SPARKS flew for one lovestruck couple who tied the knot in an intimate ceremony with only a handful of guests.

Vaida Stankeviciute, 31, who works in construction, and James Meads, 33, a PE teacher, said ‘I do’ in a ‘perfect’ wedding in the heart of the Lake District.

The pair first crossed paths four years ago after Mr Meads visited his dad at work where he bumped into his wife-to-be.

He said: “I’d just come back from Tanzania and went to visit my dad in work and Vaida worked there.

“She needed a lift home, we got talking and then I invited her out for a drink for the following day.”

Mrs Meads said her first encounter with her husband was like ‘talking to a good old friend’.

She said: “He was good looking and when we started talking, it was very easy. I thought why not give it a go.”

The couple took their relationship to the next stop whilst visiting Mrs Meads’ family in Lithuania.

Mrs Meads said: “We’d talked about getting married before but I never thought he’d propose when he did.

“I’m originally from Lithuania and we went to my hometown for a few days last year. We went to the forest and started walking on the frozen lake when he popped the question. I was shocked, it took a whole day to sink in."

The pair tied the knot in an intimate ceremony at Storrs Hall in Windermere.

Mr Meads said: “We’d always planned a small and intimate wedding even before coronavirus.

“When coronavirus hit, we made a choice to still get married and didn’t want anyone to travel who didn’t live in England or wasn’t close to us.

“We decided to have a proper celebration next year with everyone and a lot of people actually watched the wedding on Zoom.”

The wedding, which was held on July 24, was described by the happy couple as ‘perfect’.

Mrs Meads said: “We did it old school and stayed apart for the week before, so the first time we saw one another was walking down the aisle.

“It was nerve-wracking to start with but everything went perfect in my mind considering all the circumstances.

“It was such a sunny and warm day. The service in Storrs Hall was amazing – we didn’t need to worry about anything. Keeping in mind Covid was happening, we had an amazing day. It was perfect and just the way I wanted.”

Mr Meads added: “It was just a magical and once in a lifetime day.

For their honeymoon, the couple are hoping to travel to America or Iceland some time next year.

All photography featured in the article is by Tiree Dawson.

You can contact her at info@tireedawson.co.uk