Meeting my bride to be at Gretna Green

This is a story of how I met my wife at a Gretna Green wedding.

Firstly let me introduce myself.
My Name is Graham Smith and I am General Manager of The Mill Forge a Gretna Green hotel and wedding venue.

I was at work on the 24th of September 2001. Miss Alison Sudworth had married Stephen Gough at the World Famous Blacksmith's Shop in Gretna Green and they had returned to The Mill Forge for their reception as they and their guests were staying with us.

Towards the end of the evening I was collecting glasses and cleaing up when I struck up a conversation with Helen Prior who was a guest at their wedding. We stayed behind talking until the early hours finding out lots of information about each other.

We talked regularly on the telephone and then started travelling up and down the motorway to see each other. Helen was from Ashton-Makerfield near Wigan which is only an hour and a half's drive away which allowed us to conduct a long distance relationship with relative ease.

I asked Helen to marry me on the 15th of February 2002 (typically i was at work on the 14th) and she agreed.

We were married on December the 4th that year in The Mill Forge with a reception fopr family and friends afterwards.

We did not take a bridal suite at The Mill Forge only because we lived on site and there was little point in having a different room 50 yards from home. Instead we went and stayed at Dalston Hall Hotel travelling there by stretch limousine courtesy of my bestman and Helen's bridesmaid.

Helen gave birth to our son Daniel on the 24th of January 2005.