Carol Knight Humanist Celebrant

Flowing up on my previous post in more detail, Victoria & Russell’s story began on the 27th July 2019 in The Crescent Bar in Finnieston.

V. I was on a date with an ex-boyfriend that had asked me to meet with him to see if we could give it another go. Russell came into the bar with a group of friends, two of whom Ross & Johnny, I knew from work

R. I remember thinking she was a bit of me! We'd had a few sherbets and every time he went to the bar or the toilet I was over chatting and having flirty banter. She had made quite an impression.

V. Ross & Jonny came over to say hi, and our seats were at the window, right beside the bar, so it was rather handy for them to keep turning around to talk to us, especially when my ex was at the bar. They all found this hilarious as he was starting to get annoyed, especially when they were clearly stalling him at the bar by talking to him while Russell was talking to me. He was saying to me things like “what are you doing with him?, surely you’re not with him, he is well punching!”. Let’s just say I was trying to look beyond looks and height at this time as my experience with good looking men wasn’t great at all.

V. A while later I got a call from the sitter and had to leave because my daughter Rachel wasn’t feeling well and wanted to come home. I didn’t get out very often, and struggled with childcare, so I felt really sad that I had to leave, especially when I was having a fun night. Just as we were leaving , the boys left too, and I remember looking at him walking up the road and thinking ‘why do I never meet someone like Russell that I actually fancy?’

R. We then bumped into one another again a few months later in The Brasserie. I was out with another friend who knew her, and I remember thinking I could end up in trouble, as I was still married at the time, so I kept my distance.

V. I remember seeing him standing in the background, but he didn’t speak to me.

R. 2 years later, I was now single, and while away for a few nights with the boys, talk turned to who they could set me up with. Victoria was the first person I mentioned, so Johnny was tasked with finding out if she was single, when he went back into work on Monday.

V. Johnny starts asking me if I remembered Russell from a couple of years earlier. It took a while for the penny to drop, until he said, ‘you know, my good looking friend?’ I still had a blank look, until he said it’s the only good looking friend that he had! I said, “but he is married!” Johnny said not any more.... I remember having this excited feeling and I kept thinking about him.

R. A couple of weeks later with a bit of Dutch courage, I sent her a message through Facebook..... and got no reply!

V. I thought ‘does he think I am some kind of b***y call messaging me at this time, and expecting me to jump?’, so I ignored it until the following Thursday when the usual conversation in the office came up about weekend plans.. Just I was in the middle of answering, Johnny walked through the door and one of the girls said to him “you must know someone to set Victoria up with“, and he said, “I’m already on it.” I then had to explain that I’d ignored his message and still hadn’t responded. To make it worse Johnny told me that Russell’s not like that, if anything he’s had a few drinks to give him the courage to message you. I was to get on the phone right there & then which I did, and Russell messaged back within the hour.

R. This time I invited her for a coffee, she replied that she'd prefer a glass of w**e! After consulting with Ross (the unlikeliest gi**lo) on where to go, we met for dinner at Rioja in Finnieston

V. He’d been visiting his cousin in Frankfurt the weekend before, which happened to be gay pride and I did get some pictures and drunken texts, which made me think, what the hell am I getting myself into??

R. I arrived early and waited at the bar for Vic to arrive. She did not disappoint! Her entrance was like a scene from a movie! The door opened and in walked this vision, it was as if fans had been set up to blow her hair as she strutted, catwalk-like towards me. I was bricking myself, as I picked my jaw up off of the floor

V. I felt amazing, excited and just so happy to see him again, only this time it was different we were free to talk to each other, and it just felt right.

R. Straight away we hit it off, we talked so much we hardly had anything to eat. We then moved on and had a few more drinks, before I dropped her off in a taxi. Numerous dates followed, before I met Rachel just before Vic and her went away on holiday. They both said it was like I was on that holiday too, the amount of time we were on the phone.

V. At the end of August, Russell was going on holiday with his friends to America and a few hours before his flight he took me for lunch. I remember sitting in Kember & Jones thinking that I love him.

R. We then had a weekend away in September and that's when I realised she was the one for me

V. Covid hit in March, along with lockdown. Rachel and I moved in with Russell as he had a dog and a garden and it made more sense to stay there. I never moved out again and it’s been a blast ever since. Every bump along the way & every challenge made us stronger. We had each other’s backs, and this was the first time that I’d ever experienced such feelings

R. We were like the 3 amigos; Rachel and I struck up a great relationship and I tried my best to be a responsible parent. I was her go-to when she needed dropped off, or picked up, or taken for food, or went into get her a wee bevvy when she was going out with friends. We had great holidays and always had a laugh and slagged each other to death. Things were just perfect!

