THE OLD joke needs updating. For what’s yellow and white and goes at 125mph is no longer a train driver’s sandwich, it’s a bride with a bouquet of flowers.
On Friday, March 8, a couple made history by getting hitched on a train.
Leah Anderson, 38, and Vince Smith, 39, first met on board a GWR service from Wokingham, heading to Reading for their initial date.
Romance blossomed and they had their first kiss on the train home.
Eight years later, they got back on a train to get married.
Leah had her hair and make-up done in the Queen Victoria’s lounge on Platform 1 at London Paddington, while groom Vince, originally from Wokingham, met family members at the old GWR board room at the station, before heading to the train where they choo-choo chose each other.
Leah’s dad, who was a signalman for 51 years, was joined by her son, six-year-old Teddy, in giving her away, and the ceremony.
Reflecting on how their love story got on the right tracks, Leah said: “We went for a coffee and then a pizza and just got on really, really well. On the way back, Vince was getting off at Wokingham.
“He went to leave and then ran back and kissed me. I knew from that first date we had something special.
“In those early days we travelled on the train all the time before Vince moved up to Farncombe (where they both now live).
“My dad worked on the railways for 51 years, so trains have always been a big part of my life.”
After the ceremony, the 14 guests could toast the bride and groom with a Welsh sparkling wine, Tintern Parva Dathliad Sparkling, or Tribute Cornish Ale, before heading to Pullman Dining carriage where a three-course wedding breakfast was served.
As they ate, the train continued its journey to Cardiff, where the newlyweds continued to their honeymoon venue of The Georgian Swansea.
They will then take place on a tour of the famous Penderyn Swansea Copperworks Distillery, before travelling back first-class to London Paddington.
GWR says the idea came about after the couple reached out on social media requesting a train-related centrepiece for their wedding table. Rather than present them with a model locomotive, they created the country’s first full train wedding.
Amanda Burns, GWR Sales and Marketing Director, said: “When we heard of Leah and Vince’s story, we asked ourselves what more we could do to help them as they embark on this very special journey together.
“Rail and rail travel is often romanticised; offering a gateway to new adventures, so what better way to embrace this than by holding their wedding on board?
“It ‘tickets’ all the right boxes.”
