Many people wake up on 15 February with a new ring on their finger after a romantic Valentine's Day wedding. But we don't imagine many of them can say that they had a Deliveroo ceremony!
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Enter Samantha Bennett and Kim Charlton, who were one of five lucky couples to win a doorstop civil ceremony performed by an ordained Deliveroo rider alongside their takeaway food delivery. Complete with flowers, rings, and £100 credit for food, the competition aimed to help couples say 'I do' for free following the backlog of weddings caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
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So what was it really like? We caught up with the happy couple, who discussed their wedding and their unique pizza engagement…
"We got a knock at the door and we were greeted with music and flowers by a lovely officiator of the ceremony who read some beautiful words, and they could not be truer to a tee; it was me and Kim," Sam explained.
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Kim and Sam saved thousands on their Valentine's Day wedding
The pair chose to forego months of planning to get their ideal venue and dresses for several reasons – not only did they save a lot of time and money, but they also plan to have another celebration with friends and family in the future.
"We have spent so much time apart due to coronavirus so we thought now or never," Kim added of their Valentine's ceremony.
"We decided to do it this way because we are all about the after-party, very simple and Sam is a very savvy person so this was ideal." Speaking of the financial incentives, she continued: "It saved us so much with a shotgun wedding so to speak."
The average wedding in the UK costs around £24,000 (according to 2021 figures from Bridebook), but Kim and Sam didn't spend a penny. After saving thousands on their doorstop nuptials, they can put their money towards another celebration with a wider group of friends and family. They said: "We had some friends round but we plan on doing something in the future and making it official."
Deliveroo offered five couples free doorstop weddings by ordained riders
A picture shows the couple wearing matching white skinny jeans, trainers and patterned shirts which "saved us more money as we had them already." They had bunches of white and red flowers in their hands and a delivery bag at their feet.
It was a fitting celebration for Kim and Sam, who met eight years ago on a dating app and had a memorable pizza proposal. Kim explained that she wanted it to be thoughtful, and settled on writing 'Marry Me' in tomato ketchup on a pizza with an engagement ring in the middle. But she was under time pressure in order to surprise her other half!
"The idea for the pizza proposal was down to Sam not wanting a fuss, she is a penny pincher so I know she would appreciate the thought process behind it all," she said. "Sam was busy in another room so I had to quickly set it all up without the grease getting on the ring."
Sam was suitably surprised, adding: "I was not expecting it as it was so out of the blue and I think that was what she was going for."
Following a pizza engagement and a pizza takeaway for their Deliveroo ceremony, it comes as no surprise that Italian could be on the menu when it comes to celebrating their wedding anniversaries in the future! The pair joked they would mark the milestones with "a pizza party."
Would you consider taking inspiration from Kim and Sam and having a Deliveroo wedding? Certainly some food for thought.
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