These two are just perfect together and their day was so chilled and relaxed! Congratulations Mr & Mrs Laing ❤️

Melissa & Scott’s story began many years ago, when both were young, sweet and innocent....

M. We met through friends whilst living in Bishopbriggs, special shout out to Alicia for telling Scott to get some courage and ask her out separately from the group.

S. I was 22 and Melissa was 18 at the time. Alicia had basically told me to man up and ask her out because I was too scared to ask. I can’t remember the year, but I know it was on the 5th of November

First Impressions?

M. We’ve known each other for so long first impressions are hard to remember! We spent so much time with each other and our friends (almost every evening) and just clicked.

S. I have skateboarded and rollerbladed for years and there used to be a big group of us that would hang out at the skateparks in Glasgow or random places in Bishopbriggs. In the beginning we were around each other 80% of the time because when we skated, everyone would just go together, and it was the same for parties. Every weekend we all met up to have a drink and skate. Melissa’s friends were my friends, we’d go to parties at each other’s houses, play b**r b**g and have a good time. Wherever it was, or what we were doing, we always ended up together

M. We've grown up together, from late teens through our twenties and now our thirties

S. I bought the flat in Bridgeton as our first home together. Basically, I’ve never lived so close to town so I was in love with it straight away, we could walk to town for drinks and then walk home to save cash on taxis!

M. And now we have our furry son called Beanbag.

S. We have lots of green space and dog friendly pubs around us, so it ended up being perfect for the wee man too.

THE PROPOSAL

They were in Tokyo in 2024 for Melissa’s 30th, she of course had no idea he was going to propose (everyone else was waiting for a message back home because they all knew!) Scott just knew he wanted to propose somewhere special, so he researched different areas in the city and came across a historic shrine near Tokyo Tower which represents marital bliss, harmony and a prosperous family life (see?? he can be a romantic sometimes) He set down a camera to record (which confused her a bit but that boy does love a picture on holiday) and popped the question- it was late at night and they were all alone, just the way she would have wanted it.

I then asked, what do you think it is that makes you well suited? They said,

We’ve been best friends for almost 15 years. We find each other funny and can make each other laugh in an empty room, we like doing similar things but also appreciate our individual interests. We support one another and can always count on the other showing up, for good or bad times.

Congratulations Mr & Mrs McMillan!❤️

Let’s go back to the 1980s, and the somewhat unglamorous location of a Diageo bottling plant in Shieldhall....

Danny started there in 1980 and Karen joining the company from Perth some years later but they never really crossed over as being a large and busy company there was never a point where they had a chance to interact in either a professional basis or even at staff events. They were on different paths; this was not meant to be their time. Karen had even left the business and went to work at what was the old Southern General Hospital, looking after the elderly. Danny says some folk would say there’s no change there then...

So the years rolled on until one of their old work colleagues was leaving and a goodbye bash at Gabriel’s in Paisley was organised. Danny still remembers his dad dropping him off and strolling up past the piazza on that sunny evening. There’s a piazza in Paisley??

There was quite a crowd in the bar that night with a good turnout for their colleague. Then they opened up the buffet – Danny’s favourite part of the evening!!. As he was selecting all of his favourite edibles Karen and her friend Fiona appeared by his side. Some small talk around the quality of the sausage rolls began, which then led to the question of where Danny was going next. The ‘Wig n Pen” was the answer, as there’s a karaoke on there.

First impressions?

D. I just remember going back to my seat and thinking wow Karen talked to me there I hope I didn't fall over my tongue and speak a load of rubbish. But, as my confidence in myself was not high, I just thought aw well that was nice.

K. Danny is someone who once he catches you, he’s not easily forgotten. He was funny his stories were great, and our paths in life had been similar in so many ways.

So once the buffet was decimated, Danny left with his friend Gerry, and on the way round he told Gerry that he’d said to Karen and Fiona where they were heading. What started as a sunny evening, became a typical Glasgow forecast as it started to rain very heavily. They made it just in time and Gerry commented that there was no way anyone would follow them round now. But within a few minutes, the door bursts open and in comes an old work colleague David Farrington being an absolute gentleman with his jacket off, sheltering none other than Karen & Fiona

D. I remember when she came through those doors thinking ‘that was unexpected’ and it made me think. So I tried to turn on the charm

K. There was Danny singing away with the biggest smile on his face when we walked in. We got chatting again and Fiona gave him my number. He called the next day and asked me out and of course I said yes - just like today I'm also going to say yes.

