Claire is not superstitious, particularly after her Friday the 13th wedding flowed without a glitch. She’s 32 and lives in a beautiful village in rural Oxfordshire, about 20 miles south of Oxford.
She spoke with Prequels about her love story and surprise honeymoon.
When and how did you meet your husband?
In May 2008. We both work at the same scientific research facility (although not together) and we met at a work night out that he had organised soon after I joined. I was the new girl and was invited by a colleague to give me a chance to meet people. By chance, one of his friends had brought along a female friend with the intention of setting them up. It didn’t work out so well for her, but worked out great for me!
At what point did you know you wanted to marry him?
Pretty early on, he’s a very caring and supportive person. We always laugh/groan at each others’ jokes, even the really old cheesy ones we’ve heard a million times before. We’ll probably still be laughing at the same jokes when we’re in our 80s. Also, I came home one day and found Simon ironing. He said “the football was on TV, so I did the ironing.” Now I wouldn’t say that was a natural combination (I would have expected beer and pizza instead), but he likes to justify sole control of the TV for the duration of the game and I’m happy to let him. Who wouldn’t marry a man who always volunteers to do the ironing?!
What day was your wedding?
Friday 13th April. We’re not superstitious but in the end we were very lucky – it was literally the only day in April when it didn’t rain and Oxfordshire was the sunniest place in the UK.
Looking back on it, what was your favorite part of your wedding?
It was all fantastic, the day went even better than I had hoped, but for me I think the best bit was actually the ceremony itself. It was very personal and heartfelt service, such a happy occasion for us both and all the people we loved were there under one roof. That’s a rare thing in life and may never happen again.
You said you had a surprise honeymoon! How did that happen?
Simon proposed during a surprise weekend in London with afternoon tea at The Ritz Hotel so he has a good track record with these things and I like surprises so I was keen for the honeymoon to be a surprise. He was desperate to tell me by the end but he did an excellent job of organising everything and keeping it quiet. The only person he told was the nurse who gave us our shots and she was sworn to secrecy too! I only asked one question “hot or cold?” so that I could pack (hopefully!) the right clothes and I didn’t find out the destination until we got to the check-in desk. I think it was the most exciting experience ever! We spent two weeks in St Lucia and it was paradise!
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