We all love to read about weddings where everything went to plan, don’t we? Sometimes when things go wrong, they can be even better, and that was definitely the case for Paula and Simon!

When I turned up at the Doubletree Hilton, about half an hour before the ceremony was due to start, I could tell something wasn’t quite right because I could see that Paula’s brother was having a very intense conversation with Carmen, the wedding coordinator.

And that’s when I discovered that the florist Paula had booked – and paid – to create all the bouquets for her bridal party had completely forgotten about the date, so we had a real live problem on our hands!

Carmen got on the phone, found another florist, gave her the brief, and as the metadata on my iPhone confirms, a stand-in bouquet arrived at six minutes past two o’clock! Now that’s what I call a GREAT wedding co-ordinator! Better still, when she realised what had happened, the original florist hot footed it all the way from East Lothian to the venue, so Paula and the bridesmaids still got to enjoy her beautiful bouquets too.

Paula and Simon had a great love story!

Like so many couples, they met the traditional way, on Happn (other dating apps are available) but they would never have met if Simon’s friend hadn’t nicked his phone and sent her a message. Texts progressed to phone calls and it didn’t take long before they found themselves ona pub crawl down Borough High Street and dancing the night away at Belushi’s! 

Six months in, they were official, and three years later, they made the move back to Scotland – Simon’s birthplace, which you’d never guess with his Essex accent!

I loved how they reached out to Paula’s Granny Jane for her advice on how to keep love alive in a long marriage. Sadly she couldn’t be with us on the day, but I know she was very proud that her words were read out to all the guests.

As she wrote, “the key to a successful marriage is to support each other, and be loyal when times are difficult. To not criticize and find fault, but to listen and give support. To compromise, to always be best friends and – finally – to adore each other!”

I was even more impressed that Paula and Simon chose to keep their promises a secret from each other until the day. Secret Vows really raise the emotional temperature on the day, and they are a uniquely personal wedding gift to one another.

After signing the Marriage Schedule with Gail and Lorraine, they had a rather special Quaich Ceremony.

Simon decided to buy a quaich for each of his groomsmen as well as one for him and Paula to drink from.

That’s a great idea – and a lovely way to thank your mates for standing beside you on your big day!

The very next day, Paula sent me a lovely message, saying “we just wanted to say a huge thank you for being our humanist. We had the best day, and our guests couldn’t believe how good the ceremony was because it was so personal to us!”

And when she sent me these great photographs taken by Neill Whiteside of Dream Captures Scotland, she said, “looking back, it might have been nice to have incorporated more of the wedding party in the ceremony, but overall we were really pleased with the end result.

We had lots of feedback from our guests saying it was one of the best ceremonies they had ever been to, so that was nice to hear!”

To be honest, Paula, that’s a phrase I love to hear! You probably won’t remember but when we first met, I told you that my aim for every couple is to make sure that their guests leave the ceremony feeling, “that was amazing – we want an encore!”

Not, “thank god that’s over – I need a drink!”

So, thanks again for your lovely words, and thanks to my friend Neill Whiteside of Dream Captures Scotland who this very afternoon told me he has only seventeen days left in his day job before he can devote himself full-time to photography.

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