Now, If Karen had decided at that point to leave, it would have been absolutely understandable. But no, she stood her ground and even put in a request!!

K. He then serenaded me with a rendition of ‘Unchained Melody.’

D. Even now when she walks into a bar or club and I’m already there, I get that same feeling as I did then. That girl is mine. She is here and it's like an excitement, just like the first time she ever walked out with me. Hard to explain but it's a proud feeling, it's always been like that. The truth is I knew I was lucky, there were so many people in the company we worked in that were keen on Karen, so I never saw me being part of the picture, ever

K. Having worked together for years our paths never crossed and it was only when we met up that night, I look back and think, it’s like this has to happen, these 2 people have to meet and get talking to each other and so it began.

As time passed they saw a lot of each other. Karen won £50 on a newspaper competition and bought two tickets to see Al Green at the Royal Concert Hall, their first concert.

K. We both like our music and have similar tastes although Danny’s is a bit, well let’s say, ‘varied’. We’ve had our good and bad times but we got there in the end and this year we decided to make it official.

Absolutely loved these two, and their day was done their way with only their closest friends and family there. The grandchildren played a huge part and the love in the room was truly special.
Congratulations Mr & Mrs Lenaghan ❤️

Nic & Martha’s story began only three years ago, with the swipe of a finger on the dating app ‘Her’...

M. When I came across Nic’s profile, something about her caught my eye. I had to take a chance and swipe right. I don’t remember if it was her gorgeous blue eyes, stunning hair or just that she seemed equal parts down to earth and cool…. but I wanted to know more about her and hoped she swiped right too. Thankfully she did and our first proper conversation happened on Valentine’s Day when Nic told me how it had taken 2 posties to deliver her mail that morning. I assumed this was because she had been delivered so many Valentine’s Day cards. And she confirmed this was of course true.

N. I decided to get myself out there after a lunch with the girls in which a few bottles of w**e may have been consumed …. Anyway as always she was there with some top advice and gave me the confidence to try online dating …. Martha was the one I kept coming back to … it was the eyes and confident smile, and she just looked so happy in all her pics ….. unusually for me I waited a few days and for the w**e to wear off before swiping right 🙂 longest three minutes of my life before I got any reply

First Impressions?

M. We first met in person at The Citizen. I was initially pretty nervous- (a standard first date thing for me) so I was happy when she arrived first, so when I looked in the window I saw Nic’s gorgeous hair.

N. I clocked her walking past the window and tried to act all cool and causal when she came in to sit down

M. Seeing her in person surpassed what I’d hoped she would be like. She had an easy confidence and conversation and eyes I couldn’t tear myself away from. I was so bowled over by her beauty and charm that I fell off my chair- true story! The waitress had come over and said our table for our meal was ready and I backed out of the booth falling straight onto the ground

N. …. Falling off her seat (not even one drink in) was the perfect icebreaker, again her eyes were what I first noticed. Needless to say the rest of the night went really well plenty of cocktails and banter …. With no need for her friend Hannah’s emergency phone call to get her out if it was going poorly.

So far so good?

N. We kept talking and never stopped, initially I was a bit worried about being able to maintain a fairly long distance relationship but there was that ‘click’ and it was reaffirmed every time we met up.

M. I’d been planning a move to Edinburgh before I started chatting to Nic and actually I think that’s what kept the spark going. It would’ve been too long distance otherwise as I was up in Aberdeen. In the meantime we tried to fit a few dates in, each making the effort to travel. The more dates we had, the tougher it was to leave her at the end.
That was definitely a sign it was something special. After about 8 months or so, she introduced me to Jude and Zoe.

N. When she finally moved to Edinburgh it was easier for sure. Meeting her girls it all happened very naturally, and she got the stamp of approval fairly quickly …. For me that was the best, to see the girls accept her and her accept them felt like the final piece of the jigsaw.

M. I was apprehensive but they were so lovely and thankfully warmed to me quickly- definitely nothing to do with my stellar baking skills. From there we continued to build our relationship, between the two cities and once we both felt the time was right and had spoken to the girls to make sure they were happy, I moved in! Since then we’ve had countless adventures together including a trip to Los Angeles, getting our puppy Tess, exam and university preparations, wedding planning and of course the biggest test of all relationships- building IKEA furniture together. I love Nic, we’re a team and a family now and always will be.

Their day was SO much fun and their dads rather enjoyed a wee shot with the Quaich afterwards!
Congratulations Mrs & Mrs Watson-Milne ❤️