SPOTLIGHT THE ROYAL COUPLE


When Thomas Cook store manager Natasha Russell was told about Royal Caribbean International’s “once-in-a- lifetime competition” she instantly knew she and partner Bradley Ashford had to go for it. The line was offering agents the chance to win a £25,000 wedding on Oasis of the Seas, plus accommodation for six family members or friends. Aged 16, Natasha split with


Bradley, then 24, over concerns about the age gap, before the pair started their own families. In 2013, Bradley sent a friend


request on Facebook to his former flame in a bid to reignite the relationship they had shared 25 years ago. Natasha says: “When we met back up, I knew I’d be with him forever and he was the man I would marry. We share every spare minute together and miss each other terribly when we have to be apart.” Bradley had mentioned marriage to his girlfriend several times before Jo McGurk, Royal Caribbean’s regional sales


manager for the southwest, came to Natasha’s office in Cardiff to tell colleagues about the Club Royal Wedding competition. Faced with the soaring costs of getting hitched, the couple had shelved any plans they had for a fairytale wedding. Natasha though harboured hopes of finding a way to get married. “Jo McGurk mentioned the


once-in-a-lifetime competition to win your dream wedding,” Natasha recalls. “I’d also seen it in Travel Weekly. I just knew it was fate and I had to go for it. “I told my colleagues I was


going to enter, and I just had this feeling that it was mine and Brad’s destiny to win. “I went home and told Brad all about the competition and what we needed to do while he was doing the dishes. Brad turned to me and said, ‘let’s go for it!’”


Competition entry Natasha and Bradley uploaded a video of themselves to the Club Royal website, explaining why they should be picked. In the next stage, couples


who uploaded the top 10 video entries were invited on board Independence of the Seas to complete Mr and Mrs-style challenges, including a ‘how well do you know your partner?’ quiz. The five couples who received the most points then made it to the next round, which saw Club Royal members vote for their favourite couple on the website. The final round took place


at Eccleston Square Hotel in London, where the final three couples faced a panel of judges, including relationship expert, Dr Anna Machin, best known for Channel 4 programme Married at First Sight, and Travel Weekly editor-in-chief Lucy Huxley. Natasha and Bradley were


overwhelmed when they were named the winners. “We were overcome by emotion,” Natasha says. “We could not hold back the tears. I threw my arms round Brad and we just stood there hugging each other. “The entire competition was


a rollercoaster of emotions, and I will never, ever forget the moment we were told we’d won!”


Big day


Captain Claus Andersen married the couple in front 36 adoring friends and family members in Dazzles bar on Deck 8. Tears flowed again once the


rings were on before Bradley and his new wife cheered as they walked back down the aisle to sign the legal documents. In honour of Bradley’s dad, who passed away in 2015, the couple chose Simply Beautiful by Al Green for their first dance as it’s sung by one of his dad’s favourite musicians. Twenty-two of the party


had never cruised before but everyone is now weighing up which sailing to take next, following the success of their maiden cruise together, Natasha says. “All the Royal Caribbean


staff who helped organise our wedding and our large group were there for us every step of the way – from the planning beforehand, to embarkation and the big day itself,” she adds. “The entire wedding was seamless and went perfectly.”


15 November 2018travelweekly.co.uk33


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