An Edinburgh couple have described their joy at being the first to tie the knot after lockdown restrictions on weddings were lifted.
Newlyweds Caitlin, 25, and hubby Morad, 26, couldn’t wait to tie the knot after the elaborate ceremony they’d been planning for a whole year had to be cancelled in April.
“We had it booked for the 4 of April, It was devastating at first, we were really upset about it, but it was just one of those things – there was nothing you could control.
"We’d been planning it for about a year, it was quite a big shock to have it cancelled,” said primary school teacher Caitlin.
Heartbroken, the couple decided they would get married as soon as they could after lockdown.
“The venue got in touch and they were saying we could have postponed it but it probably wouldn’t have been until next year. And we talked about and just decided we didn’t want to wait that long”.
They kept a close eye on the restrictions and when phase two was announced Caitlin and Morad, who works as a software engineer, jumped at the chance to get hitched on Friday (July 3).
But their special day was made all the more special when they officially became the first couple in Midlothian to say ‘I do’ at a socially distanced ceremony at the registrar’s office Fairfield House in Dalkeith.
Their wedding, the first in Midlothian in three months, drew curious onlookers, “We had a few people watching from the building beside us,” laughed Caitlin.
The blushing bride and her new groom then adjourned to Dalkeith Country Park, their original venue, for their wedding snaps.
“We were due to get married at the Restoration Yard at Dalkeith Country Park,” Caitlin explained.
“They have been absolutely brilliant, we got everything back when we had to cancel, which is amazing considering you hear all these horror stories about people losing all their deposits and things.”
But the day itself was magical, even if new social distancing guidelines meant they were only allowed eight guests.
“It was amazing, it really truly was. It was a lot smaller than we had planned before but it just made it so much more simple. It was just everyone that was closest to us, it was a really special day, it was lovely,” said Caitlin.
“We just had the best man, Morad’s best friend, and my maid of honour who is my best friend and our two sets of parents – was nice and sweet and simple. It was definitely less stressful than a big wedding."
The couple were even lucky enough to get their wedding pictures taken for free by expert wedding snapper Rachel Mclean after they won a competition.
“We’d had a look on Rachel’s page and we entered that and we couldn’t believe when we’d actually won it.
“She was just amazing, she was so accommodating.
“She’s shown us a few pictures and we’re so excited to see the rest!”
Caitlin and Morad, or Mr and Mrs Yassin as they are now, said they were looking forward to inviting all their friends and family to a great big party in celebration of their wedding.
But the young couple weren’t going rush ahead with party prep any time soon, as they know all too well, the best laid plans and come undone.
“We talking about it, saying we didn’t want to plan anything too quickly, so we were saying even for our one year anniversary we’ll plan a big party with everyone.”
