him! As you can see, he was very impatient as he had only just bought the ring from the Jeweller’s and straight away got down on one knee and proposed before even leaving the shop! Amanda was delighted and said YES!
Friday 11th March 2022
Stuart & Amanda swung into wedding preparations straight away. They have both lived in Lowestoft a while, so they knew that they wanted to get married in their town and decided to go for a Registry office wedding, followed by a lovely meal on the seafront, and to finish the day with a buffet and dancing at The Old Frank Pub.
They wanted the theme to be blue for Stuart’s beloved football team, Ipswich Town FC, so the bridesmaid dresses, the cufflinks, the wedding car ribbon, Stuart’s tie & handkerchiefs, and their wedding flowers would all blue.
Stuart went to pick out his Top Hat, Wedding Tie & Stick – you can tell by his face how excited he was about their BIG DAY.
Then he & Amanda went to a local flower shop to choose and order their wedding flowers.
Saturday 25th June 2022 The BIG day…
Following tradition, Amanda stayed at her dad’s the night before so Stuart would not see his beautiful bride until Amanda was walking down the aisle with her proud father.
Stuart was so excited he was up at 5am and was all suited and booted by 8am standing outside his flat, showing off his wedding attire to his neighbours, even though the wedding wasn’t until 12:30pm!
Stuart waiting anxiously for his bride
Officially Mr & Mrs Ward
Stuart & Amanda both had photos of their mums who sadly could not be with them to share a very special life moment, but Stuart and Amanda knew they were both looking down on them and smiling with pride. Another wonderful moment shared was a quote from the Registrar; “This has to be the proudest moment of my career, and it was an honour to marry you both.”
Wedding Reception
All afternoon/ evening Stuart & Amanda were in full wedding party mode. The DJ was blasting out some classics and Stuart & Amanda had their first dance to “Thinking out Loud”, by Ed Sheeran.
The glorious buffet was served, the classic Cake Cutting moment was fabulous. Stuart & Amanda fed each other their first slice of cake and everyone enjoyed the wonderful wedding speeches.
The best man, Stuart’s brother, spoke about how happy the family are for Stuart & Amanda and dedicated a toast to their late mum.
Stuart, Amanda and their wedding planner, Katrina
The bridesmaid said a massive thank you to the bride and groom, and thanked Amanda for letting her be a bridesmaid – she felt very privileged!
The Groom thanked everyone for coming, thanked the Bride’s Father for all he has done and toasted his new wife, and gave a very heartfelt thank you to Katrina for helping organise their wedding & Leading Lives for their continuous support. He said he would feel lost without us.
Monday 27th June 2022, off on Honeymoon as Mr & Mrs Ward
Stuart & Amanda went to Caister-on-Sea for their honeymoon, to a lovely little holiday village, a romantic choice as it was the same place they went to for their first ever holiday together.
They enjoyed their honeymoon, they went swimming, ate waffles at a Waffle House, enjoyed lots of lovely meals out, watched live entertainment every evening and shared a bottle of wine on their caravan balcony. It was a wonderful way to start their married lives together and we are wishing them many more wonderful times ahead!
