Dawson and Sanderson travel consultant Sarah Atherton has been chosen as the lucky winner of the Win a Wedding at Sea competition.
Sarah will get a glamorous wedding worth £25,000 courtesy of Princess Cruises. However, there is one catch: Travel Weekly readers will be her wedding planners.
Over the coming weeks, readers will have the chance to vote on different elements of the big day, from the dress and bouquet, to the couple’s wedding feast.
Round one voting opens at noon May 14 when readers can pick the ship and the destination at www.travelweekly.co.uk/nauticalnuptials.
Sarah, 24, and her partner David Kyrianou, 27, who live in Hull, have been together for nearly two years. They met in London while she was working as cabin crew for Virgin Atlantic and he was on an IT course.
Sarah, who has been working in travel since she was 17, said: “We thought we would have to wait until 2011 to get married because David is working in retail on part-time hours due to the recession. I thought I’d give it a go but I never imagined I would win.
“I hope the travel agents are nice to me, but I’m not worried because they have got good taste. This is my first proper cruise, so it’s extra exciting.”
Sarah’s entry caught the judges’ attention because her wedding plans were being hampered by the recession.
She wrote: “Choose us to say I do, credit crunch is making us blue, the stylish Princess venue is our dream come true.”
Princess Cruises head of brand marketing Pieter van der Schee said: “We are very pleased with the incredible response we received. There are many agents whose wedding plans have been put on hold due to the economic climate and this has stimulated great creativity from agents who want to keep romance alive.
“We congratulate Sarah as our Princess bride and hope her industry colleagues will choose a wonderful wedding for her.”
- Be sure to cast your vote at www.travelweekly.co.uk/nauticalnuptials
- First round voting closes at 6pm Wednesday May 21; second round voting opens at noon Thursday May 22