From Then to Now

Michael and Samantha’s story began long before they ever became a couple. Michael was the best friend of Samantha’s cousin, Pen, so he had been a familiar face at Samantha’s family gatherings for many years. With nine years between them, though, Michael was far too cool to spend much time chatting to a much younger Samantha!

Their paths crossed again at Pen and Emel’s wedding in 2007, where Michael was the best man and Samantha was there celebrating with her family. This time, something was different, and they have been together ever since.

At the time, Michael was living in Macclesfield and had just begun his journey towards becoming an electrician, while Samantha was living in Derby and was about to start her teacher training. The distance meant that, for quite some time, they could only see each other at weekends.

Samantha went on to qualify as a teacher and secured her first teaching job in Derby, while Michael completed his training and qualified as an electrician. It was not long before they realised that they wanted to build a life together, so Samantha moved in with Michael in Macclesfield and began commuting to Derby each day.

After a year, Samantha began applying for jobs closer to home and was fortunate enough to secure a teaching position at a village school near Macclesfield. This finally meant that they could properly begin building their life together.

During those early years, they holidayed as often as they could, partied as hard as they could and thoroughly enjoyed living the young couple’s dream. They made so many wonderful memories during that time and had a great deal of fun along the way.

In 2012, Eliza arrived and made them a family, and in 2015, Eden came along and completed it. Since then, some of their happiest moments have been spent together as a family, making special memories, enjoying holidays and exploring new places.

After 20 wonderful years together, Michael and Samantha are incredibly excited to celebrate the next chapter of their story. It means so much to them to be surrounded by the family and friends who have shared different parts of their journey—some who have known them from the very beginning and others who have become such an important part of their lives along the way. They feel incredibly lucky to be celebrating with everyone they love.