Gary & Natalie

HAPPY COUPLE

Introducing the special people who are the reason you're here right now...

GARY- Easom -

NATALIE- Meadows -

OUR STORY

Can't remember all the details of how Gary and Natalie came to be this amazing couple? Well here's the short version of their whirlwind decade long romance...

3
OCT '05

WE FIRST MET

Our story starts in the romantic location of the Ofsted's old Nottingham office. Gary, still heartbroken from Nathan, the true love of his life, leaving him for London, boarded the Ofsted Fun Bus, setting a course which would change both our lives forever (for the better that is)...

Of course, like any new starter, the first thing Gary did was to eye-up the totty. Immediately he was drawn to a beautiful, sexy blonde – but, unfortunately, Sean Bluett just wasn't interested, so instead he made a beeline for Natalie. Friends at first, but, when the time was right, Gary ground her down and she agreed to a romantic meal. Natalie should have spotted the warning signs there and then, as this 'romantic meal' was in fact a club sandwich and curly fries, washed down with a few too many triple-for-the-price-of-a-single gin and sodas at BZR. Oh, those were the days...

5
APR '06

BECAME A PROPER COUPLE

We officially realised that we should probably admit to being a proper couple the day before Gary's 25th birthday (the unofficial date is anyone's guess... apart from Natalie... she obviously knows). This was the point at which we waved goodbye to our slender figures and embraced carpet picnics and lots and lots of booze. Happy, but health-challenging days.
29
SEP '06

WE MOVED IN TOGETHER

So, we decided to take things slow... see how things went and maybe get a place together somewhere familiar. Well, sort of... having been together all of six months, we decided to completely up-sticks and move to the big smoke (where the pavements are paved with gold and where the iron worm reigns (it haunts my dreams!) - credit to David Jackson). We moved in to a small but perfectly-formed ground-floor flat on Balham High Road. Those who stayed there may remember the wonderfully comfortable sofa-bed and a 1920s party that showed true commitment to fancy dress. A great first flat – only let down by the fact that Natalie and her brother, Daniel (the troubled middle-child), couldn't put together the new barbeque correctly!

Our next move was to the super-posh and leafy suburb of Dulwich, which saw the arrival of Dave-Buckley Easom and Boo Meadows, and where we met the beautiful Roberto and Victoria. But then, Bianca decided to make Gary redundant and, after a year of commuting between London and Bristol, we decided it was time to head west... a finger randomly pointed at a map found us moving to the lovely West London suburb (ahem) of Marlborough.
30
APR '14

WE BOUGHT OUR HOUSE TOGETHER

Finding ourselves in this lovely little market town, surrounded by lots of wonderful Wiltshire-folk and other London-escapees, we decided that Marlborough was the place we wanted to settle. So, we enticed Tim and Hannah out of London to join the country life, and decided it was time to grow up and buy our first house...

And what a beauty it was: rising-damp, draughty windows, un-insulated roof, wonky floors, urine-soaked carpets, and an attic room with a lock on the outside – oh, and slap bang on the A4!! It was love at first sight (for Natalie... Gary only went with it because Nick and Suzie bought the house he really wanted).

15
APR '15

GARY PROPOSED!

And so, after just nine years of officially being a couple (I'm not sure if Natalie, or anyone else ever mentioned to Gary that nine years was quite a long time...), whilst relaxing in the beautiful Cornish sand dunes, overlooking the Doombar and munching on a Cornish pasty, Gary proposed.

Natalie didn't make this particularly easy for Gary. As she was merrily doing her crossword, she wasn't particularly interested in Gary's suggestions to 'move to a nicer spot' or 'come and have a look at the lovely view'. Getting increasingly restless, Gary decided to write a message in the sand and call Natalie over to read it... as she turned back to him, he dropped to one knee and asked that simple question. Beautiful, perfect, romantic... But, Northern as ever, Natalie responded with 'are you bl**dy winding me up?!!' Ah, just how Gary had envisioned it. After a four-minute wait for an answer, Gary assumed it was a 'Yes' and opened the bubbles anyway as he was desperate for a drink. (She did eventually say yes, once she was certain that it wasn't a wind-up.)

AND ON THE 29TH APRIL 2016... WE GET MARRIED

WHERE & WHEN

We'll be getting married at St George's Church in Manton, just down the road from Marlborough, at 2:30pm. Afterwards our wedding party will continue at Coles Bar and Restaurant.

