WHEN Kevin Abbott organized a date night at home during lockdown last year, his girlfriend Emily Chriscoli had no idea that he was going to propose.
The happy couple have just tied the knot at Mere Court Hotel and enjoyed a honeymoon in the Crete sunshine.
Here Emily, who is 32 and originally from Latchford, and 43-year-old Kevin, who hails from Winstanley in Wigan, tell us their wedding day story, in their own words.
When and how did you meet?
Emily: We met about 10 years ago working for Carphone Warehouse in Birchwood, but we really got to know each other better a few years later when we were both working for Ombudsman Services in Daresbury. We bumped into each other in December 2018 at the Bluebell Pub in the town center and we’ve never been apart since.
What did you think of each other when you first met?
Emily: Kev really made me laugh. He says I intimidated him because he knew I’d recently had a book published! It just clicked between us and we work so well as a team together.
Where and when did you get engaged?
Emily: We got engaged in March 2021, during national lockdown, when we were being told to ‘stay at home, protect the NHS, save lives’.
How did one of you propose?
Emily: As we were in lockdown, we were at home and Kev had suggested we have a ‘date night’ in the kitchen. He got dressed up and when I got out of the shower, I couldn’t be bothered to get dressed properly so I put my pajamas on! The look on his face when I walked down the stairs in my pajamas was a picture. I should have known something was going on. He’d cooked us a meal and we were listening to a Spotify playlist he’d put together. Then he got down on one knee. I was in shock! He’d had the ring for months and kept planning to propose but we were in and out of lockdown so plans kept getting ruined.
What was the date of the wedding and reception?
Kev: We got married on Sunday, July 3.
The happy couple
What was the location of the wedding and reception?
Kev: We celebrated at Mere Court Hotel.
How were you feeling on the morning of your wedding?
Emily: I was extremely calm and relaxed. I’d stayed at my mum’s house in Latchford the night before the wedding and we had an action packed morning with the hairdresser and make-up artist arriving from 6:30am. I had a good night’s sleep and made everyone coffee as soon as they arrived. Everyone commented on how chilled out I was. I think it helped that I spoke to Kev on the phone in the morning and he said he was fine.
Kev: Actually, I was so nervous! I knew if I told Emily I was nervous, she’d start to worry. But I was worried until I actually saw her walking down the aisle and then I felt absolutely fine.
How would you describe your wedding?
Emily: It was a family-oriented affair. Kev has two sons (Noah and Oscar) and two nieces (Daisy and Poppy) and I have six nephews (Alfie, Oscar, Rory, Jacob, Leo and Harry). All 10 children were in our wedding party.
A family-centred wedding day
How many guests did you have?
Kev: There were 53 guests in the day, 120 at night.
What did your guests eat?
Kev: During the day, we had goat’s cheese and onion tartlet for starter, mustard glazed pork with roast potatoes and vegetables for main and cheesecake with chocolate ice cream for dessert. During the evening, we had sausage and bacon barms.
Did you have a first dance?
Emily: We did – we danced to a song by a band called The Lathums called “This Place O’ Yours”. The band are from Wigan and they are the first band we went to see live.
I only have eyes for you
Did you have speeches?
Kevin: We did. Perhaps quite untraditionally, Emily made a speech as the bride! So did I, Emily’s mum Ange and my 13-year-old son, Noah.
What are your favorite memories of the day?
Emily: Just after the ceremony, we had the confetti shot and everyone had a glass of fizz or a bottle of beer. We took Noah and Oscar for 10 minutes and sat on the lawn. It was 10 minutes of calm during a pretty full day.
Tell us a little bit about your outfits on the day
Emily: I wore a dress by designer Martin Thornburg called Torrance, bought from Bethany Hannah bridal boutique in Stockton Heath. The bridesmaids wore dusty pink and the boys and men all wore navy and gray with dusty pink ties.
Getting ready to say I do
Did you go on honeymoon?
Kev: We stayed at Stella Island in Crete. It was amazing! But we are also taking the boys on a ‘familymoon’ in a few weeks – going back to Crete but in a different area. We loved it so much that we want to show the boys.
Why did you want to get married?
Kev: Emily has always yearned to be a mum, but it has never happened for her and then we fell in love and had a ready-made family. She is a wonderful step mum.
Emily: We read years ago that the perfect relationship has a dramatic wife and a calm husband. This is us to a T! Someone described us on our wedding day as Pam and Mick from Gavin & Stacey – it’s so true.
Is there anything else you would like to share with us about your day or your relationship?
Emily: I’d like to thank our amazing hairdresser and make-up artist who had the challenge of beautifying one bride and six bridesmaids before 12:30pm. Katy Corcoran was our hairdresser and Glow Make Up was our make-up artist. Both are Warrington-based and are fantastic. So, DA Owen wedding car hire, based in Warrington, what brilliant.
Photography by Adam Joe Roberts Photography
If you want to appear in our Wedding Day feature, email heidi.summerfield@newsquest.co.uk
Emily and Kev with Noah and Oscar