Woman 'freaked out' by what she saw after arriving at Manchester Airport

A self-proclaimed "old romantic" surprised his girlfriend with a mystery holiday to Barbados, where he proposed and organised a surprise wedding just three days later.

Adam Blakey, 40, from Blackpool, took his partner of seven years, Victoria, 41, to the Caribbean island under the guise of celebrating his 40th birthday. In reality, he had planned a proposal and wedding without her knowledge.

The surprises began at Manchester Airport when Adam brought along Victoria's parents, who hadn't left the country in over 15 years. The couple continued to stun their loved ones when they returned home as newlyweds.

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Adam chose Barbados to honour Victoria's Caribbean heritage. He proposed on the beach outside their hotel, surrounded by roses arranged in a heart shape, and they married at the same spot days later.

Adam, who was previously married, had intended to marry Victoria sooner. However, finalising his divorce took seven years, a process further delayed by the pandemic.

He said he wanted to relieve his partner of the stress of wedding planning as a thank you for her patience.

Adam, who began planning his wedding in early January 2024, just a week after his divorce was finalised, shared with PA Real Life: "I always knew that I wanted to marry her, but the topic of marriage was a difficult conversation, and she was so patient about it."

He added, "I was trying to reassure her (the divorce) was lengthy due to problems in it, but she was so patient with the whole process that it made me love her even more."

Adam didn't want to delay their happiness, saying, "I did not want to be in a long, drawn (out) engagement for years and years where she's going to wait for her dream wedding because she's already waiting."

Determined to make things perfect, he said, "I wanted to plan the whole wedding for her so that all she has to do is basically say yes, and then everything from there happens."

Every year, Adam surprises Victoria with a holiday, keeping the destination a secret. This time, he blindfolded her to secretly bring her parents to the airport, explaining, "She thought she was going away in April for my 40th birthday,".

Adam, describing himself as an old romantic, said, "I'm a bit of an old romantic so I always take her away, but she never knows where she's going."

Reflecting on their unique travel tradition, he revealed, "When we actually went away, she wasn't surprised by the fact that she didn't know because for seven years that's all we've done, and we've travelled and done some crazy stuff."

He concluded with a smile, "When we got to the airport she was blindfolded and she genuinely thought it was just part of the process. She didn't think of anything like that.

"She took the blindfold off and she saw her mum and dad at the airport and she absolutely freaked out."

Adam arranged for his wife's parents to join them in Barbados, a surprise Victoria described as "the best surprise you could ever do in your whole life".

"All of us were sitting there thinking, 'just wait a couple of days'," Adam shared.

The couple spent a day swimming with sea turtles, exploring shipwrecks and sailing on a catamaran before Adam's sea sickness and nerves kicked in ahead of his proposal on April 14 which also happened to be his 40th birthday.

He proposed on the beach, surrounded by roses shaped into a heart, recalling: "We were walking along, it was all lit up and all of the lights were positioned so that it really made the heart shape pop."

"The candles created a romantic atmosphere, the sea was just at the perfect distance not too close, but its sound was audible in the background."

"There were steel drummers playing nearby, adding to the ambiance. It was absolutely perfect. It felt like a scene from a movie. It was magical."

While the proposal may have caught Victoria off guard, the revelation that Adam had already planned their wedding to take place just days later caused even more astonishment.

"In the wedding proposal I said, 'Look, I've been planning this whole thing for the last three months and our whole wedding day in two days' time' and then she just freaks out," he revealed.

"But she's in on the plan then."

Adam initially hoped to tie the knot with his partner the day after popping the question, on April 15, but a local wedding dress shop suggested they allow time for Victoria's dress alterations.

The couple exchanged vows on the same beach in a cosy ceremony attended by Victoria's parents and about 15 hotel guests who got wind of the nuptials and wished to participate, on April 17.

Adam shared: "The craziest thing that happened over there, believe it or not, was on the day of the wedding. Her nan's favourite song was Somewhere Over The Rainbow, so we had that playing on the steel drums as she was walking down the aisle.

"Barbados that day had a sun halo. They've never had one before. It's a perfect rainbow around the sun, which was just crazy and that's what she walked down the aisle to. It was just meant to be, obviously.

"It was just incredible, we all couldn't believe it."

In a playful twist, Adam orchestrated a "surprise within a surprise" for their homecoming, having arranged a party with their nearest and dearest under the pretence of celebrating his 40th birthday, only to unveil their marital status.

He revealed: "I planned a big surprise 40th birthday for me. I got my parents and her parents involved to plan.

"Everyone was thinking they were coming to my 40th as well as Vic's birthday, but then we walked in and surprised them with actually being married.

"It was like a surprise within a surprise within a surprise, which is just crazy."

The couple, who have been an item for seven years after swiping right on Tinder, saw Adam realise pretty quickly that Victoria was the one.

He shared: "She was my 'Tinderella', she always says."

"I knew I wanted to marry her from day one, genuinely. I was head over heels and it just worked. When you know, you know."

Adam, aware that Victoria wouldn't be part of the wedding prep, decided to document every moment for her.

"Because she wasn't involved in the planning stages, which she's very thankful for because it's so stressful, I wanted to record the whole thing for her so she could watch it back and see every step from me going to ask her mum and dad's permission, to going into the ring shop, suits, and everything in between," he explained.

Their journey has since gone viral on TikTok, with a clip showing their parents' reaction to the surprise racking up nearly 40,000 views.

"If money was never an object, we'd love to gift someone else the gift of a secret wedding," Adam mused.

For more on their story, check out: www.tiktok.com/@thesecretweddinghq.

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