A British couple returned to the island this week to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary in the place where they tied the knot.

Bob and Judith Dodds, from Morpeth, Northumberland, in the North of England, chose the island for their nuptials because her aunt had lived near Bailey’s Bay and together they fell in love with Bermuda.

“This is the only place that both him and I cried when we left. Yesterday when we came in I was a bit overwhelmed because it is just a perfect place,” Mrs Dodds said.

“There are just so many memories. It’s just really special for us. And it doesn’t change. That’s the really special thing for us.

“The people are really nice. Everybody, when you go to the restaurants, no matter what level of restaurant, everyone is really nice. We just really love it.”

The couple both grew up in the small northern village of Lynemouth, but their paths did not really cross until 1996.

“We went to different schools and it was just one evening we were in Morpeth when we met each other in the bar,” she recalled.

“We knew each other. We always said ‘hi’ to each other, but it was then that we started to see each other.”

The pair chose Bermuda for their ceremony because she had visited her aunt in Bermuda in the past and they did not want a “big, fussy wedding”.

The couple quietly tied the knot at the Registry General Office in Hamilton on June 11, 1999, and then enjoyed dinner at Ascots, where they intended to return during their visit this week.

While they both came back to the island later, they both agreed that they had waited too long this time — their last visit was a trip with their two children in 2006.

“They can’t remember because they were only five and three, so we will bring them back at some point,” Mrs Dodds said.

“It has just been too long.

“We are going to come back for our 30th. And our 40th.”