Refugees who met at Regency Park Hotel in Thatcham get married

Two refugees, in West Berkshire, have married.

Sahar and Tirdad met as asylum seekers in Thatcham over a year ago.

Both fled their homes in Iran and became friends while living at the Regency Park Hotel.

The pair got to know each other and their friendship blossomed into love.

But – during this time – conversations were being had about asylum seekers being moved onto different hotels in different parts of the country.

The couple decided they needed to do something about their relationship while still in the same town.

And so they got married on Sunday, December 10 at Thatcham Baptist Church.

Despite having no home, little to no money and an uncertain future – Sunday was a day “filled with joy”.

“It was very sweet,” said lead volunteer at West Berkshire Action for Refugees (WBAR) Karen Reeve.

“They didn’t know each other, they met in the hotel and they started having a friendship.

“That blossomed, which we were well aware of.

“It was probably a few weeks ago that they talked to their families and said that they did want it to be more than that.

“Then the increasing news about the hotel closing put some urgency to it.”

The organising was led by the Baptist Church with some help from the refugee charity.

Donations came in after WBAR put an appeal out for wedding dresses.

Flowers and sparkling non-alcoholic wine were also donated and the church put on a meal for them.

As wedding dress offers came through, Sahar put two together to create an outfit that she was comfortable with.

However, on the morning of the wedding Sahar and Tirdad got notifications that they would be moving from the hotel the following Tuesday.

And at separate places.

“They decided not to worry about it,” Ms Reeve said.

“The church was full. There had to be a good couple hundred people at the wedding including people from the hotel, volunteers from the church, myself and some of their English tutors.

“We had a day full of joy then the next day they started ringing migrant help.

“We had a couple of phone conversations but didn’t get any answer.”

When Tuesday arrived, many refugees had bags packed and were waiting for their names to be called out to get onto buses.

As Tirdad’s name was called, he found out he would, in fact, be getting on one bus and his wife another.

He spoke up and said he was “not going anywhere without my wife”.

Ms Reeve added: “It was very sweet and very moving.

“The housing staff [who were calling out names] had a little huddle but didn’t know what to do.

“They called a couple of other names and then came back to him.

“And he said no, I am not leaving without my wife.

“The staff went inside and said ok you can go with her instead.”

She added: “So when they want to sort it they can sort it, clearly. It is doable.

“Because all through these moves they have treated them like numbers on a page.”

Sahar and Tirdad now live together – in a hotel – in Reading.