Lessons in Love
Two students got more than just an education at Redbridge College – next month they will be returning to the campus where they first met to celebrate their wedding.
Shirene Torrance-Dodd and Richard Jarvis studied on the same media production course at the college 13 years ago, in 1997. On 4 June, they will be holding their wedding reception in the college’s marquee at the Chadwell Heath campus, as it holds special memories for them.
Their reception will follow an impressive wedding ceremony, organised by Channel Four for a new series called Wedding House, in which a professional team organise everything from the dress to the decorations. There is a twist, however, as although the lucky couple pick the theme, they will not see anything in advance of the big day.
Shirene threw herself into her time at the college, joining the Student Union as communications officer, sitting on the college’s marketing committee, modelling fashion students’ work at the end-of-year show and taking part in a charity trip to Romania, to deliver much-needed supplies to the St Laurence Children’s Hospice in Cernavoda and to film a documentary to inspire more students at Redbridge to support that charity.
After completing their courses in June 1999, the couple began to take the relationship seriously. A few months later, Richard landed a place at Bournemouth University and Shirene decided to sell up and move to America to be with her family and the couple went their separate ways.
The split was temporary, however, as within three weeks Shirene was back in the UK.
She said, “I came back just four days before Christmas, ready to start my life over – I realised I couldn’t live without him.
“We have now been together for 11 years and have three sons. We had planned on a short engagement, but circumstances dictated that we kept putting it off.
“After postponing the wedding for the umpteenth time, we received an email from a TV production company, looking for couples getting married this year. I secretly applied and two weeks later I received a phone call inviting us to an audition. The only stipulation is to pick a themed wedding ceremony – my favourite film is the 1956 version of The King and I, and we decided to base our dream wedding completely around this.
“We are still close friends with some of our class mates from Redbridge College – three of them will be part of our wedding party, and one of our lecturers will be a special guest, so it was only appropriate to bring the whole thing full circle and hold the reception at the college.”
Redbridge College has a range of facilities available to hire, including a marquee, restaurant, sports hall, conference suite and playing fields. Visit www.redbridge-college.ac.uk for full details and rates.
Wedding House will be screened on Channel Four later this year.
