Can you tell us a bit about you and your husband?

So we are both in our late 20s, I am from Scotland and my husband comes from Northern Ireland. He works in Law and is super smart but really wants to be a writer and make a living by writing best-selling novels from a beach in the South of France. I on the other hand am a primary school teacher and love my job (even though it's hard work) but also dream of living in a slightly warmer climate! We're both very sociable and love to host people at our flat in the city but at the weekend we like to venture out to the beach or the countryside to find some peace and quiet.

How did you meet and (more importantly) how did he propose?

Since I was young enough to understand what having a crush meant I have had a thing for the Northern Irish accent, so was quite taken the first day I met him. It was the 1st October three years ago and my friend said she thought she liked this guy who was going to join us for a walk to the Stockbridge market here in Edinburgh. We were in a big group and he was a friend of a friend so I'd suggested I could be her wing woman. Anyway, to cut a long story short I tried to set up multiple conversations between them but she kept walking off so I was left with him and by the end of the afternoon I realised that I had fallen for him instead! After that weekend he went back to Northern Ireland while I continued to live in Scotland but we text and called each other constantly and I guess the rest is history...

Our proposal was the single most romantic thing I have ever experienced in my life! My best friend and I had arranged a forest walk one afternoon (1st Feb this year) at one of my favourite spots. On our drive there the heavens opened and I suggested it would be too muddy so we should probably just hit up the coffee shop and enjoy a slice of cake instead. She insisted we needed the exercise so we walked in the pouring rain, arm in arm, for an hour wading our way through the thickest mud but having the best old time chatting away together. When we got back to the coffee shop we shared a drink and a brownie and she started getting these frantic texts from her "boy friend" saying he needed her home and was having a disaster. So we quickly finished our tea and walked back out to the car, but just before we turned into the car park she pointed at this nearby stone building and said we should go and check it out. It was getting pretty dark by this point but I thought well she's never been here before so I'll indulge her curiosity. We walked up to what looked like a stone band stand and as we approached I could see a couple of little candle lights lining the edge of the wall. I grabbed her arm and told her it looked like an event had been here earlier in the day and that we should probably just go, but she marched us closer and then I saw the top of a man’s head and freaked out. She pretty much dragged me up three small steps before I suddenly realised what I'd walked myself into. The man standing in the middle of this circular room was my soon to be fiancé, surrounded by 200 candles and there was our favourite song playing in the background. At that point I basically bawled my eyes out, a very messy mascara streaming down my face kind of crying. Eventually I managed to walk towards him and he said this whole spiel while I cried and then he asked me to marry him and it was the most perfect thing ever! Then my best friend came back to take some photos and the grounds keeper brought us champagne!

What was the highlight of your wedding day?

Mmm....I think honestly it was just how perfectly the whole thing worked out in the end. Having to cancel all of our original plans was totally gutting and then having to strip it right back to 30 people was really hard, especially as one of my bridesmaids got stuck in New Zealand and couldn't make it back. But despite all of that we were so fortunate, everyone came together and played their part. My husband's family friends did all of our catering for us and served us like kings and queens, other friends helped us by doing all of the flowers and my sister-in-law built us a beautiful arch for us to stand in front of during the ceremony. Emma Roy (my wedding dress shop) did an amazing job to get my dress fitted and ready for me within such a limited time frame and my bridesmaids did such an incredible job of helping me decorate the house so beautifully. But ultimately above all these things just the fact that B and I actually managed to get married at all considering the circumstances felt like a miracle!

How have you had to change your plans due to COVID-19 ?

Originally we were planning for 140 guests and had to reduce that down and ended up having 27, which included our immediate family, B's grandparents and then our bridal party and 4 extra friends who could make it last minute. We also changed our plans from Scotland to Northern Ireland as the restrictions were lifting at a faster rate in NI and it meant his grandparents could attend. A huge part of cancelling our original plans was due to not being allowed to have a big ceilidh. In Scotland it's traditional at weddings to have a ceilidh that can last several hours and they are the most fun ever but obviously due to Covid that was totally off the cards. In the end the speeches and a surprise video from all our friends who couldn't make it to our special day took up a large section of the evening so it didn't feel like we'd massively missed out and my dad went out and bought 4 disco balls so we could also shake it off to a bit of Taylor Swift!

What will you be doing now?

We managed to get 5 days away in Paris which was great, very hot (it was during the European heat wave) but lovely to get away after the crazy weeks leading up to the wedding. Luckily we just got back before France was added to the blacklist! Next summer we're hoping to get away somewhere else for a bit longer but no plans just now.

Finally...What is your advice for couples planning to get married at the moment or in the future?

Our advice would probably be to start from the ground up, as in ask yourself what/who would you not get married without? For us we felt we couldn't get married without our immediate family and bridal party and for me I really wanted my dream dress! After that everything else was a bonus! Doing it this way means you’re probably getting married for the right reasons rather than getting caught up in the overwhelming wedding world that tells you to spend money on hundreds of things you will never need. Starting with nothing means you end up feeling incredibly grateful for everything you do end up getting and for us that's what made our wedding so special, we had chosen to embrace whatever the day brought and ultimately it exceeded every expectation we'd ever had!