A British bride who flew to Las Vegas to get married to her new groom despite having never met him had revealed how he won over her ‘conservative’ parents in a 30-minute phone call.
Sarah Edwards, née Elliott, 34, matched with Paul Edwards, 36, on dating app Bumble on December 15 and within days decided to get hitched.
The pair spoke for the first time on December 22 and a day later had already decided to marry – despite never meeting face-to-face.
Meeting for the first time at Gatwick Airport on Christmas Eve, the duo boarded a plane in full wedding gear and jetted off to Las Vegas to get married later that day.
Sarah told Good Morning Britain how her ‘traditional’ parents were nervous about the idea, but were eventually won round by Paul during a phone call.
Meeting for the first time at Gatwick Airport on Christmas Eve, the duo boarded a plane in full wedding gear and jetted off to Las Vegas to get married
‘My parents are very traditional and conservative,’ she said. ‘I told them what’s going to happen and they were concerned.
‘The next day they said they wanted to talk to him and they spoke to him over the phone and it says a lot about him that after half an hour he had won them over.
‘The same with your children and family, who I haven’t met yet, but I can’t wait to meet them.’
The couple were asked if they loved each other, to which they replied that they would ‘grow to do so’, Sarah adding that she already ‘loved him utterly as a person’.
Sarah added: ‘We are learning to be in love. Rather than that silly head-over-heels thing, that is all about lust, this is more about actual love for who someone is.’
It’s all about who someone is on the inside. You can marry the gorgeous man of your dreams, and next week he could get disfigured.’
Mrs Edwards, a nanny originally from New Zealand but who lives in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, said: ‘We’ve done all the normal things in previous relationships which haven’t worked out.
‘We thought why not start a relationship from a place of true commitment and loyalty and openness?’
Sarah told Good Morning Britain how her ‘traditional’ parents were nervous about the idea, but were eventually won round by Paul during a phone call
The couple after their wedding, posing in front of a fountain at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas
The couple pictured meeting in public for the first time at Gatwick Airport (left) and with their luggage as they prepare to board a flight to Las Veas
Paul, who hails from Chichester in West Sussex and has two teenage daughters from a previous relationship, added: ‘Mystery is the best part.
‘If you look at any relationship you get in to, the first few years are the most exciting time you’ve got. So why not start on that and build on it?
‘We are always holding hands and hugging and kissing, it’s like I’ve known her all my life, it’s the missing link.
‘Our first kiss was our wedding kiss. There’s not many couples who can say that they never kissed before they made that commitment to each other.
‘The whole idea of Married at First Sight came up as we texted; I hadn’t seen it before but we connected on so many levels that the whole meeting and physical attraction didn’t matter that much.
‘We’d both been on dating apps and were bored of them and things were fake, once we started talking, that seemed a lot more important than that physical attraction.’
Mrs Edwards and her new husband, who works in broadcasting, met online on dating app Bumble and instantly hit it off.
Mr Edwards was due to marry in March last year, but his fiancee left him four weeks before the wedding.
Sarah Elliott, 34, and Paul Edwards, 36, at their marriage in Las Vegas in the US. They first matched online on December 15
Mr Edwards places the engagement ring on his soon to be wife’s finger. He told how he was due to marry in March last year, but his fiancee left him four weeks before the wedding
He said it had taken him ‘quite a while to get back to who I am’ after he was said to have been jilted by Teri Shurety, 29, a month before their planned wedding in March – allegedly leaving him £20,000 out of pocket.
Miss Shurety, who runs a pet services firm in Farnham, Surrey, had posted on Facebook on March 10 last year: ‘A year to the day I get to marry my best friend!’
Talking about his previous bad experience, Mr Edwards claimed: ‘My fiance left me four weeks before the wedding so that was £20,000 down the drain and I didn’t get a penny of it back. It’s taken me quite a while to get back to who I am.’
Meanwhile, Mrs Edwards broke up with her ex in February – however they are still living together, but are in the process of selling the house they own.
