Woman surprises partner with wedding after dating for 17 years

A woman organised a surprise wedding between herself and her partner on February 29, after dating for 17 years.

The bride Vanessa Wills said she couldn't quite put her finger on why this date which made the leap year the perfect date to get married to partner, Peter Wills.

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"For some reason I looked at the calendar and went, 'oh it's a leap year next year'," she said.

Wills went ahead to organise a surprise wedding for her guests and of course the groom on Monday.

The bride and groom had decided to be 'eternally engaged' after their first marriages failed.

She said of the biggest challenges of organising a secret wedding was sizing up Peter's finger for the perfect wedding ring fit.

Wills said she would attempt to put the ring on Peter's finger while he slept so she could return it back to be sized approximately.

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On their big day, one hour before the guests arrived, his best man who was also in on the surprise had driven the groom to the wedding venue at Onaero Domain in Taranaki.

"He said, 'I hear you've been asking your lovely girlfriend to marry you for the last 14 years' and then he said 'you're getting married in an hour'."

Peter said he wouldn't have had it any other way, as his bride-to-be had organised all his favourite things from the food, to the XJ6 Jaguar she arrived in.

"All my likes in life were out there," the happy groom said.

The couple who lived together for seven years are honeymooning at Rarotonga in Cook Islands.

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"It's a story to tell the grandkids.

"For seven years, he and I have been together 24/7. We get on amazing," the new Mrs Wills said.

"We're a bloody good team," the newlyweds said.