Alyson Turner & David Connell
5th December 2020
Venue | Òran Mór, Glasgow
Photography | Andi Watson Photography
“5th December 2020 was the fourth wedding date we’d set. Our original date was 30th May 2020. That pushed to 31st July 2020, then eventually 25th June 2021. However, when we realised that David’s brother and his family were not going to be able to make it over from Australia even in 2021, we didn’t see any reason to wait to get married – so we rescheduled to December 2020.
We originally planned for our wedding to have about 120 day guests and further 20 guests at night. We had people flying in from all over the world to attend.
As I don’t keep well (I have Ehlers Danlos Syndrome and Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome), the irony was we had everything booked well in advance to try and minimise stress levels in the run-up to the big day! Thankfully Pauline Muir, the wedding co-ordinator at Òran Mór, was absolutely fantastic at keeping on top of things as our dates kept changing. She helped us through our decision making, despite the uncertainty of fluctuating restrictions.
Two weeks before our wedding, Glasgow moved into Tier 4. We had previously been told that if this happened, our wedding would be unlikely to go ahead. We were devastated. A few days after the announcement though, Pauline got in touch to tell us we could still have a ceremony. We jumped at the chance as – by that point – we just wanted to get married.
We stripped everything back and decided to have only seven guests, two videographers (who are two of my best friends), our photographer and our celebrant.
All of our suppliers were brilliant. They were supportive and helpful despite all the changes we had to make. They made what could have been a stressful experience so much better – we cannot thank or praise them all enough.
We decided early on that we wanted a humanist ceremony. We had been recommended Gerrie Douglas-Scott from Celebrate People by other couples and she was wonderful to work with.
We didn’t want the rest of our family missing out, so we set up a video link for them to witness the ceremony virtually. My brother even recorded his own versions of La Vie En Rose, the song I walked down the aisle to, and our first dance tune, Songs of Love by The Divine Comedy (AKA the Father Ted theme tune). He was originally meant to perform live, but due to Covid, he recorded them instead.
We won a competition run by Tie the Knot Scotland and MacGregor and MacDuff to win a complete kilt outfit! We honestly couldn’t believe we won. David always wanted to own a kilt and to be able to tell him that he would get to keep, rather than hire, his wedding kilt, was so special. We had a wonderful day at the kilt specialist’s Bath Street store choosing the tartan and all the accessories.
David hates getting his photo taken, so it was important to find an understanding photographer who wouldn’t be in our faces with their camera! Andi Watson and his team were brilliant to work with and they put us at ease. We found them relaxed, friendly and full of creative ideas and we’re thrilled with our resulting album.
I got my wedding dress from Eleganza Sposa in Glasgow. To be honest, I was worried about dress shopping as I am just a shade over 5ft tall and didn’t have a clue what shapes and styles would suit me. I needn’t have stressed as it was an amazing experience.
My faux-fur stole was from a Glasgow company called Aurora Grace Design on Etsy. I was desperately trying to find something last-minute that would keep me warm for our photos
When we were in the Botanics getting our photos taken, people started applauding and congratulating us (from a safe distance). Passersby on Byres Road offered us advice and people in their cars were beeping their horns. It was all completely unexpected and overwhelmingly lovely.”
Top tip: “Keep a spreadsheet for wedding gifts. We fastidiously itemised who gave us what and it really helped when it came to writing thank-you cards.”
Celebrant Gerrie Douglas-Scott, Celebrate People
Brides’ dress Eleganza Sposa
Shoes Rainbow Club
Headband Melle Cloche
Faux-fur stole Aurora Grace Design at Etsy
Groomswear MacGregor and MacDuff
Mother of the bride outfit Frox of Falkirk
Cake family friend
Flowers Reid’s of Bishopton
Venue decor Make Believe Events
Engagement ring Laings
Wedding rings John McKay Jewellers
Filmmaker bride’s two friends
Transport MET Wedding Cars
