What an absolute delight! It was a truly gorgeous, wonderful day when Tracy and Maxine got married at one of the most beautiful venues in Scotland. The two of them were great fun to work with, we had an absolute ball.

Their ceremony was in the tiny basement that only holds around 50 people so intimate was the word for it and their friends and family were very much a part of their big day. Tracy’s brother Mark began proceedings with a reading by Mark Twain:

‘A Marriage’

This will be the mightiest day in the history of our lives,
For it makes of two fractional lives a whole,
It gives to two purposeless lives a work,
And doubles the strength of each to perform it.
It gives to two questioning natures a reason for living,
And something to live for;
It will give a new gladness to the sunshine,
A new fragrance to the flowers,
A new beauty to the earth,
And a new mystery to life.

Their ceremony was hilarious with more puns per line than I ever thought possible. They then presented their respective mothers-in-law to-be with flowers before exchanging their pledges to one another. There honestly wasn’t a dry eye in the room and I have to share them with you all:

Maxine:

“The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows,
But you can be my wingman anytime.
When I first saw your face, I thought the sun rose in your eyes.
I knew I’d found that somewhere, over the rainbow,
Where blue birds fly and dreams really do come true.
No measure of time with you would be long enough,
But let’s start with forever.
Come what may, I will love you until my dying day.”

Tracy:

“To me you are perfect.
I felt it early on, this was the beginning of something special.
I’ll always remember that text you sent.
“I like your fire, but keep a handle on those flames,” it read.
You know I have a tendency to get over excited.
But you were my destiny and I felt the force.
I love you more than I have ever found a way to say.
I love you, and that’s the beginning and end of everything.”

Aren’t they wonderful? Oh, you may wonder what Tracy is doing with a cardboard cutout Elvis. Well, theirs was an Elvis themed reception so the King had to appear at the castle as well, didn’t he?

Thanks for the message Maxine and Tracy, “Working with Brian was so easy, his guidance in helping us to create our perfect ceremony was invaluable and as a result, we ended up with something very personal and unique to us. All the guests commented on how lovely and intimate the ceremony was, some even said it was the best wedding ceremony they had ever attended which meant so much to us. Brian’s warmth, fun, and easy going nature made us feel so relaxed on the day and the nerves soon went – we enjoyed every moment of it and our only wish is that we could do it all over again!”

I do love the Norton House. It is very close to where I live so I don’t have to start off too early in the day and it is staffed by real professionals. The Hotel has at least three different venues and Chris and Lisa chose the Garden Suite which is, to all intents and purposes, custom built for a wedding with a separate bar where everyone can meet beforehand. Outside it is like a walled garden (actually the roof of the spa) and, on a really nice day you can get married outside if you wish, as long as you don’t get too distracted by the planes taking off from the airport. The main room has huge picture windows through which the bride would be very visible as she arrived, so they draw the curtains and then open them when she is in position for her grand entrance. It all adds to theatre darling!

Lisa and Chris’s ceremony was beautiful, thoughtful and simple with two great readings and some lovely vows, which I will share now:

I Rely On You by Hovis Presley

I rely on you
like a Skoda needs suspension
like the aged need a pension
like a trampoline needs tension
like a bungee jump needs apprehension
I rely on you
like a camera needs a shutter
like a gambler needs a flutter
like a golfer needs a putter
like a buttered scone involves some butter
I rely on you
like an acrobat needs ice cool nerve
like a hairpin needs a drastic curve
like an HGV needs endless derv
like an outside left needs a body swerve
I rely on you
like a handyman needs pliers
like an auctioneer needs buyers
like a laundromat needs driers
like The Good Life needed Richard Briers
I rely on you
like a water vole needs water
like a brick outhouse needs mortar
like a lemming to the slaughter
Ryan’s just Ryan without his daughter
I rely on you

and their vows were so special:

I promise to be your friend and partner,
and to walk beside you always;
to love you with all that I am as you love me;
to support, respect and share with you in all of life’s decisions,
through joy and sadness, triumph and uncertainty, laughter and tears;
to have you in my life every day for as long as we live.

Isn’t that so lovely.