A couple from Watford became the first to tie the knot at a new registry office in Watford exactly three years after they first met.

Matthew Rolfe, 36, and Ionela Baciucu, 33, got married on Tuesday at the registry office in Hempstead Road on the anniversary of the day they were introduced, which is also the bride’s birthday.

Mr Rolfe, who works for a computer company in Watford, said: “It was nice to think that we are the first. There is going to be a long history there and we started it.”

In the presence of Mr Rolfe’s parents and a few close friends, the couple took their vows before heading to The Grove Hotel for lunch and an evening at the theatre to see Mamma Mia.

The couple plan to hold a religious ceremony in Romania, where the new Mrs Rolfe is originally from, in April so all their friends can watch them exchange rings.

However as the country only recognises civil marriage ceremonies, the newlyweds decided to do the formal legal ceremony in the UK.

Mr Rolfe said: “It didn’t seem right to have the religious ceremony over here if not everyone could be here. Weddings are about family.”

Exactly a year after their first meeting at a party, the couple moved in together making January 31 an even more significant date in their diaries.

Mr Rolfe added: “It has become a life changing day for us since and I think it will continue to be.”

However the pair’s tradition was broken when Mr Rolfe surprised his future wife with a proposal more than a month early during a romantic day in London on December 18.

After a trip to Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park and a carol concert at the Royal Albert Hall, he got down on one knee in the thick snow in Kensington Palace Gardens and popped the question.

Mrs Rolfe said: “I didn’t suspect anything at all - it was a really nice surprise. It was just the perfect place to do it.”