CHILDHOOD sweethearts who first locked eyes at school have tied the knot in an intimate church ceremony.

Elizabeth Felix, a business-owner from Kirkby Lonsdale, and Andrew Clarke, a design engineer at Jaguar Landrover from Burton in Kendal, first met at school over ten years ago.

The pair were in the same English class at Queen Elizabeth School in Kirkby Lonsdale and ended up sitting next to each other. After getting to know one another and chatting on MSN, the pair began dating.

Mrs Clarke said: “We are complete opposite personalities; Andrew is very quiet and organised and I’m quite talkative and spontaneous. We balance each other out well and offer different perspectives on life.”

The couple took their relationship to the next step three years ago after purchasing their first home together.

Mrs Clarke said: “As we walked into our first home together, he got down on one knee and popped the question. I’m not one to usually be lost for words, he completely caught me off guard and I was absolutely speechless.”

The pair were originally supposed to tie the knot in May, however, due to Covid-19 restrictions the wedding was cancelled.

“Once government restrictions were lifted, we decided to just go ahead and get married as soon as we could,” Mrs Clarke said.

The couple said ‘I do’ on July 25 at St Marys church in Kirkby Lonsdale where they were married by Mrs Clarke’s school friend, Aimee Lynch.

The pair were joined by 24 guests for their big day and was able to live stream the ceremony to other friends and family members unable to attend due to government restrictions.

Mrs Clarke said: “It meant absolutely everyone watching could feel as though they were part of the day. I never would have chosen to have a smaller wedding but actually it was so intimate and personal and we both really did enjoy it.

“My amazing friend surprised us on the wedding morning with a video of loads of friends and family wishing us a happy wedding day as they couldn’t be there.”

Mrs Clarke said seeing her husband at the end of the aisle was ‘the best feeling’.

She said: “My dad walked me down the aisle and just as we turned the corner from the entrance he turned to me and jokingly said ‘Do you want to do this? Are you sure? Come on then!’ which made everyone laugh.

“Reaching the end of that aisle was just the best feeling, once I reached Andrew, I took his hand and didn’t let go. We had a small socially distanced reception afterwards. The food was picnic baskets filled with individually wrapped delicious homemade food."

For their honeymoon the couple are hoping to travel to USA.