ALEXANDRA Bocica and her partner, Richard Molyneux, are hoping to win the Journal wedding competition so Alexandra can have the big wedding she’s always dreamed of.

The couple have had a tough couple of years financially, and Alexandra says they won’t be able to get married for some time without the competition prize.

They met in NN nightclub in 2008 when Richard, 31, was the manager and Alexandra, 25, was a bar supervisor - and have been talking about getting married for about a year-and-a-half.

They moved to the Isle of Wight in 2009 to run a nightclub and were planning to marry last year.

But Richard was made redundant and Alexandra was forced to quit her job and, in a difficult job market, it took them six months to find new jobs - so wedding savings had to be spent on surviving.

She said: “We’ve been trying to get married, but it’s always one thing or another. And when I saw the competition, I just thought ‘that would be amazing if we won and we could actually get married’. It’s going to be quite a wait without it.

We’re thinking about just doing a small civil ceremony but I’ve always wanted a big church wedding.”

The couple moved back to Salisbury and started running The Butt of Ale pub on Sunnyhill Road.

But as it’s a new business, it’s made saving money difficult - and Alexandra hasn’t even got her engagement ring yet.

“He didn’t get down on one knee because we didn’t have a ring.

Richard’s saving up for a ring so he’ll do it when he’s got one, but he’ll have to ask me again,” she said.

“We’ve had such a rough couple of years, it’s been disaster after disaster, and all we want is a fresh start, a nice wedding and a happily ever after together.”

To vote for Richard and Alexandra call 09011 511 103 or text WEDDING 103 to 80360.