I met him at a wedding abroad – we nearly missed the ceremony having sex

‘Oh no, the ceremony!’

I jumped naked out of the tiny single bed I was squashed into with a naked man named Rory*, and ran to the bathroom.

In the distance, I could hear the faint sounds of people gathering.

‘The wedding!’ I ran back in the room and yelled at Rory who was in a frozen state of confusion and shock, before grabbing my dress and leaping back into the bathroom.

This isn’t the beginning of a Hugh Grant rom com, it was how I attended my friend’s wedding in a villa in Lake Como, Italy: late, after having shagged the best man’s brother who I had just met days before.

It was absurd and embarrassing, and I haven’t lived it down since.

When I got to Italy on a flight with four other friends, the last thing I was thinking was to get laid. I had just my friend Sharon* on my mind – her wedding meant her rules. Luckily, she was one organised bride, so I didn’t have to do much to help.

While I was a good friend, I didn’t quite make the cut for bridesmaid, which I was quite happy about, after seeing them run around with clipboards for the next three days.

Sharon had decided on a destination wedding – Lake Como was all the rage at the time and was full of beautiful villas to marry in. She chose a large estate with enough rooms to house the 40 people attending the wedding, over four days.

The ceremony would be on day two, leaving us one extra day for recovery. We were, after all a chaotic bunch, having all met at the local pub over 10 years prior.

And it was a glorious wedding that culminated in lots of hilarious stories.

One being my dalliance with the best man’s brother Rory.

When I first placed eyes on him, I thought he was cute. Beyond that, I didn’t think much – as I said, I hadn’t even considered getting with anyone, I just wanted to have fun with my friends.

But he evidently thought I was cute too, because the night we all arrived, drinking by the pool, he came and sat next to me, asking me what felt like hundreds of questions about my life.

He wanted to know what I did for a living, how old I was, if I had any pets, what I thought of dogs. Big dogs. He told me he had two big dogs.

I looked over at Sharon by question 12, and she smiled back winking.

I guess that was it – I was going to have to sleep with him.

That night, we were the last ones standing and shared a kiss by the silent pool, giggling. One thing led to another, and after all the wine we managed to down, we ended up having sex by the pool. 

It was quick and dangerous. While people had gone to bed, the villa was still awake, with bedroom lights on and voices echoing across the lawns.

I said goodnight after and went to bed in a room I was sharing with a friend at the time. As I crept in she turned on the light demanding to know all details of what had happened.

‘You had sex didn’t you?’, she said, smiling at me.

‘Yes!’ I fell to the bed laughing. It was the start of my holiday romance, and I was excited.

The next day, we set up for the ceremony – the bridesmaids were like headless chickens, frowning at everything they saw, losing clipboards and taking one too many ciggie breaks to calm down.

I had woken up late with a hangover and was very little help.

So while they did that, I slipped away with Rory and we went for a cute walk. To his room. And had sex. This was the full extent of our relationship, and while I wanted to do more – go on romantic dates and get to know him – we had limited time.

But we had obviously fallen asleep because I was awoken to the sound of music and people gathering on the villa terrace.

It hit me – the ceremony was starting, and we were still in bed.

After jumping out of bed and telling Rory to get his clothes on, I walked very quickly from his room to mine.

I had an estimated five minutes to get ready, and I was nowhere near presentable.

I threw on the new dress I had bought for the wedding and the heels that I feared were too big. Brushed my hair, applied as much makeup as possible and ran out of my room – after taking off and holding my massive heels.

As I ran to the ceremony, Sharon had already walked down the aisle. I couldn’t believe I missed it. Looking behind me, I see Rory struggling with his bowtie, half running, half skipping to the front seats. 

He stands up quickly, does up his fly and sits back down as people around him giggle.

I grab a seat in the back and lock eyes with Sharon. After attempting to mime a ‘sorry’, she bursts out laughing and winks at me.

Luckily, she didn’t care, but obviously everyone knew why I was late.

I looked over at the friend next to me: ‘how obvious was it?’ I asked.

‘You might as well have been having sex with him at the altar’, he whispered back at me.

Nervously giggling, I melted into my seat and enjoyed the rest of the ceremony. Everything else went smoothly and Rory and I continued our holiday romance – this time, we didn’t hide it.

When the wedding was over, Rory and I said goodbye, promising to chat when we got back – me to London, him to Edinburgh. 

But we never did. It didn’t matter, he’s still in my life. Every time I’m late to something, my friends always quip: ‘Having sex with Rory were you?’

Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing izzie.price@metro.co.uk. 

Share your views in the comments below.

MORE: The ‘timeless’ wedding pose 2026 brides are obsessed with right now

MORE: Violet grew up in a happy, middle-class home – what happened next shows anyone can be groomed

MORE: I quit my job to run across 10 countries in 99 days