J & L

Believe it or not, on 17th May 2017, Lauren approached James in Moo Moo’s nightclub in Fleet. It turns out she thought James was super rich… which, unfortunately for Lauren, was not the case. Despite this early disappointment, they hit it off and ended the night with a cheeky kiss. Over the next two years James (Vassy) continued replying to Lauren’s Instagram stories telling her she “looked fire”, while Lauren regularly reminded him that she was completely out of his league. Eventually, on 13th September 2019, Lauren finally agreed to go on a proper date. The location: Piccolino - Virginia Waters. On 14th December 2019, they returned to the exact same restaurant where Vassy asked Lauren to be his girlfriend. Completely unaware it would soon become the most expensive decision he’d ever made. Just 72 hours later, in very typical James and Lauren fashion, they were on a plane to Dubai for the first of many trips together. Living the high life in business class (a brand-new experience for James). This was followed by San Diego (27th December 2019), New York (5th January 2020), and Venice (17th February 2020) until lockdown hit and the travel came to a sudden stop. They survived lockdowns (although by the second one, both sets of parents had given up and allowed the occasional sleepover). Since then, James and Lauren have continued travelling together and have now visited over 20 destinations. In 2022, they purchased their first home together, and in 2024 James proposed on Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi. Lauren’s response? Not quite the fairytale “yes, more a repeated “no, no, no!” as she stood there in complete shock. Luckily for James, it still counted as a yes. As for the wedding… that has been a journey of its own. Over the years there have been multiple dates, multiple plans, and multiple locations. At one point it could have been Ibiza, then maybe Cyprus. But after visiting St Lucia in 2024, they completely fell in love with the island and especially Sugar Beach. So in December 2026, Lauren and James will be saying 'I do' under the Caribbean sun at Sugar Beach, St Lucia... before bringing the celebrations home to the UK to party with all of you.