A COUPLE did not let lockdown restrictions stop them from having a party on what would have been their wedding day.

Leanne Cromwell, 36 and Paul Frost, 31, were due to get married on April 16 but restrictions meant that their big day was cancelled.

However, the couple didn’t let coronavirus get in the way and instead held a Zoom party with guests dressed ready for a celebration.

Leanne, who is a nursing sister at the Cumberland Infirmary, and Paul, who is a business manger for Lloyd Honda, first met at a wedding in Florida in 2013.

Leanne was a bridesmaid for her best friend and Paul was a guest, who had flown in from Australia where he was travelling at the time.

Just six years later when on a holiday visiting family in New Zealand, accompanied by their daughter and Leanne’s mum, Paul proposed.

While waiting for a connecting flight from Sydney to Wellington the couple purchased a Tiffany & Co ring in the airport.

On his 30th birthday he took Leanne to the top of a viewpoint Mount Victoria in Wellington, New Zealand, and asked her to marry him in front of their 17-month-old daughter.

Their wedding was due to take place on April 16 at Hidden River Cabins, Carlisle, with the ceremony planned for 30 guests due to be followed by an evening reception for about 100 guests at the Halston, Carlisle, two days later.

However, lockdown restrictions meant that weddings could not take place at that point.

A genius idea from the couple meant they were still able to celebrate and mark their day with loved ones.

To mark the day Paul and Leanne drank champagne in the garden and had food delivered in the evening. This was followed by a Zoom wedding where family members dressed in what would have been their wedding attire and raised a glass to the happy couple.

Speaking about the day, Leanne said: “The day was as lovely as it could be given the circumstances.

“Friends and family sent gifts to mark the day.

“We spent the entire day in the garden with our little girl enjoying the sunshine before our ‘Zoom wedding’ in the evening and then had beautiful food delivered by Paul’s friend.

“As yet we have not rearranged another wedding date due to the pandemic but it certainly won’t be this year.

“We hope to be able to marry in 2021 but I guess only time will tell.”

The best man would have been Paul’s life-long friend Scott Gowling.

The bridesmaids would have been Katie Butterfield and Laura Kennedy who have both been life-long friends of Leanne.

Flowers were due to be from Flowers by Linda.