THURLESTONE was the venue of a very special service, as residents Sarah and Simon Hurrell had their marriage blessed.

Sarah and Simon had their marriage blessed in All Saints Church, before a reception at the Village Hall, on the weekend of their 29th wedding anniversary, Saturday, February 20.

The couple married 29 years before in Plymouth, after meeting while Sarah was a chambermaid at the Thurlestone Hotel and Simon was a local lad in the village. Since then, the couple have had three children and two grandchildren.

Sarah’s dad Sam Kent was there to walk his daughter down the aisle for the second time, and her mum Lin and Simon’s dad Peter Hurrell shared their special day too.

The couple’s two daughters Charlotte and Katie, daughter-in-law Amy, and friends Tammy and Mandy acted as bridesmaids for Sarah while son Tom took up the Best Man duties.

Their grandsons Hendrix and Owen were pageboys and Simon’s friends Pete and Wilf were groomsmen.

Friend Lynne Fuller sang Sarah and her dad into the church with ‘A Thousand Years’ by Christina Perri and the couple had their (second) first dance to ‘When a Man Loves a Woman’ by Percy Sledge, the same song they danced to as a newly married couple in 1987.

Their friend Sheila Cunningham made the cake and Jenny Scott of Flowerz Photography captured the day with photos, which she expertly managed to turn around to be shown on a big screen later in the day, along with photos of Sarah and Simon from last 29 years.

Simon’s brother Michael Hurrell also made it all the way from Melbourne in Australia to be with the couple on their big day.

Mark Lapthorn, South West Event Bars provided the bar in the village hall and the family rallied round to put on the catering.

Sarah has recently been the inspiration for a couple of local charity events to raise money for POOCH, Plymouth Oncology, Outreach and CHemotherapy: Sarah’s Wheelbarrow Challenge and the Coastal Barrel Run.

She wanted to show anyone in the same situation that ’it can be done’.

The HoneyRose Foundation, a charity that grants wishes to adults fighting life-threatening illnesses, helped to organise the day and donated the stunning 1950s dress that Sarah wore.