We chat and share and connect through Skype, email, letters and postcards, with regular phone calls and video calls when we can. I went out to the states for Christmas 2009, where I met his family and he proposed. Hopefully I'm going out again in a month or so.
We're having the wedding here in Scotland, at St.Salvator's Chapel in St.Andrews, where my parents got married. He's going to wear a kilt, my mum is going to make my dress, a quirky ginger 'weegie' guy is going to be best man and do the speech about me. His parents are getting passports especially for the occasion, which will be their first ever trip to Europe. Our Scottish guests are going to have to teach their American and English counterparts how to Strip the Willow like the best of them!
We've got a lot of planning and arranging to do, and after the wedding it won't stop there. We're not even sure yet if we'll have a honeymoon, because after we get married we need to start the lengthy, complicated (and expensive) visa process so we can eventually be together. We're hoping to move to the states and pursue politically nerdy careers, so there is a lot hanging in the air, yet we're just going with the flow and taking it as it comes.
I think we should win your fabulous competition because our wedding is going to be a colourful amalgamation of our lives that span the width of the western hemisphere and will come together for this one spring day in St.Andrews. It'd be a wonderful honour to have a fun and gorgeous document of the first step in our transatlantic lives together!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------This is pretty much how the relationship has developed, we try and have fun in everything we do. We watch rugby together which can provide an interesting observation as Claire is Welsh and Adrian in English and that is how we spend most of our winter and throughout the summer we marshal for motorsport.
We are both on a weight loss mission at the moment, not just for the wedding photos to look good, but to improve our general health, gone are the days of Claire playing prop and being coached by Adrian due to the over 3 stone she has lost.
So all in all, we have been together just over 4 years, engaged for 3 years in this coming August and will be getting married when we would of been engaged for 4 years. On this day we will have people traveling from as far away as Canada and Guernsey and pobviously as local as Cardiff.
And although it is an afterthought to the original statement this is something we went rhough together and something that made me change my career direction into nursing and Adrian appreciate what hard work goes into the medical profession. As far as we know, the gentleman involved was still alive 2 days later.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Eight years ago Grant and I met online. I was still studying in Germany (I’m from Berlin) and was looking for pen pals in Scotland because I always loved Scotland even though I had never been and wanted to know more about life here.
Grant was one of the more mature guys to answer my post and we soon got chatting.
After a few weeks we were totally in love and 3 month later I came to Scotland to meet Grant for the first time.
My mum was having a blue fit because not only was I going abroad to meet some stranger…..but said stranger was also 14 years older than me (and only 5 years my mums senior *giggle*)
The second he picked me up at the airport I knew he was “The One” and he felt the same for me.
The following month he came to Berlin to meet my mum and dad who fell in love with him too so we got their blessing and three month later I decided to leave my home….family…friends…work (and country come to that) to be with the man I love.
I haven’t looked back since J
We have been through a few bad times, we have tried for a baby for a while but I have lost 3 so far so we have given up just now…for a wee while anyway to help us heal really.
Shortly after the third one Grant proposed to me in the beautiful gardens of Crathes Castle and I couldn’t ever have said anything but “AYE” I think he thought it was time to get my mind onto happier things J So we are fully concentrating on our wedding and have just this Saturday booked Barcaldine Castle for our venue...we just blew half our budget on my dream venue..a gorgeous castle but Grant said I deserve my dream to come true..now we need a great photographer to make this dream a lasting memory and after sacrificing so much to be with the man I love I think I deserve to have you document our union with wonderful photographs that will last long after the flowers have wilted and we are old and wrinkly, to show to our children and grandchildren what a wonderful day we had and that true love can overcome all sorts of obstacles and have a very happy ending indeed J
I soo hope to win you for our big day!
Carol was very smart with her purchases for her wedding; her stunning dress and flowers were bought off Ebay!
The weather gave me my first snowy wedding in 10 years; and the New Mill provided me with a fantastic venue with wintery backgrounds!
This was a special request by the groom; yes the bride IS wearing wellies!
The speeches were full of lovely moments; I think Alex had her eyes opened by some childhood stories from her father!
I don't think Alan on the other hand, was too impressed by his Best Man's speech.....
Beautiful natural light which was pretty amazing seeming as it was 3pm on the day before the shortest day of the year...
We mucked about a little out the front of Rydal Hall before we just had to call it quits, it was so ridiculously cold! 
After the ceremony there were lots of cuddles and congratulations for the happy couple.
Soon Mrs A to be arrived!
