London - As he posed for a holiday snap on the beach, six-year-old Nick Wheeler paid no attention to the little girl making sandcastles a few yards away.
It was only when he showed his fiancee Aimee Maiden the photograph 20 years later that she pointed at the five-year-old in a swimsuit and shrieked in astonishment: “That’s me!”
The pair lived hundreds of miles apart when the picture was taken in 1994, yet fate determined that they would meet and fall in love at sixth form college, 11 years later.
Last weekend the 26-year-old soldier and 25-year-old teacher were back at the same beach – as the new Mr and Mrs Wheeler.
Their remarkable story began when the young Nick and his family went on holiday to Mousehole in Cornwall, more than 300 miles from their home in Kent.
They had chosen a spot on the beach next to Aimee and her family, who lived in the tiny fishing village. As Nick built a boat-shaped sandcastle, Aimee was playing with her bucket and spade a few yards away – unaware that she featured in a photograph that her future in-laws would look at unsuspectingly for 20 years.
Mr Wheeler’s family moved to Newlyn in Cornwall the following year but the pair did not meet until they attended the same sixth form college in Truro.
They had no idea they had been so close to meeting as children until they became engaged and were looking through old family albums at his grandfather’s house. When they came across the photograph of the young Nick in the sand with his sister and cousins, his fiancee suddenly recognised herself in the background.
She explained the unbelievable coincidence: “The photo was taken by Nick’s grandad. Nick is sitting front right in the boat with his sister and two cousins and his family, his mum, uncle and nan are to the right and behind them. To the left and behind his cousin, I’m in the blue swimsuit with my mum, dad and sister.
“What makes it even more significant was that, although I was brought up in Mousehole, Nick and his family didn’t even live in Cornwall at the time.
“He and his family were down on holiday from Kent and didn’t move down permanently to Newlyn until a year later.”
Friends and family were amazed when they were shown the photograph with the remarkable story.
The couple posed for a new photo at the same spot and last Saturday were married at Gulval Church in Mousehole, only a short distance from where the picture had been taken 20 years earlier.
They are off to Florida for their honeymoon but have promised to frame the photograph as soon as they get back.
The new Mrs Wheeler said: “It’s probably something we should do. The honeymoon is a great chance for a bit of quality time together. Nick is often away for months at a time on tours of duty in places like Kenya and Jordan, and as soon as we get back from honeymoon he is off to Canada for two and half months.” - Daily Mail