Tim and Janine have been together for a little over six years now, but from day one, theirs was a relationship that would stand the test of time.

I have known Tim since 1985 when we started at Swanwick Hall School, but it was years later before we first met Janine on that fateful day in Northampton.

We had both met Natalie Martin (chief bridesmaid) briefly through a mutual friend, Russ Bacon (usher), and decided to ask her if we could crash on the floor of her student house one weekend as The Bluetones were playing in town.

Sure enough, she agreed and we turned up at the little house on Carey Street on the Friday night.

My first memory of Janine was of her lying in front of the gas fire, wearing a white blouse and black mini skirt. Both Tim and I instantly agreed she was a "bueller" - ie top totty!

Janine and Natalie were sharing the house with Helen Verrill (another bridesmaid) and we all became firm friends that weekend, going to the gig, getting very drunk in a nightclub and being told off by the police (twice) for wheeling each other around the streets in a supermarket trolley!

Many more similar weekends followed and we all became firm friends, but it wasn't until a couple of years later that Tim and Janine began their road to romance at Northampton's infamous Swan and Helmet Irish pub on the night of Janine's 21st birthday party.

It had never occurred to any of us (Tim and Janine included) that they would be any more than "just good friends", but on that night, the chemistry was there for all to see (and I don't just mean the copious amounts of alcohol). How could we have been so blind!

I remember chatting with Natalie a couple of weeks later and we both agreed that Tim and Janine were "the perfect couple" and that wedding bells would be ringing sooner or (ahem!) later. Tim never was one to rush anything!

The early days were lovely - Tim showered Janine with gifts - notably Snow White ornaments, Winnie the Pooh paraphernalia and even a pet hamster.

They spent hours together, watching plays and concerts, going back to nature, as it were, on walks in the woods and enjoying summer holidays all over Britain and Europe.

As the years went by, Tim moved from his job in Northampton back to Derbyshire and Janine soon joined him when she began work as a teacher in nearby Mansfield.

They moved in together in Belper and have remained there since, moving from their rented house to the land of mortgagedom and September Cottage.

It was in Belper that Tim proposed. Shortly after a meal at Jedediah's Restaurant on Valentine's Day, 2001 (in which Janine almost blew it by getting drunk and eating the table flowers!), he popped the question in the nearby River Gardens.

So that, in a nutshell, is our bride and groom. And if any couple stands a chance of living happily ever after, it's Tim and Jing.

Some people just look right together. You can't quite put your finger on why this is - they just do. Tim and Janine have this look whenever you see them. Whether it's walking hand in hand through town or looking into each other's eyes over dinner... or shouting blue murder in a domestic over the ironing!

But Tim and Janine don't just look right together - they are right together. They belong to one another and it seems that destiny may have played a part on that Friday night in Northampton.

All the essential ingredients are there. They love each other - that's obvious. They justifiably trust each other. They have a lot in common - everything from football and pop music to poetry and prose. They both want to settle down and raise a family. But they're also both fiercely independent. Despite their devotion to each other, they'll always continue to do their own thing too.

Most of all, they'll never forget their friends. Any fans of the Bridget Jones novels will know how Helen Fielding wrote of the "smug marrieds" who, once the rings are on, hide away in their homes and cut themselves off from their friends. We all know the type.

This won't happen with Tim and Janine. They're different in so many ways but they're both people people. They're friendly, chatty and fun - happy. And they're also two of the best confidantes. I'd like to lift a glass to the happy couple and the best friends I could ever wish to have.

Andy Darlington,
Chief usher and webmaster.