Paul Edwards, pictured with his ex-fiance Teri Shurety, who he was due to marry in March
She said: ‘I saw his profile, thought he looked nice and loved what he had written about being open and honest.
‘When we matched, I sent him a message.
‘I thought it was funny that his name was Paul as I currently share a house with two other people called Paul – so I said: ‘I’ve already got two Paul’s in my life, why not add a third?’
‘He replied to my message saying: ‘Apparently the third Paul is always the best and I don’t have a Sarah in my life so I guess that would make you number one.’
‘We spoke on the phone on Saturday night for two-and-a-half hours and then again on Sunday morning for an hour-and-a-half.
‘Sunday evening we were chatting away on the phone and calling each other for three hours.
‘I can’t remember who brought it up, but one of us said: “We get on so well – maybe we should get married”.
‘The other one went: “Yeah, maybe we should” and it literally spiralled from there.
‘There was a moment between us where we both thought: “We totally could do this. How amazing would it be if we got married on our first date?”
Miss Shurety, who runs a pet services firm in Farnham, had posted on Facebook on March 10 last year: ‘A year to the day I get to marry my best friend!’ But the wedding never happened
The couple get to know each other after their first meeting at Gatwick Airport
‘By Monday morning – three days after we’d first started talking – we’d agreed to get married. We both just thought: “Let’s do this”.’
Sarah knew the idea was ‘crazy’ but has decided to let her heart rule over her head.
She said: ‘I know it’s totally crazy – hardly any of my friends are supporting me, in fact, a lot of them are disowning me.
‘I haven’t told my family yet. As they’re on the other side of the world we don’t talk as often as we should.’
Father-of-two Mr Edwards, from Chichester, West Sussex, has two daughters aged 13 and 15.
Mr Edwards said: ‘There was no awkwardness it was very natural.
‘We continued the next day – chatting for two hours in the morning and two hours in the evening.
The couple take a selfie with the ring on the flight from London Gatwick to Las Vegas
The newlyweds both met at the airport in their wedding gear before boarding a plane to Las Vegas (left) and (right) one of the early text messages between the pair in which one writes: Let’s get married then’
‘We talked about our past experiences and what we wanted in the future – and I really opened up to her, more than I have with anyone before.
‘I felt a very strong connection from that moment. We decided to video chat so we knew we were real people.
‘I think the whole idea came about because I asked her what she was doing for Christmas.
‘She told me she thought she was going to a friend’s house but she wasn’t too sure.
‘I said I’d probably be doing the same as my family are all away in Egypt over Christmas.
‘I said to her: “How about we have our first date on Christmas Day? I’ll come and meet you”. She said: “That sounds really nice”.
‘Then I had another light bulb moment and suggested: ‘How about we go away on holiday for our first date?’ Life’s too short.
‘The subject of marriage came up and Sarah said: “I have always thought about going on that program where couples get married at first sight”.
Mrs Edwards sits down for a drink after meeting her soon to be husband at Gatwick Airport
The couple, seen here chatting before they boarded the plane, say they couldn’t be better suited to one another
‘I laughed and said: “Let’s get married then”. She said: “Don’t tempt me”. But later that day she called me and said: “I’ve bought the wedding dress”.
‘I said: “Are you serious?” and she told me: “If I say something I mean it”.
‘She asked me if I still wanted to get married and I thought: “Yeah, why not?” I couldn’t imagine anyone being better suited to me.’ It’s absolutely mental.
‘We just carried on talking and planning and deciding where we could go and get married at such short notice.
‘We looked at the Caribbean, New York and Las Vegas and Vegas just seemed to stick, it’s the place to run away and elope.
‘I was supposed to get married in March this year, but everything happens for a reason – I’m a true believer in that.
Mrs Edwards has been married before, but it only lasted for six months.
The new couple moments after they tied the knot. They are now hoping to move in together when they get back to the UK – but she still lives with her ex partner, and they are in the process of selling their house
- Do you know the couple? Please email: alexander.robertson@mailonline.co.uk