I love being asked to conduct weddings in foreign languages, but some are easier than others, and Hungarian is one of the toughest. Its closest linguistic relative is Finnish – another language we don’t often hear – but I owe my expertise in Magyar to Michael Caine. Not a lot of people know that…

He starred in the film of Len Deighton’s seminal Cold War novel, ‘The Ipcress File’ which I read in my 20’s and for some reason a phrase from it stuck in my head – Kezét csókolom, which means, “I kiss your hand”. Caine’s character uses it to flirt with a waitress in a Soho cafe, and as I was living in Soho myself at the time, I thought it might come in handy. Reader, it didn’t, but never mind…

All of which is a rather long-winded explanation of why I was so pleased when Annie & Richárd got in touch to talk about their marriage plans and one of the non-negotiables was that I should be able not only to welcome their Hungarian guests but to speak their vows in Magyar so they could repeat them after me.

In between our first meeting and their wedding at the award-winning B-Corp certified Carlowrie Castle, they bought a house, which gave me lots of time to practice saying ““Szeretettel köszöntök mindenkit.” Yeah… try it!

It was a very international wedding. Annie hails from America on the other side of the Atlantic, while Richárd grew up nearly 5,000 miles away in the other direction. They grew up speaking different languages, they were shaped by different cultures but they were both drawn to Scotland for no reason other than the certainty that it was here that they were meant to be. 

Their paths crossed by the piano in Glasgow Central Station and they spent the rest of that January evening in a warm, wood-panelled pub, talking for hours about books, ideas, heritage, and dreams. Just a few months later, they moved in together, where Richard not only became Annie’s partner but “dad” to her beloved cat Ruby, and her dog Harriet. A year later to the day, Richárd proposed on a sea cliff near the ruins of a castle in Ayrshire. Little did he know, Annie had brought a ring for him too, and she proposed back.

Ever since, they have built more than a relationship; they have built a sanctuary. Those who know them well say their love is rare in its harmony – while they may occasionally disagree, they never argue and never speak in anger to each other. As you might expect, their readings were as romantic as they are. Annie’s brother Tom read from Rainer Maria Rilke’s “Letters to a Young Poet” while Richárd himself read a poem written by his beloved grandfather Géza to his grandmother Klára in 1958. 

Then it was time for the big moment – the Exchange of Vows. “Richárd”, I said, “elfogadod Anniet feleségedül?”

“And Annie, elfogadod Richardot férjedül? 

“Igen”, they both said, which I think you can guess means, “I do”

I was really pleased to get this touching message from Annie just a few days ago, along with these great photographs from Effie Ioannou.

We loved the humanist ceremony and your guidance on creating it. It really turned out beautifully and all our guests told us how much they enjoyed your officiating. 

It was so meaningful to be able to create a ceremony that really reflected who we are as a couple and what our values and idea of marriage is. Also, it was lovely to be able to weave some of Richárd’s native Hungarian into the ceremony and you did an incredible job with the pronunciations!

We loved it and so did our guests. My 94-year-old grandmother is still calling to tell me how beautiful she thought the ceremony was. 

It was such a beautiful day, the best day of our lives and we will never forget it. You made the whole process very accessible, and you brought such a warmth and light to the ceremony – both we and our guests, really felt how special the ceremony was!

Thank you so much, Annie & Richárd – although I should probably use one of the other very few phrases I can remember – “Köszönöm szépen!” And thank you too, to Effie Ioannou for the gorgeous shots!