It was a ‘dairy tale’ romance for one couple who tied the knot after falling in love – when their eyes met in the milk aisle of a Sainsbury’s supermarket.
Lovebirds Anna, 41, and Paul Preston, 61, were both going through a difficult time when they reached for the same bottle of milk while they were shopping in November 2012.
The pair, who had never met before, laughed off the incident but decided to go for a coffee in the supermarket’s cafe after they kept bumping into each other in every aisle.
After talking for over an hour-and-a-half they realised they had hit it off and swapped numbers which led to them going out for a meal a couple of weeks later.
The couple quickly fell for each other and Anna moved in with Paul at his home in Glenfield, Leicester, seven months later in June 2013.
Romantic dad-of-two Paul, who also has four grandchildren, then decided to propose in the very same Sainsbury’s where they had met in August last year.
He originally planned to pop the question in the milk aisle of the supermarket in Fosse Park, Leicester, but Anna spoilt the big moment by walking off with the trolley.
Paul eventually ended up proposing outside in the car park as they unloaded their shopping into the car and a delighted Anna said yes.
The pair tied the knot in front of 50 family members and friends at a hotel in Quorn, Leics., on May 1 this year.
Anna’s auntie even read out a cheeky poem from the team at the Sainsbury’s supermarket where they met during her speech on the big day.
Waitress Anna, who has two daughters Mollie, 20, and Chloe, 18, from a previous relationship, said: “Paul and I were both shopping on the same evening.
“He was in a dark place because he had recently lost his wife to cancer so he was going through a tough time and I had recently through a breakdown of my marriage.
“I was mooching down the dairy aisle and as I reached down to grab the milk somebody snatched it out of my hand.”
“I looked around and there was this tall man looking at me with a cheeky grin and he said ‘that was my bottle don’t you realise’.
“I didn’t know whether to hit him or smile and I ended up giggling like mad and it was just something I hadn’t done for so long.
“After that I moved on and it seemed every time I came in to an aisle he was coming up the same one.
“After the third time he said ‘why don’t we go off and have a coffee’ so we went off to the cafe; upstairs and sat there for over an hour-and-a-half.
“It was lovely, it really was. We both were going through a tough time so we shared our experiences and bonded over that.
“After we left we swapped numbers and ended up going for a meal a few weeks later and he just wooed me from there. We just gelled and it progress really quickly.”
Paul, who has two daughters Clare, 39, and Emma, 37, from his first wife, said he decided to propose in the supermarket where the couple met because it “felt right”.
The area sales manager said: “We had talked about it for quite a while and Anna knew I had ordered the ring and was asking me when I was going to do it.
“I thought about doing it at the supermarket because we still went there every week and I knew she would find it funny but also think it felt right.
“The plan was to do it in the dairy aisle by the milk but as I turned around to get the ring out of my pocket Anna had whisked the trolley off and was saying ‘come on, let’s keep going’.
“So I had to quickly put it in my pocket and eventually decided it would be easier to do it in the car park before we left.”
Anna added: “We asked Sainsbury’s to provide us with a poem for the wedding but we were surprised when they arranged for the hamper to be given to us as well.
“We always shop there together. Every time we walk down the dairy aisle Paul holds up a bottle of milk and makes a joke.
“He always tells other customers that we met there but I don’t think they believe him.”
The couple went on a honeymoon to the Lake District after their wedding and have also planned to go abroad in August.
