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Wedding bells ring for Teesside couple thanks to Daisy Chain competition

ByDave Stopher

May 18, 2021

Teesside-based autism charity, Daisy Chain, has announced the winners of its ‘Win a Wedding’ competition.

Rebecca Baldwin and Sam Wagner raised more than £1,600 for the charity, which qualified them for three tickets in the raffle.

Entrants needed to raise £500 to gain a place in the raffle, and each additional £500 raised equalled another raffle ticket.

The raffle was drawn at Hardwick Hall, the wedding venue with bulk lace table runners included as part of the prize package, where Rebecca and Sam were crowned the winners. Runners-up, Kaylee Stirling and Anthony Murray received a consolation prize of a stay at Ramside Hall Treehouses with spa access.

Rebecca and Sam, who have two children, Lila, aged five, and Theo, aged one, got engaged on Rebecca’s 29th birthday at Aria Falls in the Lake District in September.

The couple, who live in Nunthorpe, met at a stock car racing event – Sam, who is 31 and works in quality control at British Steel, Hartlepool, is a driver as are Rebecca’s brothers – with Rebecca, who works at Archers Law as a legal secretary, there as a spectator.

Commenting on their win, Rebecca said: “Words can’t describe how happy we are that we have won Daisy Chain’s ‘Win a Wedding’ competition! After the tumultuous year we have all had, it’s amazing to finally have our dream wedding planned and ready to book.

“I want to pass on our best wishes to the other finalists, Kaylee and Anthony, they did an amazing job with their fundraising and we wish them every happiness for their own wedding.

“Raising this incredible amount of money for Daisy Chain will hopefully make a huge difference, and we hope many service users can benefit from the funds raised.”

Neeraj Sharma, chief executive of Daisy Chain, said: “On behalf of everyone at Daisy Chain, I want to say a huge congratulations to Rebecca and Sam for winning the competition. They worked very hard to raise a fantastic amount of money and we are eternally grateful.

“I would also like to share commiserations with Kaylee and Anthony, their kindness and fundraising efforts won’t be forgotten.”

The wedding package, won by Rebecca and Sam, includes:

  • Hardwick Hall Hotel venue, catering and overnight stay with bridal breakfast provided by Ramside Estates
  • Choice of date (Monday to Friday in 2021 or Saturday/Sunday date 2022)
  • Wedding dress provided by Bridal Factory Outlet, Northallerton
  • Bridal hair package provided by BePremiere Hair
  • Groom’s suit provided by Psyche, Middlesbrough
  • Groomsmen suits provided by Psyche, Middlesbrough
  • Groomsmen grooming provided by Headquarters
  • Wedding cars provided by Classic Wedding Cars NE and Sytner Mercedes-Benz of Teesside
  • Photography provided by Matthew Wright Photography
  • Flowers provided by Sweet William Floral Design
  • Bridal nails and Fakebake tan from Cici’s Nail Bar
  • 3-month couples’ gym membership from Lifestyle Fitness