The Wedding
Glen and Jason first met 16 years ago at a local gym but it wasn't until they were properly introduced nine years later that they became romantically involved. They've been together ever since and recently married - first in New York, and then in their home town of Sunderland. This is their love story...
The Lowdown
Where: Roker Hotel, Sunderland
Theme: Gatsby / Art Deco
Photographer: This World Wedding Photography
Glen and Jason first met 16 years ago at a local gym; Jason was an instructor teaching classes and Glen was a participant, but it wasn't until they were properly introduced nine years later by a mutual friend that they became romantically involved. That was seven years ago, they have been together ever since and recently married - first in New York, and then in their home town of Sunderland. This is their love story...
"To us, the commitment of marriage is important and so is equal marriage. Because no matter where in the world you live, you should always be treated as an equal. It's very hard to find someone you love deeply and have a great bond with, so Jason and I wanted to get married to show our love to one another."
The Engagement
"I proposed to Jason at the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris when Jason took me to France for my birthday. Even though we had spoken about marriage before and had bought the rings, life had got in the way for both of us, and when I proposed, Jason wasn't expecting it at all!"
The Weddings
"We had two wedding days. The first was in Central Park, New York with our two best friends as witnesses, and the other in our home town of Sunderland. We invited 60 guests to the day, and 300 to the evening reception."
"We held our ceremony and reception at home in Sunderland in the Roker Hotel. It's a stunning venue and was large enough to cater for us.
"I organised and styled the whole thing around a Gatsby theme. In my eyes, a wedding is all about the attention to detail, and so doing it myself was nerve wracking, but I wanted it all to be a surprise for Jason."
"A friend of ours - Lola Saunders - who appeared on the X Factor, sung Imagine for us, which was beautiful."
"After the ceremony, we had canapes and champagne, followed by a sit down three-course meal."
"The evening guests were served a hot and cold buffet with a desert table. My friend made the cake - it was black and gold with Gatsby inspiration, but also had the New York skyline running along the bottom tier."
"Our first dance was A Little Party Killed Nobody by Fergie, because our day was all about having a party."
Advice I would give to other couples? It's different for every couple as everyone has their own ideas, but try not to stress out about the planning of the day; so long as you have a great coordinator at your venue and a company that will take care of most things, it will all come together.
