A Bridgnorth firefighter and her fiance are on tenterhooks tonight waiting to see whether they have won a dream wedding at Warwick Castle.
Mia Wood, 30, of Victoria Road and fiance Jon Temple, 40, of Shrewsbury fell in love over the fire hoses at Bridgnorth Fire Station four years ago.
After getting engaged they expected to save for several years to get married – until a friend entered them in radio station Heart FM’s ‘Dream Wedding’ competition. They beat 8,000 other couples to the last three, and will know tonight whether enough local people have voted for them in a phone-in to win the wedding on June 19.
Mia said: “It is so exciting. If we win we will be the first people to get married at Warwick Castle. It also has a special connection for us because Jon’s father who is buried in the grounds was one of the Knights Templar, and I have always been fascinated by King Arthur and that period.
“In fact I call Jon my knight in shining armour because I feel he rescued me from a difficult time, and he calls me his princess.”
The wedding prize is worth £35,000 and includes everything from the bride’s dress, rings, flowers and photographer to a two-week honeymoon in Australia.
It was love at first sight for the couple after they met at Bridgnorth. “He came on standby to Bridgnorth where I was based. I walked in and he was there and we looked at each other and that was it.
“But it was not until six months later that we went out on the same night and we have not looked back since.”
Mia, who was the first female firefighter at Bridgnorth when she joined seven years ago, had to stop fighting fires after two major operations. But with Jon’s support she recovered and now works in education within the fire service, visiting many schools in the Bridgnorth area.
It was Jon’s kindness which convinced her he was “the one”. “I went to hospital to have a hysterectomy and when I woke up, Jon was holding my hand. He was so kind, even carrying my catheter bag when I was wheeled through the ward. He’s also wonderful with my two boys, Brandon who’s nearly nine and Ethan who’s seven.”
Voting finishes today, and the couple expect to hear the winners announced tonight.
“But even if we don’t win, I’ve still won really because I’ve got Jon,” says Mia. “We will still get married, it will just be a few years away rather than on June 19.”