It was a trip back in time for a Hadleigh couple when their daughter left their wedding in the same classic car they cherished at their own ceremony 31 years ago.
Mary Dorney bought the red Caterham Seven sports car in 1989 and drove it on her wedding anniversary in 1990 on her honeymoon with husband Graham.
The Hadleigh couple sold the car to Mary’s brother to keep in the family when their eldest daughter Becky was a few months old and realized that the super-light racing car was not an ideal family vehicle.
Mary and Graham Dorney with the Caterham Seven sports car on their wedding anniversary in June 1990
– Credit: Dorney Family
Mary and Graham Dorney with the Caterham Seven sports car they had at their wedding
– Photo credit: Andy Chambers Photography
Daughter Becky, now 28, had planned to marry her sweetheart Lewis Davey last year, but the pandemic has thrown the bill.
After a year of waiting, they decided to only have 15 guests at the Priory Hall Wedding Venue on Saturday May 1st – with Becky seven months pregnant they couldn’t hold off any longer.
“There was always a family joke about the car,” said soon-to-be grandmother Mary.
Becky and Lewis are helped into the car by Mary and Graham
– Photo credit: Andy Chambers Photography
“When I bought it, Graham joked that he would marry me if he could drive it, and when Lewis saw it on my brother, he thought it was great.
“It became a family joke that he would marry Becky if he could drive the car, so it was nice for her to have it there that day after all.
“I remember our wedding exactly how it happened. My cheeks ached from smiling and Becky’s day was exactly the same – it was perfect. “
Becky is seven months pregnant after the original wedding plans were put on hold for a year
– Photo credit: Andy Chambers Photography
Both couples met at school, Mary and Graham met at St Albans at age 11 before dating at 20, while Becky and Lewis met at Ormiston Sudbury Academy and started dating at 18 make a date.
Lewis suggested after dating at the Coliseum in Rome for seven years when the couple were on a trip for his birthday. The wedding was originally booked for August 2020.
Becky and Lewis ended up getting the day they dreamed of
– Photo credit: Andy Chambers Photography
Becky, who lives in Sudbury, said, “The pandemic really put everything in perspective and I got to marry the man I love.
“The day itself was glorious sunshine and we had already postponed it for a year so we didn’t want to wait any longer.
“We drove down Hadleigh High Street and we felt like celebrities.”
The couple’s honeymoon to Australia, which was booked for November last year, will now await the birth of their little one.
