Two lovebirds who announced their engagement on a hit Ant and Dec television show have married in a north-east village.
Don Allan proposed to Julie Allan in February last year during a recording of Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway in Edinburgh.
The 38-year-old mental health support worker enlisted the help of the show’s producers to surprise his girlfriend in front of an audience of hundreds.
Last week, the couple tied the knot at Peathill Kirk near Rosehearty before moving to their reception at St Combs new community hall.
In honour of their engagement, the Allans choose two unusual ushers to aid them during last week’s nuptials – cardboard models of the popular Geordie presenters.
Last night Mr Allan said: “Since we got engaged on Ant and Dec, we had life-sized cutouts of them at the church holding a sign saying ‘pick a seat not a side’, to make them our ushers. The cutouts then accompanied us to the hall for guests to get their photos with.
“Ant and Dec did sent us a personal message of good luck on our wedding along with a signed photo. We were looking for a wedding that was very family orientated and that’s what we got, relaxed family atmosphere.”
The happy couple – who live in the Buchan village of Mintlaw – both previously worked in the hotel trade and quickly decided a hotel wedding was not for them.
Instead they chose the new community hall in St Combs, and were delighted to discover that the caretaker John Milton was a their former teacher. The Allans were the first couple to celebrate their wedding at the hall.
Mrs Allan, a 37-year-old cook at Mintlaw Academy, added: “We had singing and dancing bridesmaids, and flowergirls who sang and danced their way down the aisle, then a party atmosphere from then on in. It was a fantastic day.”