CEREMONY

We'll be getting married at St George's Church in Manton, just down the road from Marlborough, at 2:30pm. (SN8 4HQ - although satnav may take you only around half way down Preshute - you'll need to continue just a little further to the church car park)

RECEPTION

Once we've officially become husband and wife, we'd love you to join us at Coles Bar and Restaurant in Marlborough for food and booze. (27 Kingsbury Hill, Marlborough, SN8 1JA)

ACCOMODATION

Marlborough is a busy little market town, so we recommend you get your accommodation booked as soon as possible. There are a number of hotels/pubs with rooms in the town centre itself, and Hungerford, Swindon and Newbury are all close by, with lots more accommodation to choose from in between.

Those of you who will be getting the train back to London may wish to book somewhere in Hungerford so all you have to do is drag your hungover self up the path to the train station (via Tesco for Lucozade, painkillers, etc).

You can find a full list of local accommodation here.

Space at the church and reception will be limited so it'd be a huge help if you could let us know whether you will/won't be joining us on our special day. Of course, there's the added incentive
"if you're name's not on the list, you ain't coming in". You've been told...

RSVP

PLACES TO STAY

Not local to Marlborough, or fancy a break from your house? Here's a few places nearby the wedding venue that you can book. Click the link icon on the photos to be taken to their respective websites to enquire or book.

Don't Miss It!

The big day is the 29th April 2016 - although you'll want to make sure you've booked all your accommodation, etc, beforehand as places will fill up quickly.

Just in case you're not the most organised of people, below is a countdown timer to the big date.
You should probably go and put that in your diary...

GROOMSMEN

Gary and Natalie has unwisely put these boys in charge of lots of things. Having known Mark and Nathan for the better part of a decade and a half, you'd think they'd have learnt by now. Mark has promised not to force cider down everyone's throats and Nathan has promised to not to try it on with the bridesmen/maids. We're not sure either of these promises will be kept.

You would have thought, in light of this, they would have at least chosen sensible ushers...

BEST MAN

Nathan Bentley

CO-BEST MAN

Mark Simmonds

USHER

Dan Meadows

USHER

Zac Meadows

USHER

Dave Cumberlidge

WITNESSES

The Boyrettys

BRIDESMEN/MAIDS

Having collectively known Natalie for 35 years, these beautiful cherubs will be looking after Natalie on her big day. A word to the wise bridesman/maids, make sure she has comfy shoes and a full glass... We'll let Ian and Cheryl fight it out over which one of them helps Natalie use the loo in her dress and which one spends the night fighting off Nathan's drunken advances... The flower girls' role is clearer - just being gorgeous!

CHIEF BRIDESMAN

Ian Lunn

BRIDESMAID

Cheryl Easom

FLOWER GIRLS

Isla, Iona and Olivia Meadows

GIFT LIST

So it of course goes without saying that your presence at our wedding is the thing we want most ! We do understand, however, that people often like to give something a little extra for us to enjoy after our wedding day, for which we would be hugely appreciative!

As you all know, we have lived together for YEARS, so our home is pretty much set-up! However, said home is still something of a project and what we definitely don't have enough of is storage (cue the most exciting wish list ever!). We would also love to be able to commission a piece of art to help us remember our special day!

Click to see the The Measoms’ Very Modern Wish List

For those of you who might prefer to give us an individual item, we've also included some treats we would absolutely love. There will also be a place at the reception venue for any cards and small gifts you might like to bring on the day, should you wish to do that instead.

Please accept our huge thank you in advance.
We'll be sure to send you pictures of us enjoying our gifts soon!

Our Gift List

RSVP

Hello! So you've received your invitation, good stuff! The name tag (which doubled as a personalised jigsaw!) on your invitation shows who is invited to attend our wedding. Four things to note:

  • You are invited to both the ceremony and reception
  • Given space restrictions, we are only inviting a small number of children. So, unless your invite has the names of your wee ones, I'm afraid they're not invited. Sorry!
  • We're not doing a formal sit down dinner so make sure you do grab some of the canapés - they're part of your meal!
  • We’re not able to offer a free bar… I know I know... shocking. Of course some drinks will be provided, but please to ensue you bring cash or a bank/credit card will a sufficiently high limit to meet your drinking needs.

Can we please ask you to complete and submit the RSVP section below.

Alternatively, if you're feeling more traditional,
you can pop us a card at the address on the back of your envelope.