Cambridge couple make wedding plans after £1m lottery win

Ben Lowther proposed to Holly Saul in Paris in May

A couple who have been together for nine years but put off a wedding due to "cost of living" worries are due to get married after a £1m lottery win.

Holly Saul and Ben Lowther, from Cambridge, won in the National Lottery EuroMillions in October last year.

Mr Lowther, 39, said they had planned to get married "further down the line", but prior to their win they could not afford it.

Their change in fortune has allowed them to press ahead, they said.

Holly Saul said she had been teased by partner Ben Lowther for buying a ticket

The win has meant Ms Saul, 30, has been able to take a break from her job in clinical research recruitment to spend more time with their children, aged 14 and three.

They have also bought a new home, which will be big enough to host a larger family Christmas get-together, they said.

'I have to pinch myself'

"Holly and I always planned to marry one day but, with two children and the cost of living, a wedding was looking like something we would celebrate much further down the line," Mr Lowther said.

"Now, thanks to one chunky dose of luck, I have been able to propose - in Paris no less - and we can start to plan the perfect wedding, and our family can all gather for another celebration."

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His bride-to-be said: "Not a day has gone by that we haven't counted our blessings.

"We're just so lucky, and now, standing in our new home, I still have to pinch myself.

"I have worked full-time since I was 16, only having time off for maternity leave, and while I do enjoy working and am proud of my career, I'm so humbled that I can put that on pause for a couple of years and spend more time with the children."

Mr Lowther, a games developer, said: "Before that winning day, Holly and I were home working in our tiny kitchen with two children in and out, desperately trying to stay on top of everything and juggling the finances."