Dating app message led to marriage for happy couple

She was just about to delete her profile as she hadn’t had much luck up until then, but she spotted Jamie’s profile.

Claire, who works for the department of work and pensions, said: “I sent him a message and to my surprise he replied. We exchanged messages for a while and stayed up late talking on the phone.

“I didn’t think it was possible but I fell in love with him even before we’d met in person.

“We arranged to meet up and the connection we had online was even stronger in person.

“We tried to spend as much time together as possible and eventually Jamie moved to Blackpool and we moved in together.

Three-and-a-half years later, Jamie proposed.

“It was Christmas Eve and Jamie had been acting strange all day!” said Claire, 32, “and then just as we were getting ready for bed he came into the bedroom, got down on one knee and asked me to marry him.

“I instantly said yes.”

They tied the knot on May 10 at the Carousel Hotel with all their family and friends there to celebrate with them.

They had a special table with photos of loved ones who are no longer with them and the couple felt like they were still a part of the celebrations.

“Zara the wedding coordinator at the Carousel Hotel was amazing,” said Claire, “she took care of everything for us so there was nothing to do or worry about on the day, she really put us at ease.

“The whole day was perfect, we loved having all of our family and friends under the same roof helping us celebrate.

“We hired a photo booth for the evening reception and it was a huge hit. My favourite part of the day had to be Jamie’s speech, he hadn’t let me read it beforehand and as he read it on the day it brought a tear to my eye. Jamie, 30, a door supervisor from Southport, said: “It took five years to reach this destination and I’m looking forward to the next stage of our journey together.

“Meeting Jamie is the best thing that has happened in my life,” said Claire.

“I didn’t care if anything went wrong on the day I just wanted to marry him and start our life together as husband and wife.”

Jamie is taking Claire’s surname and they will be known as Mr and Mrs Hudson.