Wedding planners

TOP prize . . . Paul and Joanne can now look forward to a dream wedding

Big day dream now a reality for lovebirds who beat the odds

Lovebirds Paul Dean and Joanne Mayall can look forward to their dream wedding after winning a national competition.

The Royton sweethearts will finally get to exchange vows after years of disappointment.

Paul (39) proposed to 35-year-old Joanne within weeks of their first meeting after the pair made initial contact in an internet chatroom in 2003. He moved to Oldham from Nottingham.

But wedding plans had to be put on hold when they both fell seriously ill.

Paul was diagnosed with diverticular disease, which affects the large intestine. He was told he would need surgery. While Paul was being treated, Joanne was told she had bowel cancer.

She had surgery to remove a tumour straight away.

But Joanne contracted septicaemia which led doctors to discover more tumours. Further surgery forced doctors to remove all her reproductive organs which meant he couple could never have children.

A third bout of surgery saw the pair spend Christmas, 2007, at the Royal Oldham Hospital where Joanne had a full pelvic clearance, including the removal of her bladder, during a six-hour operation. She then contracted MRSA three times while she was recovering.

A post-op scan showed new tumours in her bowel which had spread to her lungs. She now has to undergo scans every six weeks.

Years of illness meant that every time the couple made wedding plans they had to be scrapped.

They entered a competition in the Sunday People to win a £10,000 dream wedding. This time their luck changed and they won.

The prize includes clothes, hair and make-up, photography, flowers, Rolls Royce transport, rings, cakes, invitations and chocolates.

The pair will also be whisked to Paphos in Cyprus for a luxury honeymoon.

Paul said: “We are so used to dealing with bad news that when this bit of good news came along we didn’t know how to handle it.

“We are overwhelmed with all the support we have had since we first appeared in the Chronicle and we have got in touch with a lot of old friends.

“Strangers have also contacted us to pass on really heartfelt, touching messages and it means so much to Joanne and I.

“We really want to thank everyone who voted for us.

“We didn’t want to make any plans before in case we didn’t win but now we can start to really get stuck in and look forward to the wedding of our dreams.”