A NURSE who is feeling “every emotion” will carry on her family's 96 year wedding tradition when she marries her “best friend” in the same church as her relatives.
Olivia Rayner, 24, and Ben Penney, 26, from Colchester, will tie the knot at St James the Less Catholic Church on July 15 in front of roughly 70 guests.
In choosing the Priory Street venue to solidify their relationship, Olivia will continue a heart-warming family tradition which started nearly 100 years ago.
Back in 1926, her great-grandparents Florence Cracknell and Jack Andrews walked down the aisle in the exact same church.
Then, 30 years later, on Boxing Day, Olivia’s followed suit when they committed to each other in the same setting.
The hat trick was then completed in the May of 1983 when her parents Maria Andrews and Martyn Rayner also married at St James the Less Catholic Church.
Olivia, who will now become the fourth generation of the family to wed at the venue, said: “My mum suggested it and then we had to go there for my grandad’s funeral.
“We just fell in love with it because the priest was so brilliant and welcoming and he just made it feel like home, and the memories of my family are still there.
“I think it would be nice if we had children for them to also marry there but that would be up to them, but it would be lovely to keep the tradition going.”
Olivia and Ben, who is studying for a physiotherapy degree at the University of Essex, first got together six years ago in May 2016.
Ben proposed in April 2019 during a trip to Brussels before the pair embarked on a domestic life together when they moved into their Colchester home.
“I do not know how to put it into words but it is surreal and exciting and I am just feeling every emotion,” added Olivia when speaking about the big day.
“It is weird because it should be relaxed by I also feel stressed at the same time – you know nothing will change but then at the same time everything is going to change.
“But Ben is literally my best friend. He is larger than life and always the life and soul of the party – he is just a genuine guy.”
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