pink weddings magazine » 41
Martin and Bruce
I
was performing at the edinburgh Festival and had no
intention of meeting anyone as it’s full on with
shows, promotion and everything in between. One
night a few of us went out to a pub called Habanana
and on a packed dance floor was Bruce. it was
literally a case of ‘You dancing? You asking? i’m
asking! then i’m dancing!’
it’s cheesy to say, but i think it was the right time for both
of us and i knew after a few hours – he’s the one, done! the
cider might have helped, too.
Four months after we met, Bruce moved down from
edinburgh to Maidenhead, and into our first home. it was a
natural progression to tie the knot. On new Year’s eve 2012,
we invited a few friends over for dinner and drinks and
before they arrived we had a little moment to ourselves and
got engaged.
When we started planning, we looked at both Scotland
and Maidenhead and after much consideration decided to
get married locally to make organising everything easier.
We wanted to stay away from any major theme. We were
the first gay couple to marry in Maidenhead, so had
congratulation letters from the mayor and theresa May,
whose home constituency is here – keeping our day about
marriage was really important. i guess our theme was our
heritage: the West country and Scotland coming together.
First and foremost for us was about all our loved ones
coming together and celebrating. We wanted our guests to
be as comfortable as possible and decided that having sole
use of a venue where people wouldn’t have to worry about
travel on the day was key.
We booked Fredrick’s Hotel and Spa for exclusive use,
taking all the rooms from Friday through to Sunday morning.
We wanted guests to feel at ease knowing that everyone in
attendance was there for our wedding celebrations only.
We had arranged entertainment on the Friday evening,
karaoke in the bar – the best way to break the ice and get
everyone involved. the wedding was on Saturday and we had a
big communal leaving breakfast on the Sunday morning. Most
of our guests arrived and checked in early Friday afternoon so
they could make a full weekend of it. the hotel had a
wonderful vibe due to this and it gave everyone time and a
chance to catch up and relax before the wedding on Saturday.
ghter
