A YOUNG couple who have faced years of heartbreak are celebrating after winning the Echo’s Win a Wedding competition.

During last weekend’s wedding fair at the Park Inn Palace, in Church Road, Southend, it was announced Jade Weedon, 25, and Lewis Collins, 23, had picked up the most votes from our readers.

The couple, from Basildon, have had a turbulent time, and their story touched the hearts of voters.

Jade and Lewis, who met online seven years ago, had saved up a wedding fund, but the money went towards funeral costs after Lewis’ mother died of a heart attack three years ago.

The tragedy saw Jade, who has been diagnosed with depression and is unable to work, become a full-time carer for Lewis’s brother Jamie, 27, who has severe learning difficulties.

Her own brother, 19-year-old Michael, suffers with muscular dystrophy and is wheelchairbound.

The couple have also spent money on IVF treatment in a bid to start their own family.

Jade, who previously worked at Adventure Island, on Southend seafront, said: “We’re so shocked. This means the world to us and it’s great to finally have some light at the end of the tunnel.

“Everyone told me not to get my hopes up, so I couldn’t believe it when our names were called out.

“In the seven years since we first met, we have never spent a night apart. We have been engaged for six and a half years, but we would never be able to afford to get married without this competition.

“Lewis is my best friend. I don’t need anyone else apart from him and my family.”

The Win a Wedding prize, worth £12,000, includes a ceremony, drinks reception and three-course meal for 50 guests at the Park Inn Palace.

The package also includes a wedding dress worth up to £1,000, suit hire, a photographer, tooth whitening for the bride and groom, a wedding cake, and a DJ.

To top it off, the newlyweds will be treated to a week-long stay in a villa in Majorca, which can sleep up to eight people.