A NEWLYWED woman from a village between Whitchurch and Wrexham has thanked residents for their ‘overwhelming’ turnout after making her wedding a community collaboration.

Lauren Cooper, 29, and her husband Thomas were married at St Chad’s Church in Hanmer, opposite the Mere, last week before jetting away on honeymoon.

But on her return, Lauren says the couple had received more than 130 cards from residents who were all invited to watch them exchange their vows before a mass drinks reception on the banks of the Mere.

And she admitted it was a dream come true for the pair as a way of saying thank you for all the community support as they worked through Covid and seven days a week as owners of the Hanmer Village Store.

She said: “Everyone was invited because being in the shop every single day, I know every person and I feel like I’ve adopted them.

“We invited everyone to come up to the church and watch the ceremony and then had drinks at the Mere to celebrate and say thank you to the community.

“I think it will definitely be remembered especially for younger people for most of their lives.

“I’m a Brownies and Rainbows leader so all of those in my groups came as well so they will definitely remember it.

Whitchurch Herald:

“The idea to do this came from the start, probably, when we got engaged.

“I wanted to get everyone involved because they have been so nice from when we got engaged, asking if we’d booked a date because the village needed a wedding.

“I think it might have been the village needing an event after Covid-19 because people hadn’t really seen too much of each other and socialised.

“It brought everyone back together and people were there for hours, chatting away.”

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Lauren said she and Thomas were delighted to celebrate the day straight away before finishing with a smaller private affair.

She added: “For the day, we did the drinks at the Mere and then for our immediate family, we went to Chester for a nice meal and a reception with a nice dance.

“We did the community mingling before we went off to finish the wedding and that was really good – we were overwhelmed with how many people came to support us.

“We even had ladies from the village decorate the church with beautiful arrangements, and the gardens too, and I am so proud.

“I want to thank them for doing that even before the wedding because I work seven days a week and it’s hard to plan.

“It was really kind and overwhelming how many cards we’ve received and the people coming – it’s a big community thank you from me to them and them to me.”