A HAPPY couple who first met in Kidderminster when they were 15 have jetted back from Australia to tie the knot.
Lisa Cheshire and Christopher Hatton, both 27, have been living in Sydney and will be getting married at the Pear Tree Inn and Country Hotel at Smite, near Worcester, on Saturday.
Chris, an IT analyst originally from Ferndale Crescent and Lisa, a personal assistant, whose family home was in Stoney Lane, have been working down under since last November.
They first met at a party when Lisa was a student at King Charles I High School and Chris attended Wolverley High School.
In December, 2001, they met again through the Friends Reunited website, which helps to put old school friends in touch with one another.
Chris first made contact after spotting Lisa's name on the website listings. He said: "It was when the website first came out. I was curious to see what Lisa had been up to and what she was doing."
Lisa said: "I was at work and I think I shrieked at my desk. I was very pleased to hear from him. He didn't think I would have remembered him."
They kept in touch by e-mail for a year and when Chris was working in Houston, Texas, in December, 2002, Lisa flew out to visit him for a week's holiday.
She said: "I knew after that I was staying. I moved over there on Valentine's Day, 2003. It was strange how it happened. It was very quick but I knew he was the one."
The couple spent 18 months in Texas and West Virginia before returning to Kidderminster last year.
In June, 2004 Chris proposed after surprising Lisa with a trip to Rome and popped the question at the top of St Peter's Cathedral.
He said: "We were only there for a few days and I kept trying to find the right time to propose but things kept getting in the way. I was trying to find a quiet space and it ended up being at the top of St Peter's."
Around 56 guests will be attending the wedding ceremony, including Lisa's parents, Louise and Harry and Chris's parents, Annette and Martin, which will be followed by a reception for 120 guests.
The couple will be returning to Australia on Wednesday and will spend two weeks in Fiji on honeymoon.
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