An Inverness couple who got engaged during one of the city’s festive pantomimes have finally tied the knot.
James MacDonald, 39, took centre stage after getting down on one knee for his wife Sheree, 30, during their annual trip to the city’s Eden Court Theatre for a production of the Dick Whittington panto in December 2016.
Now, after more than a year of planning, the couple officially tied the knot during a wedding with family and friends at the Newton Hotel in Nairn on Saturday.
A total of 80 guests were present during the traditional ceremony which saw the couple exchange specially engraved rings featuring the couple’s initials and date of their nuptials.
Reflecting back on the day, Mr MacDonald said one of the highlights for him was seeing his future bride walk down the aisle, saying: “It was the best day of our lives. It was so much fun; I’d pay double to do it all again.
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“For me the best part was first arriving at the hotel as Sheree had stayed the night before with her bridesmaids. Whilst waiting for Sheree coming down the aisle; I had a tear in my eye but told everyone I had the cold. I was so excited. I was also really looking forward to my speech, which went down a storm to my relief.”
Following the ceremony, the pair began life as a married couple by dancing into the night with some 120 guests at the four star hotel.
The entire day was a huge family affair with relatives travelling from as far away as Germany to be there; however, Mrs MacDonald admits it was their absent loved ones that remained firmly in their minds.
She added: “Our families travelled all over – North Uist, Scourie, Tain, Brora and Munich in Germany to help us celebrate. James said in his speech, “It just goes to show you how far people will travel for a free meal”; he also learned a paragraph in German as well as the registrar doing some Gaelic for his family. My grandfather is also German from Hanover. He sadly passed away in June so he never made it but he was there in spirit. He was an amazing man who fought in world War Two and was the Kylesku ferry master for more than 20 years. We wish he could have made it so bad but we had photos of him pinned to our flowers along with James’s late father councillor Jimmy MacDonald – “Jimmy Apples“ – who passed in 2009.”