JENNIFER JACKSON AND SIMON GOUGH, both pilots, were married in a civil ceremony on Saturday, April 25th, in Rhinefield House Hotel in Brockenhurst, in the New Forest area of Hampshire. Their guests travelled from Ireland, Dubai, South Africa, France and the Netherlands to be with them.
Jennifer grew up in Castleknock, Co Dublin, and has two brothers, Stephen and Conor. She is the daughter of solicitor Elizabeth Jackson and former EBS executive Paul Jackson who, since his retirement, is on the board of the Global Housing Foundation.
Jennifer attended Mount Sackville School in Chapelizod, and trained as a pilot at the Weston Aerodrome in Leixlip, Co Kildare, where she became a pilot nine years ago. She flew with Aer Arann for more than three years before moving to NetJets. She became a captain a year ago.
Simon grew up in Bahrain and came to the UK when he was 12. He is the son of Lynn Gough, a retired nurse, and has one sister, Stacey Helyer. His father, Nigel Gough, died six years ago and was remembered throughout their wedding day.
Simon studied to be an aeronautical engineer and decided to become a pilot in 1997, training first in the US. He worked as a pilot for six years in South Africa for NAC, in the Congo for the UN and in Algeria for a number of oil companies. He moved back to the UK four years ago to work for NetJets.
The couple met during a stopover in Nice airport in 2007.
The wedding was held in the main hall of the country house, which was built in a blend of Tudor and Gothic styles in 1887. The gardens were steeped in spring blossom and sunshine for their reception and the house accommodated their 98 guests for the weekend.
The bridesmaids, Tracey McMahon and Stacey Helyer, were accompanied by four groomsmen: Steven Cole, Stephen Davies, best man Dan Borkett and Robert Allison.
For their honeymoon, the couple went to the Maldives for 10 days, where they stayed above water in a village on stilts.
They live near Portsmouth in the south of England.