CHILDHOOD sweethearts who met in their school brass band have said ‘I do’ in front of their nearest and dearest.

Nikitta Minihane, 24, an admin assistant, tied the knot with her long-term love, Jonathon Bradley, 25, a history teacher, in a magical Christmas wedding.

The couple first met as teens during secondary school when they were both members of the brass band.

The now Mrs Bradley said: “He played the tuba and I played the auxilliary percussion .

“We were friends first and knew we liked each other so eventually ended up getting together and have been together ever since.

“We’re both geeks at heart - we both love Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and have a very similar sense of humour.”

The pair became engaged on Christmas Day in 2015.

Mrs Bradley said: “He stayed over on Christmas Day which has never happened before, we always spent Christmas apart normally until then.

“Then in the morning my mum brought out bucks fizz which she never normally does.

“I opened all my presents and he said I have one last present for you and he got down on one knee in front of my whole family.

“He said ‘you’re my best friend in the entire world, will you marry me?’”

The pair tied the knot on December 14 at St Helen’s Church in Churchtown alongside 88 guests.

They later enjoyed a winter wonderland-themed reception at Aston Hall in Lancaster Golf Club.

Mrs Bradley said: “We wanted it to look like we’d woken up in the woodlands and got married there.

“The major theme was stags and does - it was all very festive.

“A special moment was my dad walking me down the aisle. He’s disabled but actually managed to walk me two or three steps.

“That was incredible.

“We got married where my mum is church warden assistant so already knew everybody there.

The church was bursting at the seams, the whole congregation watched us get married.”

Mrs Bradley described the big day as a ‘cosy, winter family affair’.

“Four Weddings and a Funeral is one of our favourite films so we had our first dance to Wet Wet Wet - Love is All Around.

“We had a fantastic DJ too who got everyone up dancing - it was like Creamfields by the end of the night.”

After the wedding, the newlyweds had a ‘mini-moon’ in Northumberland where they explored the area.

The happy couple are planning a romantic multiple-destination trip across Italy, including Venice and Rome, later this year.

All photography by Ian Brooks.