It was the first time that cart had been used in 80 years

Mar 19 2008 by Katie Norman, South Wales Echo

THE COUPLE: Cheryl Packwood, 45, a mental health nurse at Swansea Prison, and Wayne Purchase, 55, a volunteer coastguard, from Porthcawl.

THE VENUE: Trinity Church, St John Street, Porthcawl, followed by a reception at the Rose and Crown, Nottage.

HOW THEY MET: Cheryl said: “We’ve known each other all our lives because Wayne’s sister and I went to school together. We went on our first date 13 years ago and that was it.”

THE PROPOSAL: “He wrote it on the back of my birthday card last year. I was gobsmacked and over the moon!

“It was 6am and I was starting work at 7am so I was walking on air all day.”

THE WEDDING: “There’s an old cart that years ago was used to transport equipment to shouts, which is what coastguards call people in distress.

“It was dilapidated. It was in Porthcawl museum for years then it was taken to the coastguard station and put in the garage.

“Last year it was renovated in Parc Prison, in Bridgend by inmates and the workshop manager Steve Morgan.

“When Wayne proposed I thought it would be good if we could use the cart. I thought, with the connection to Wayne being a coastguard and me working in a prison it would be perfect.

“We arranged for it to be pulled by a beautiful black stallion called Dylan, which belongs to Dean Ball. My family has grown up with horses so I just thought it all fitted in so well.

“Wayne knew nothing about it – it was a complete surprise.

“It took us from the church to the reception and it was the first time that cart had been used in 80 years. It was absolutely incredible. The traffic just stopped for us.

“The whole day was amazing. My son Neil, 25, gave me away and Wayne’s two sons Ben, 27, and Ross, 24, were his best men. It was perfect.”