Bristol bride follows in family footsteps

A bride has married in the same church her parents did some 32 years earlier.

Heather Flinders, 25, wanted to follow in the footsteps of her mum and dad, Glyn and Jane, as well as other family members who tied the knot in St John's Church in Keynsham.

So even though she and her fiance, Glen Tavener, 32, live in Kingswood, they decided to have the ceremony at St John's in order to follow tradition and bring back happy memories for past brides and grooms who returned to join the congregation to wish the newly weds the best of luck.

Heather, a sales manager, also wanted the wedding photographer to recreate the pictures of her parents in the same locations their photographer had captured them in 1977.

But unfortunately this weekend's bad weather was against outdoor photos and they all had to be taken inside the church instead.

Heather, who wore a champagne coloured strapless dress with a long train, said: "The rain stopped when I got to the church but it was a bit windy. I always loved the photos of my parents getting married – they show them, a bit of Keynsham and a bit of the church. There is space either side of one photo of them for one of me getting married, and one of my sister, so I thought it would be a nice idea.

"It's not a bad thing to follow in their footsteps, they have had a happy marriage.

"My grandparents and my mum's brother and sister also got married at the same church. I think it's nice for everyone to share memories of the same place."

Mr Flinders, 57, a vehicle leasing broker, and Mrs Flinders, 55, a receptionist, lived in Keynsham when they married but later moved to Emersons Green.

They have another daughter, Paula, who was one of three bridesmaids at Heather's wedding.

Mr Flinders said: "What Heather decided to do was very touching. It is something she has spoken about since she was a little girl.

"Looking at the photos we have around the house, she said from a young age she wanted to do the same as us and she has kept her word."

After the wedding, the newly weds had a reception at the Mercure hotel in Redcliffe Street, Bristol.

They will be flying off to Cuba for their honeymoon tomorrow and will return in time for Glen, 32, a fire extinguisher engineer, to have a plaster cast removed from his arm.

He broke his wrist recently playing football and had a new cast made in navy blue to match the dresses worn by the bridesmaids.