Patricia and Ed's story started almost 40 years before they married. After previous marriages, fate brought them back together and they reignited their love. They married in a moving and joyous day at this restored East Lothian church
Patricia Charles and Ed Fry
6th April 2024
Venue | The Harbour Chapel, Dunbar
Photography | Morris-Jones Photography
"Ed and I first met as teenagers when we lived in Kent and dated for a year in 1985-86. We went our separate ways but still knew what each other was doing through mutual friends. I went on to be married for 25 years before losing my husband. Ed had also suffered bereavement and a divorce.
We reconnected in 2019 and agreed to meet up after two months of texting. We met in the Lake District with our two dogs and things just fell into place; it was like being struck by lightning.
Ed lived in Wiltshire and me in Scotland with my two daughters. We conducted a long-distance relationship for two years – which included ten months of separation because of lockdown.
Ed eventually moved to Scotland in 2021 and in July 2023, we got engaged on our birthday (we share the same birthday). Ed surprised me with a necklace at breakfast, the box held a promise of a ring and he asked me to marry him.
The date was one of our first decisions. I am a school secretary, so the Easter holidays seemed the perfect time as it gave us a week before and after the wedding.
We found The Harbour Chapel in Dunbar online and fell in love with the place and the beautiful coastal scenery that surrounds it.
The stained-glass windows in the recently restored former church are incredible and thanks to pews on castors, the space morphs effortlessly from ceremony, to dinner, to evening reception. Fiona Veitch, who owns the venue, helped us immensely with supplier recommendations.
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One of those was photographer Dionne from Morris-Jones Photography. We loved her work and when we chatted to her, we discovered she was from near where we both used to live in Kent. Her enthusiasm shone. We adore the photos of us at Dunbar Harbour.
As an older bride, I worried at first whether I should have a wedding gown. Encouragement from my friends persuaded me that I could wear whatever I wanted.
I booked an appointment at Bridal Boutique Stirling where the boutique owner had over 20 years’ experience and was about my age, which immediately put me at ease.
My friend Jackie and I picked out a few styles to try and I fell in love with my Romantica dress the moment I saw it on the hanger.
Although we weren’t going for kilts, we wanted Black Watch tartan to run through the wedding for sentimental reasons. (My great-granddad had been in the Black Watch regiment.) Ed wore a green tweed suit and a Black Watch tie and we had the tartan on our favours.
Both my daughters were bridesmaids and they opted for dark green dresses.
The morning of the wedding, we were excited but not nervous. We were marrying each other as best friends and fate had brought us back together.
My cousin Craig and his son Nicholas piped at the chapel before I arrived. When I got there, I could hear them playing on the balcony of the church and it was emotional as Craig had played the bagpipes at my first wedding 30 years ago.
The ceremony was lovely. Our celebrant Julie Murray of Fuze Ceremonies helped us perfect our script. We had a handfasting using lengths of Black Watch tartan and my best friend Heather did a reading, ‘Love Monkey’ by Edward Monkton.
At the end of her reading, Ed put a small red heart-shaped stone in my hand that he had hidden in his pocket. It was such a surprise and so special.
We had 60 guests for the ceremony and 20 more in the evening. Sharing our day with family and friends was emotional. We were touched with the efforts people had made to travel to be with us. Ed’s 80-year-old parents live in Kent, but they managed to fly up with Ed’s brother and his family. It was a fantastic effort from them, and we were thrilled they could make it.
As I had lost my parents quite a while ago, we had a close family friend who had known my mum and dad make a speech. Ed also made a speech based around thankfulness for everything we have in our lives. It was short but moving and from the heart.
What surprised us most about getting married? That you can be so happy second time around. Love is always there to give someone and should be shared."
Top tip: “You don’t necessarily need a packed itinerary to keep guests entertained. During our reception it was wonderful to hear everyone simply chatting with each other. It’s your day; you don’t need gimmicks,” says Patricia.
Venue The Harbour Chapel
Photography Morris-Jones Photography
Celebrant Julie Murray, Fuze Ceremonies
Bride’s dress and bridesmaid dresses Bridal Boutique Stirling
Hair Hair at Caroline’s Bathgate
Makeup Bare Beauty Therapy
Bride’s nails Mushy Nails Livingston
Groomswear Green tweed suit from Hockerty and boots from Arthur Knight Shoes
Engagement and wedding rings Rings and Things Bathgate
Cake Jill’s Cakes
Catering The Good Table Catering
Flowers Pixie Rose Flowers
Stationery VistaPrint
Favours The Sweetie Bank Dunbar, and donations to Cancer Research UK and Marie Curie
Transport Avantgarde Chauffeur Drive
