Meeting rekindled romance and led to ‘perfect wedding’

TWELVE long years ago, Alison Lorimer and Iain Coull knew they had a good thing going.

But life gets it in the way sometimes and when Iain had to leave the area for work it seemed that they’d lost their chance to be together.

So when they did finally get the chance to rekindle their love, they took it with both hands and look where they are now!

Ali, 29, who is training to be a childminder and is mum to seven-year-old Zoe, recalled: “We’d been close but when Iain had a chance to work somewhere else I told him he shouldn’t let it go.

“That seemed to be it but about two years ago I ran into him at a 24-hour charity walk and we instantly hit it off.

“We started going out and in October last year he proposed.

“He knows I’m a huge Harry Potter fan so he made his move when we went on a trip to the Falls of Aberfeldy. He had a big pad with the words he wanted to say to me written on the pages and he had a specially made Sorting Hat from Harry Potter, which contained the ring.”

The carefully prepared proposal was exactly the Iain way, with Ali adding: “Not only is he such a caring man but he’s very organised and it was Iain who put the whole wedding together.”

Iain, 34, is dad to six-year-old Lucy and when he had to craft a wedding for a Potter fan, he ticked every single box — which is rather fitting as he works with Parcel Force.

The big day itself took place at Fingask Castle and there was a fantastic Potter theme throughout.

For the wedding guests there were different cloaks representing the Hogwarts Houses.

Ali, stunning in a lace dress with a diamante band and full skirt and train, was given her away by her dad, Andrew.

There were magic wands and cut-outs of the key characters, while the cake — made by Pippa, from Pippa’s Kitchen in Monifieth — was topped by the characters Voldemort and Hermione.

Ali comes from a big family so she had no shortage of bridesmaids in the form of her sisters Pamela, Ruth, Lesley and Emily, while youngest sister Eilidh was a flower girl alongside Zoe and Lucy.

The best man was Iain’s brother, Stewart, and while the rings were his responsibility, the way in which they arrived was something of a show-stopper.

Iain contacted an Ayrshire firm called Owl Magic, who brought along a specially trained owl to swoop down into the wedding and deliver the rings at the start of the ceremony.

In a truly touching moment, there was a special ceremony within the wedding during which little Zoe and Lucy were both given rings as a mark of the togetherness for the whole family — and Lucy’s tears of happiness brought the house down!

To the delight of guests, there was also a display of owls outside the venue so everyone had an opportunity to get snapped with their own personal Hedwick.

“I can’t thank enough those who made the day special,” said Iain.

“The catering was done by De-licious Catering, of Glenrothes, and the band was Northern Star.

“We also had balloon sculptures of Harry Potter and Dobby the house elf made by Colin Myles, from Party Time in Broughty Ferry, and The Chair Cover Company Dundee supplied covers and a photo booth.

“The photos were taken by close friends Ruth and Ross Simms and the Fingask Castle staff were simply amazing. They made the day go perfectly.”

Ali summed up perfectly how much this couple were made for each other, saying: “Iain’s organised but says it’s me who makes anything seem possible, which is truly lovely and, on our wedding day, there was a sign in Fingask that he had made which read ‘I wish I’d met you sooner so I could have loved you longer’.”

When it comes to heartfelt sentiment, it doesn’t get better than that.