A COUPLE who first locked eyes at a fancy dress party have tied the knot in a magical winter wonderland ceremony.

Michaela Rowley, 28, a teaching assistant, and Scott O’Shea, 30, a civil engineer, met ten years ago at a family fancy dress party.

The now Mrs O’Shea struck up a conversation with her future husband, who was donning a Mario outfit, and the relationship blossomed from there.

She said: “We were talking outside for ages at the party, then a few days later I got a Facebook friend request from him.

“His personality really attracted me - he’s really funny but we’re quite opposite in a lot of ways which is why I think we work so well.”

The pair got engaged five years later during a getaway to the Abbey House Hotel in Barrow.

“It was my 25th birthday and we’d booked the princess suite,” Mrs O’Shea said.

“Scott kept saying he’d bought me a present and I just presumed it would be something like makeup.

“Then, after a few drinks, he said I’ve got to get your present now and made me close my eyes.

“I opened my eyes and he was on one knee. I couldn’t believe it.

“It was a complete surprise.”

The pair decided if they were to marry in the UK they would choose Abbey House as their wedding venue.

Mrs O’Shea said: “It is just such a magical place, especially at Christmas time.

“We knew we wanted to get married there.”

The pair officially tied the knot in front of 129 of their loved ones, with another 31 guests joining them for the evening.

The couple chose a rustic theme for the big day, featuring wood, foliage and flowers.

Mrs O’Shea said: “One of the highlights of the day was definitely the singing waiter.

“He was dressed as one of the hotel staff then suddenly started singing.

“He got everyone off their chairs dancing.”

Mrs O’Shea described the wedding as ‘everything she had dreamed of and more’.

“It was just perfect - I’d do it all again in a heartbeat,” she said.

“The whole day went by so quick.”

For their first dance, the couple chose Tom Walker ‘Just You and I’ followed by sparklers and speeches.

The couple enjoyed a mini-moon to Amsterdam over three days at New Year.

For their honeymoon, the newlyweds are planning a two-week trip to Jamaica this summer.

Mrs O’Shea said: “This is somewhere we’ve always wanted to go together.

“We can’t wait.”

All photography featured in the article is by Ladybird’s Photography.