Bournemouth bride Nicolle Brock was one of the very last people to marry before the UK first went into lockdown.

And she counts herself very lucky to have married her forces pen pal Kieran who she started dating after meeting him on a specialist website.

The internet site is called Forces Penpals and Nicolle, who works as a photographer, said: "As long as I can remember - since I was 11 or 12, I have always had a keen interest in the forces. I just thought it would be nice to talk to someone who is serving.

"We met on the site , chatted for a few days and met up and that was that!"

Internet dating was all new to Nicolle who had just come out of her first marriage. She also has three children - Skyla, 10, Ella, 7 and Sofia, 5, who she has been home educating since Skyla was six.

The couple met in January 2018 and got engaged just over a year later.

Nicolle said: "We were on our way home from a weekend in Cornwall. I thought he ws going to ask me in Cornwall and didn't . But we went for a walk to break up the journey at our favourite place, Badbury Rings. He got down on one knee and popped the question. A simple but very memorable moment. Now every time we visit, we remember that day."

Asked if Covid-19 had any impact on their wedding plans Nicolle says:

"No, we managed to get our wedding in just two weeks before lockdown happened. We felt so grateful it could still go ahead, we were slightly worried that it wouldn’t happen."

They married at Bournemouth Town Hall, on 7 March 2020 with their planned 50 wedding guests. The bridal party consisted of Nicolle's sister in law as Matron of Honour, her best friend as bridesmaid and her three daughters. Skyla was a bridesmaid and Ella and Sofia were flower girls.

Nicolle said:"We wanted a small wedding as I had had a massive wedding before with my first husband. We just wanted a simple ceremony at the Town Hall with a few photos. Afterwards I let the guests do what they wanted to do for the rest of the day until the evening when we had a reception at The Royal British Legion in Ferndown with a buffet and disco.

"I wore a very traditional wedding dress but liked the fact it was blush pink, rather than the usual white or ivory.

"The most stressful part of organising the wedding was sorting a suitable venue for the reception."

They initially thought about having a marquee in Nicolle's parents' garden but the stormy weather put them off. Then Kieran managed to arrange The Royal British Legion just a few weeks before.

Asked about the best memories of the day Nicolle says: "The ceremony, and how my husband kept mixing up the words when saying his vows. He had trouble repeating what was said and was getting it jumbled up. It did make us all laugh. Also, our first dance. We chose the song Outnumbered by Dermot Kennedy because when we first met it was a long distance relationship with him being in the army and that's what the song is all about."

Nicolle says it has been an interesting three years that has seen them move to Blandford Army camp from Bournemouth and where she has continued to keep busy home educating the girls.

"Kieran was in the army, admin based, when we first met and left for a while in 2019. He tried to get an every day job but Covid hit in 2020 so he ended up going back to the army in August 2020 and he now works in the camp guarding."

Was there anything she wanted to add?

"We just are so grateful that we got to have our special day just as we had planned and that lockdown luckily didn’t affect anything for us. We of course felt awful for the couples that had to rearrange and cancel weddings that were just after ours. We can only imagine the heartbreak it must have caused and they were in our thoughts."

Did you support ny local businesses on your big day?

"Yes. Used Poppies a local florist, Posh Togs for the suits and wedding dresses and Blushing Brides for bridal hair."

*We would love to feature more of your weddings that have taken place in these unprecedented times. To share your pictures and your special day in the Bournemouth Echo, please follow the link here to a simple form:

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