Jo and Darren’s met in a way that is becoming a dying art – at work.

Jo told me how he appeared very shy and reserved – words nobody had ever previously used to describe Darren – and while he fancied her from the get-go, she took a little longer to succumb to his charms…

After a few lunches with mutual friends, Jo was thrown in the deep end with a hard launch at North Berwick Rugby Sevens and it wasn’t long before they started ticking off the destinations on their bucket list.

One of them was New York, where on a walk through Central Park, Darren insisted they sit on a park bench. Jo panicked thinking he was going to propose. He wasn’t – but he never let her forget her reaction!  

They survived three months of separation during the pandemic, but they used the time well. They saved and saved and when it was over, they celebrated by buying a house to share with their labrador Alfie. The following year, all the way from Greece, their rescue dog Kahlo joined the little family, and before Darren headed off to France for the Rugby World Cup in 2023, he’d already decided not only when to propose, but where; in Mallorca, at a sandy cove with crystal blue waters called Cala Esmerelda.

At dawn one morning, they got up to watch the sunrise and when Darren got down on one knee, Jo was so stunned she just said, “what are you doing?” 6 years on from ‘The Incident in Central Park’ – and her reaction still wasn’t what Darren had hoped for, but of course – when she recovered from the shock – she said “yes!”

As you can see, their ceremony was full of fun, and plenty of feeling. Bridesmaid Kym read us “Wedding Poem” by Whitney Hanson.

Darren and Jo did a very brave thing, and they shared some of the reasons they love each other and want to get married.

Darren’s sister Lisa, read ‘Marry Your Best Friend’, by N’Tima, before Jack joined us with the rings so they could speak the promises they’d kept secret until that moment…

After we signed the Marriage Schedule,

Kathleen and Jamie helped them literally tie the knot…

and I sent them on their way to the sound of Send Me on My Way, by Rusted Root.

It was a particularly joyous wedding for me, not least because Darren and Joanna had been in what they called ‘The Camp of Confusion’ at one point – they hadn’t realised that they were going to have to write their own ceremony themselves, but we had a chat about that and they soon realised it wasn’t as terrifying a prospect as they’d thought.

As Joanna said when she sent me these photos, “We definitely were in the camp of confusion when we discovered we would be writing our own ceremony but I’m so glad we trusted the process. You gave us the opportunity and the platform to speak directly to each other and share our most intimate feelings, and those words will stay with us forever.   

You gave us the best gift by encouraging us to share our own story and really connect with our guests. 

We wanted our ceremony to reflect our relationship. Happy and uplifting but acknowledging some of the heavier pieces of our life and I think we absolutely nailed it. 

There were tears and laughs and we will absolutely remember it forever – it was the highlight of our day. 

We wanted to say a huge thanks for being such an integral part of our big day. 

Every single one of our guests has commented on how special and amazing our ceremony was. 

We really poured so much heart into it to make it our own and you absolutely helped us to make it what it was. Thanks again – we had a ball! 

Well, it was a pleasure, Joanna! There was “no ugly crying” – great idea to wrap your hanky round your bouquet, by the way – and as you said, you absolutely nailed it!

I am delighted that you will never forget what it means not only to have created your ceremony in your own words, but also to have had the courage to speak them as well.

Have a wonderful time on your honeymoon in South Africa!

Funnily enough, My wife Susie and I went there for ours, and I was lucky enough to be commissioned to write a special feature on it for the (sadly now defunct) Beautravel Magazine. Let me know if you’d like to read it and I’ll send you a PDF.