Not just a 'blip' for Withcall couple

Gary Hutchinson and Fiona Bottrill, from Withcall, have just celebrated their wedding day after meeting through photo journaling website Blipfoto.

Fe was experiencing ups and downs at the time when she joined Blipfoto, and Gary described himself as a “lost soul, looking for something but with little idea of exactly what that was”.He said: “For a while, suffering badly with anxiety, my only motivation to get out of bed each day was to find my photo to post on Blip, nothing more.”

Their love story began more than a decade ago, when Gary left an impromptu comment on Fe’s journal entry.

She then commented on Gary’s ‘blip’ later that day, and they began to exchange messages regularly, and the rest, as they say, is history!

Gary describes Fe as, “My inspiration, my motivation and occasionally the boot in my a**e.”

“People often ask us how we met, and we go to great lengths to explain that it was not just ‘on the internet’.

"There’s no shame in meeting on a dating site, although back then it would have been more Match.com than Tinder, but our story is deeper than that,” Gary said, “We didn’t look to hook up, we were blippers, we were part of a community that I firmly believe saved my life.”

In 2016, Gary suffered a mental health relapse, and was signed off with anxiety.

It was Fe asking Gary why he didn’t write more, explaining she used to enjoy the writing on his blips, that prompted him to make changes in his life.

Gary said: “Words always seemed secondary to the photo on Blip, but her question challenged me. I started a blog, The Stacey West, as well as my book, Suited and Booted, and everything changed again.”

Gary was offered a freelance position with a football website off the back of this, eventually becoming a full time Content Strategist with a global marketing company and with seven or eight published books to his name.

“You never know what’s around the corner,” Gary added, “You never know what a throwaway comment on a blip might lead to.

"For me, it led to a place that truly feels like my home, a family and a new career. Just be excellent to each other, and it might lead to the same for you.”