Welsh couple elope in Scilly after Facebook plea

A couple from south Wales have been married in the Isles of Scilly after appealing for witnesses to attend their wedding.

Teilo Richardson and Julia Collins, from Barry, eloped in Hugh Town, St Mary's, after deciding they did not want any fuss.

Mr Richardson told BBC Radio Cornwall: "We booked a stay here about a year ago and then about five weeks ago we just decided, shall we get married?"

Without any family in the Scilly Isles, the couple needed witnesses to formalise the union, so they sent out a plea on Facebook.

The newlyweds said their friends and family thought their surprise announcement was "really funny".

Discussing their reasons for eloping, Mr Richardson said: "We wanted to do something unique and in our own way.

"We didn't want too much fuss.

"A normal wedding would probably take a year to organise and just give us a lot of stress over who we're inviting and who we're not inviting, what we're doing and I think the cost would spiral."

He added: "This was more about the promise made to each other and committing the rest of our lives to each other, rather than pleasing people and spending a lot of money."

Speaking about the Facebook appeal, Mr Richardson said: "It was phenomenal, loads of people were getting in contact offering to be witnesses for us.

"We ended up on settling for a lovely couple, Lizzy and Julian, who happened to be on holiday here."

Ms Collins said of the special day: "It was beautiful.

"We came outside and the cafe next door to the registry office was full of people and someone asked us if we had just got married and the whole cafe gave us a round of applause.

"It was lovely, and it just made my day special."

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