{"id":13997,"date":"2024-12-16T14:55:01","date_gmt":"2024-12-16T14:55:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/?p=13997"},"modified":"2024-12-16T14:55:02","modified_gmt":"2024-12-16T14:55:02","slug":"a-wedding-day-surprise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2024\/12\/16\/a-wedding-day-surprise\/","title":{"rendered":"A Wedding Day Surprise"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Romy and Rhys met at the University of Reading, fell in love and had their faces displayed on a giant gazebo at an Open Day… eight years later, the Alumni Team got that gazebo to their wedding day to surprise them.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"RomyRhys McDonnell studied Psychology<\/a> at Reading, while Romy Barton studied Economics and Econometrics<\/a>, both graduating in 2016. They lived in St Patrick\u2019s Hall and knew of each other in their first year, but it wasn\u2019t until the second year that their love story would begin.<\/p>\n

Romy said: \u201cWe properly met during Paddy\u2019s week of our second year, in 2014, when we were both \u2018Paddies\u2019 guiding the first year students through Freshers\u2019 Week. From then on, we kept bumping into each other, which eventually \u00a0led to a date.<\/p>\n

Rhys added: \u201cBecoming boyfriend and girlfriend just sort of happened, without either of us actually asking.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you were to walk around the Reading area, you\u2019d no doubt come across plenty of landmarks which provided a backdrop to Romy and Rhys\u2019 blossoming relationship.<\/p>\n

Romy recalled: \u201cOur first date was a pub crawl, starting at the German markets outside The Oracle, followed by Zero Degrees where there was a harpist! We ended the date in a small pub by Reading Station.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"RomyRhys added: \u201cOther dates included going on bike rides along the river, to the cinema, strawberry picking, ice-skating, and punting in Oxford.\u201d<\/p>\n

After graduation the couple took a year out to travel around South-East Asia, Australia and New Zealand. But the place which truly holds their hearts is Cornwall \u2013 so it was only fitting that Rhys planned to pop the\u00a0 question there.<\/p>\n

Rhys explained: \u201cEvery year we go to Cornwall in our campervan with our dog \u2013 we\u2019ve made so many great memories there. So I decided that Cornwall was definitely the place where I should propose.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cI arranged for a yurt to be put on top of a hill overlooking our favourite beach \u2013 Watergate Bay \u2013 with a selection of photos of us and our labrador from over the years on display. Despite the gale force winds Romy said yes. Our dog was a bit put out at being involved though!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The icing on the wedding cake<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\"RomyFast forward to summer 2024 when Romy and Rhys tied the knot and got the surprise of their life from the University of Reading \u2013 a gazebo with their faces on it.<\/p>\n

Rhys explained: \u201cDuring our third year, we were saving up for our year abroad and therefore taking on various bits of work. One of those jobs was a photoshoot on campus with some other students. A couple of years later a friend was at an Open Day and saw our faces on this gazebo.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cTo then have it make an appearance at our wedding was the icing on the cake and such a nice surprise!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Romy said: \u201cThe wedding was perfect. It was everything we could have asked for and way more. But we weren\u2019t expecting to see a giant gazebo with our faces on it!\u201d<\/p>\n

The surprise was only possible thanks to Romy\u2019s mum who got in touch with the Alumni Team to track \u00a0down the gazebo. Given how much we love a #UoRLoveStory in the Alumni Team, we were eager to help.<\/p>\n

Agnes Gibson, Head of Campaign and Supporter Engagement, explained: \u201cWe were able to locate the gazebo and given it had been in storage for a little while, we were only too happy to gift it to Romy and Rhys for their special day. I drove it down to the New Forest where it was put up to surprise them after they had tied the knot.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cThis is such a fantastic feel-good story and I was honoured to play a small part in their special day.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Prioritising happiness<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Since graduating Romy and Rhys are both doing well in their careers and have simple but positive goals for their future \u2013 to do what makes them happy.<\/p>\n

Romy said: \u201cAfter our year of travelling I joined Carnival UK [P&O Cruises and Cunard] as a finance graduate and am now a qualified accountant. I work as a Finance Business Partner supporting financial decision making to maximise revenue and managing costs on the cruise ships. I\u2019m also part-way through a master\u2019s in Workplace Health and Wellbeing, which is something I am passionate about.<\/p>\n

\u201cRhys worked for the Youth Offending Team, supporting 11-18 year olds who were within the criminal justice system with the aim of preventing reoffending. He now works on the other side of the Criminal Justice System as a Detective Sergeant in the police.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"RomyRhys added: \u201cGenerally speaking, our future plans are to do what makes us happy. We want to enjoy travelling, spending time together, have more dogs, and more trips down to Cornwall!<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll always be grateful to the University of Reading for bringing us together and helping us to start our story.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Did you meet your partner at the University of Reading? If you\u2019d like to share your #UoRLoveStory with us, email alumni@reading.ac.uk<\/a> \u2013 we\u2019d love to hear from you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Romy and Rhys met at the University of Reading, fell in love and had their faces displayed on a giant gazebo at an Open Day… eight years later, the Alumni Team got that gazebo to their wedding day to surprise them. Rhys McDonnell studied Psychology at Reading, while Romy Barton studied Economics and Econometrics, both […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":170,"featured_media":14007,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[3],"tags":[163,100,113,39,41],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nA Wedding Day Surprise - Connected<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Romy and Rhys met at the University of Reading and fell in love... eight years later, the Alumni Team gave them a wedding day surprise!\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2024\/12\/16\/a-wedding-day-surprise\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Wedding Day Surprise - 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