VIDEO: Love Wins as TV star conducts Leeds Pride wedding prize at Victoria Leeds
Happy couple Ryan Clay and Ben Bagshaw won the rainbow themed ceremony in a money-can't-buy Love Wins competition organised by the iconic shopping destination to celebrate Leeds Pride and the LGBTQ+ community.
The prize - also promoting the venue's special offers app available at www.victorialeeds.co.uk/plus - included outfits for the grooms, a champagne reception at Harvey Nichols, an extra-special wedding meal for the couple and 20 of their closest friends and family at The Ivy and wedding bands by Philip Stoner.
The wedding held on Leeds Pride at the Victoria Gate venue in Vicar Lane was conducted by TV's Naked Attraction host, Anna, who grew up in the city.
Anna explained how it was as much as a surprise for the grooms as shoppers to be at the first ever wedding ceremony at Victoria Leeds - as they only entered the competition three weeks earlier.
Judges picked them after entrants were asked to explain why they should win and what makes the perfect couple.
Anna said: "You only need to look around you to see that this is no ordinary wedding. We are in the gorgeous Victoria Quarter and it's first ever ceremony and it's probably as much of a surprise for Ben and Ryan as it is for all of you lot, particular if you're out shopping.
"Just three weeks ago Ryan saw an advert on Facebook for the Victoria Leeds and Love Wins competition which offered local couples the chance to win a money can't buy wedding in this beautiful venue. Ryan entered. All he needed to do was write about his love for Ben."
She added: "Leeds Pride is a day where the people of Yorkshire turn out to show their support and their respect for the LGBTQI community and to celebrate in the name of love - to show that love knows no boundaries, but love wins and we are gathered here for exactly that same purpose to celebrate the love between Ryan and Ben.
Ryan told how they had been together for almost 14 years and engaged for 13 of them.
He said: "In the beginning we wanted nothing more than to get married. Nothing big or flashy. Just to commit our love for each other.
"Various things have happened in our lives since then and we've had to put the wedding on the back burner. I think my partner thinks that I've completely forgotten about it or that I'm just not interested in the wedding, as we've now been together so long, but it's actually the opposite.
"A wedding commits our love after all of these years to look forward to our future as best friends, soul mates and husbands."
Jo Coburn, general manager at Victoria Leeds, said: “We are big supporters of our local community and always get involved with Leeds Pride. In past years, we’ve installed a rainbow crossing, hosted an art exhibition and provided a space for the official Pride mural. This year we wanted to make it extra special by helping to make one lucky couple’s dream come true.
“We’ve been truly impressed by the heartfelt nature of every entry we received."
* Whether it’s a VIP ticket to exciting events, an exclusive offer for your favourite brand, an amazing prize draw or brand new feature, Style Seeker, you can get it all with the Victoria Leeds PLUS app. Download for free and see what PLUS has in store for you - CLICK HERE.