Couple wed 63 years after being banned from marrying by parents

A couple forced to call off their engagement as the bride’s parents did not approve have tied the knot nearly 65 years later.

Davy Moakes, 86, and Helen Andre, 82, met and fell in love at art college and he proposed in 1951.

His fiancee’s parents refused to give their blessing, fearing he would struggle to provide for his family if he became an artist – and the wedding was scrapped two years later.

But after five marriages between them, the pair were reunited last year with the help of Miss Andre’s daughter Debbie Williams, and finally married in a register office in Ripley, Derbyshire, on Friday.

Talking from their honeymoon in Cyprus, the new Mrs Moakes said: ‘I couldn’t be happier – all my dreams have come true.

‘When I was 19 and my mother and father stopped me marrying him I was heartbroken … They wanted to decide who I married, not me. They were quite Victorian like that.

‘I have loved Davy my whole life, but now I’ve got him. I’m enjoying every minute of it. I feel like a teenager again, it really is like nothing’s changed.’

Mr Moakes agreed with his new wife, saying: ‘It’s so strong, the love between us. Even after all this time, it still feels the same. It’s just perfect, it’s just how it was.’

- Daily Mail