In the times before Facebook, when smart phones didn’t exist, iPods were something reserved for celebrities and the first thing you said to someone when you went to their house was "hello" and not "what's your WiFi password?" we met through a Michelle Branch internet message board.

You may not remember Michelle Branch, or indeed message boards, but given she was such a minor celebrity in this country, a small handful of die-hard fans became good friends.

One summer Anthony and one of his “Branchie” (yes, that’s what we called ourselves. Try not to get too overwhelmed by how cool we were…) were going to Bournemouth for the day, and since Andover was, when measured by Anthony’s blasé attitude to long distance, "just down the road" and "on the way" from Harefield he said they'd pick Nic up en route.

A few months later when Nic was almost enrolled in college but not 100% certain of the subjects she'd chosen and not wanting to stay in Andover, he suggested she move up to Harefield and enrol in college up there. He needed to find a place to live in the next couple of months and finding a place to share with a flatmate to share the rent and bills with was a win/win.

Fast forward a few weeks and it was all sorted and Nic's amazingly understanding and caring Dad drove her up to Harefield with two large cardboard boxes of possessions and that was that! Nic moved in with the Punshon's, and Anthony gave up his room and slept on the sofa. Before they managed to find a place to live (no easy task when one of the tenants is under 18 and the other one is self-employed!) Nic spent a couple of months trying not to get caught up in the Punshon family’s chain-tea drinking and trying to find new ways to politely refuse cups of tea from his Mum and Dad because she didn't drink the stuff. But that didn’t go so well as Nic was pretty shy and, well, now we both drink a LOT of tea! Who knows what the Punshons thought of the strange girl that moved in but she was welcomed and very grateful for having dinner waiting for her every night!

4 flats and a move to the South Coast later, Max arrived, Anthony proposed, we moved again and then figured we should probably start planning the wedding!

And here we are 14 years later!