Elliot & Alejandra

Since the day I was born, Jonathan has always looked out for me, offering support, guidance and, at times, prioritising my growth over his own, even if that meant sacrificing the vegetables he did not like so I could have more.

My brother and I are incredibly fortunate to share such a close bond. Our mum likes to boast that our closeness comes from sharing a bedroom for much of our childhood. I would argue it was something deeper. From an early age, we learned that it was always easier to stand together than to stand alone.

Even now, years later, I am lucky that Jon and his wife, Jazmin, live just five minutes down the road, close enough that we have proudly continued our long-standing tradition of sharing a car.

I met Alan at boarding school, where we quickly became close, helped in no small part by the fact that we were the only two smokers in the house. I would find the best hiding spots, and Alan would smuggle the cigarettes back in his suitcase from Hong Kong.

Somewhere along the way, Alan was unofficially adopted into the Wise family, gradually stealing the position of favourite child. This was largely because he had the decency to pay his own school fees and could sit and watch football in complete silence with Marcus, a quality that earned him enormous respect in our household.

Nick has always been the most musically talented of our friendship group. At university, he would regularly pop into my room to play the latest track he had been working on under his pseudonym, WilderBeats.

It is a real shame that after university WilderBeats was shelved so he could focus on his medical career. That said, we have all benefited from his change in direction. Nick has since taken on the role of the group’s resident oncologist, a position that became particularly essential after my father retired.

Rob has been a loyal and close friend of mine since we met at university. At one point, he worked as a space flight economist, a job I still don’t fully understand, but feel free to ask him and let me know!

Over the years, Rob has developed quite an iconic look. He is almost always seen in a large overcoat, with a pair of wired headphones around his neck, and black Chelsea boots. It does not matter whether he is at a pub in London in the middle of winter or on the beach in Lisbon in spring, you can always count on Rob to be wearing those Chelsea boots.

Although we met at school, Alberto and I became inseparable during high school when I encouraged him to be a little more spontaneous and enjoy life. From then on he has been one of the most constant friends I have ever had, and truly the glue of our school friendship group, without him I don’t think we would all still be this close today. Even living on the other side of the world in Colombia, he has travelled to London countless times just to visit me, and we have shared some unforgettable trips together, including his first European adventure in 2018. Since then we’ve made a promise to see each other at least once a year. Having him beside me on my wedding day means the world to me, and I couldn’t imagine it without him.