Your Life - 07/04/11 - Couple win wedding (Pic: Carl Fox)Each time Paul Webb saw the girl behind the counter in his local shop he tried, and failed to pluck up the courage to ask her out.
Only when he was almost killed in a terrible car crash did he finally confess his secret crush to Rachel Pettyfer. Now, three years later, the couple are about to walk down the aisle – all thanks to the Daily Mirror.
After three years together Paul, 28, popped the question on New Year’s Eve last year but the couple feared it would be years before they could ever afford to get hitched.

Then they saw our competition to win a wedding worth nearly £10,000. Now the couple are gearing up for their big day, to be held the same week Prince William and Kate Middleton tie the knot at Westminster Abbey.
“I couldn’t believe it when we heard we’d won”, says Rachel, 23. “I’d no idea Paul had even entered so it was a huge surprise but a good one.
Paul adds: “Neither of us earns a lot and we’d talked about whether to save for a house or save for a wedding, and we knew both would take a really long time to save for.
“Way before I proposed I knew I wanted to marry Rachel, but I didn’t know how I was going to give her the wedding she deserves. I didn’t think I’d win because I never win anything, but then I just had this inkling after I’d sent in the letter that we might be lucky.
“I was just hoping that it would be my time and that something this good would happen for us.” Just before they got together Paul was involved in a devastating traffic accident when his car went into a bus near his home in Maylandsea, Essex.
“It was on 11th January 2007”, says Paul. “I was going round an S-bend and my car skidded and I hit a double decker bus head on. I was in intensive care in a controlled coma for a week.
“My injuries were bad. My lungs collapsed and I broke three ribs. I snapped my shin, had a fracture just below the knee, completely cracked my femur in two, and snapped the ball off my right hip. My left kneecap was found down in the foot well.
“I broke some toes and my teeth and jawbones went through my skin. It’s nothing short of a miracle I’m still alive today.
“The doctors said I’m a very lucky boy given what could have happened, obviously it could have been a lot worse. I don’t like to think about it but I could have died in that crash. I know how lucky I am to still be here today and my mum says she’s sure there’s a reason I’m still on this Earth.”
Despite the horror of his ordeal, Paul credits the crash with “saving” him and giving him the courage to go after the things he wanted in life, including Rachel.
“Up until then I’d only known her as the girl who worked in my local shop”, he says. “I used to think how much I liked her because she’s gorgeous but it never seemed the right time to take it further. She didn’t know I fancied her.
“I later found out she liked me but I didn’t know that at the time.”
Rachel adds: “We always used to get on so well. There was something about him. I liked him a lot, we always had a laugh. It wasn’t until after (the accident) we became close.”
But Rachel was in Paul’s mind as he took the slow and painful steps back to health over the next few months.
“I had metal rods hanging out of my leg for a while and was in plaster, and had physiotherapy to learn to walk again which took about seven months,” says Paul.
In January 2008 Paul went back into his local Freshways shop to say hello to Rachel and pluck up the courage to ask her out. “I thought she might still have a boyfriend so I asked her how he was and she said ‘oh we’re not together any more’, ” says Paul.
“I didn’t say anything then because I’m actually quite a shy person. But I kept going back into the shop and eventually we ended up going out for a drink.”
It wasn’t long before the couple were inseparable. “I can’t wait to spend the rest of our lives together.” says Rachel.
Paul adds: “Rachel is the kindest, most selfless and beautiful woman I’ve ever met.
“I would not have been able to recover from the accident the way I have without her unconditional support, she has given me everything to live for.”
Helped by the Daily Mirror’s Princess Bride team, Tom and Rachel will marry in front of 100 of their friends in the stunning Best Western Donnington Manor Hotel in Sevenoaks, Kent on April 25.
“It’s a bit of a whirlwind when we first found out we’d won and were actually getting married”, says Rachel. “We can’t believe it and we’re so excited.
“We all thought the royal wedding would be the most interesting wedding of the year, but now we’ve got our own to look forward to.
“I hope Kate and William are as happy as we are.”