Love On The Tyne: A Real Engagement In The North East – Kay & Rob

Posted on: 24/07/2012

A little later than planned due to XF$&^&**!!** computer issues (*bangs head against laptop and throws hard drive out of window*), a funky engagement shoot Tyneside by the talented Mandy Charlton, sent to me by Brides Up North reader Kay.

Nothing like editing a love story to cure my keyboard rage. Enjoy, and I’ll be back with this lovely couple’s Real Wedding story later in the week. And breathe.

A Real Engagement in the North East by Mandy Charlton

Kay says: Rob and I got engaged in March 2011 at home. Rob’s family live in Mansfield and we live in Newcastle so he had decided to ask me on a day when we both had a few days off work. This meant we could then use our free time to go and tell his family our news in person.

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The day Rob chose to ask me he thought I was off work but I was actually on shift until midnight so he waited up for me coming home. The story I’ve heard since getting engaged is that he actually fell asleep and woke up with just enough time to wash the dishes before I came home! Rob knows me really well and is fully aware that I wouldn’t have liked a public engagement so being at home together was just perfect – we’ll not talk about him telling me to go stand in the corner and turn around!

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The engagement was a huge surprise to me! Rob had promised me a while before that 2011 was definitely the year we would get engaged but I really thought it would be as late in the year as he could possibly get it. I’m very thankful that he didn’t make me sweat it out until New Year’s Eve!

We set our wedding date as Saturday 9th June 2012 – we’ve always said that when we got engaged it would be with the intention of getting married fairly quickly and a summer date would hopefully mean some decent weather (although England has no guarantees!). We chose a church ceremony followed by a reception at BALTIC Centre of Contemporary Art in Newcastle.

Rob and I met on holiday in Zante in 2005. Both of us were away on our first holiday with our friends. It goes to show that holiday romances can last!

I guess our first date would have been for a drink and a walk to the beach when we were on holiday. It was my birthday and I later found out my friends had asked Rob to keep me out of the way so that they can set up a party in our room. I did tease Rob for a while that the only reason he asked me out was because he was told to – I know that’s not true but if it were then we should be very grateful!

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I instantly felt comfortable around Rob and he agrees it was love from the start – his brother did ask if I’d had my beer goggles on though!

A Real Engagement in the North East by Mandy Charlton

*Cue a soppy moment* I knew Rob was the one pretty much straight away. We have a lot of fun together. I guess the real sign was how he made the effort to keep in touch once we went home from Zante. We had a long distance relationship for the first three years as we were both at university and anybody who puts in so much effort to keep the relationship working from so far away is definitely a keeper. I love that every day with Rob is an adventure – he makes me laugh a lot and there’s always a story to tell.

Our biggest wish for married life is to last long enough to get a telegram from the queen – or king as it will probably be then! Lots more years of laughter and a happy family.

We hadn’t originally planned to do a pre-wedding shoot but I’m really glad that Mandy suggested it (Mandy Charlton – photographer/genius!). Neither Rob nor I are comfortable having our photo taken and we hoped this might help.

The shoot really put us at ease and prepared us for the big day. We’ve now got some beautiful photos of us both that we can keep forever – something that has been very rare over the last 7 years!

Brides Up North has been an amazing source of ideas and inspiration when planning our wedding. The stories that people tell and the photos they share can really help a bride in a moment of need!