A TEEN romance that blossomed at Dunster Beach is all set for a happy ending thanks to the county council’s Registration Service.

Bishops Lydeard couple Laura Payne and Shaun Pilbrow made a spur of the moment decision to enter the service’s competition to win a wedding – and their answer to the question ‘Why do you want to #SayIDoInSomerset’ proved the winner.

Explaining their winning answer, Laura said: “We’re country bumpkins at heart. We love walking on the Quantocks and being near our family. It’s great living somewhere people are so friendly.”

The Registration Service teamed up with Taunton-based Who Is Benjamin Photography offering a wedding ceremony and photography package for a couple and up to 100 guests in the Tudor Hall at Taunton Register Office. 

The Facebook competition was launched in November, and Laura and Shaun, who have two daughters, decided to enter.

They first met as teenagers at Dunster Beach where Shaun’s family owned a holiday business and Laura got a job selling ice creams. They dated for a while but lost touch when Shaun moved to London.

Years later, they got back in touch and have now been together for 12 years and engaged for six. But they never quite found the time to marry. They had set a vague date for next year and started saving. Then Laura spotted the competition.