'I've booked the wedding but I'm not engaged'

With the venue, photographers and fireworks booked, all that's missing is a ring, says bride-to-be Lucie Coates

- WORDS: LUCY ROBINSON

“Congratulations on your engagement,” chimed the tour guides as they welcomed Lucie Coates and her partner Elliott Burgess to a luxurious countryside wedding venue. Surrounded by lush greenery, with Georgian grandeur and history on every corner, Lucie and Elliott both pictured themselves saying “I do” in front of their friends and family within an instant. It was perfect. In fact, the only thing missing had nothing to do with the venue — with Lucie and Elliott not yet being engaged, it was the ring.

“We'd discussed getting married prior to visiting the venue but I feel like it was never an actual conversation,” Lucie, 32, told us. “We'd both been in serious relationships before and when we got together, we both knew the other one was our person. We used to say things like, ‘I can’t wait to marry you’ but we never actually spoke about getting married properly.

“Then one day I saw this wedding venue near my parents’ house where I really wanted to get married and I was just like, ‘Can we go and look?’”

“My mum always says that in the two years we've been together, we've gone through what most couples go through in 10 years. I've never loved anyone as much as I love Elliott so I’ve got no doubt booking our wedding before even getting engaged is a good idea.”