Couple get married after finding 27 reasons not to for over 27 years,

THERE can be countless reasons why a couple decide not to marry – lack of cash, cold feet, even arguments over the seating plan.

But for Denise and Barry Maloney there weren’t countless reasons . . . there were 27.

The couple got engaged almost three decades ago — yet only tied the knot last April.

Denise, 52, says: “Despite planning the day for 27 years, we both still cried with joy.

“We always knew there were so many good reasons to get married, but each year a different problem seemed to come up.

“We felt so emotional when we finally did achieve our big day as we’d almost given in to the fear that we’d never be married.”

The pair first met when Denise spotted Barry, then 18, behind the bar at her local pub in Accrington, Lancashire, in 1983.

After dating for 18 months, Barry popped the question in 1985 and the pair got engaged. They IMMEDIATELY began making wedding plans.

Denise, a horse riding instructor, says: “We wanted to marry as soon as possible, but money was tight.

“Barry’s family wanted a Catholic wedding, but I’m not Catholic and we didn’t fancy a register office.

“After much discussion, we decided it didn’t matter as we were young and didn’t need to marry straight away.”

Soon there was more to distract the couple from wedding plans, after they acquired two neglected horses and a derelict farm.

Denise says: “The stress of doing up the farm often led to rows and our wedding was put on the backburner, but to give ourselves a rest we had yearly holidays.

“Going away together always rekindled our romance… but ate into our wedding budget.”

The couple continued planning how they would tie the knot, only for new problems to arise.

Denise says: “For example, in 2000, we began making plans to marry in Skibo Castle in Scotland, but then Madonna married Guy Ritchie there and we thought people would think we were copying.

“Going to friends’ weddings became poignant, as we seemed to spend every summer toasting other people’s big days.