A Scots groom was left in tears when he turned up for his wedding in New Zealand to find his family there – as life-sized cardboard cutouts.
David MacIver, 28, was devastated that Covid restrictions stopped his relatives travelling to New Zealand to see him tie the knot with Kaye, 29.
But his sister Lainy was determined they would still be there on the big day and organised a surprise for her brother.
Instead of turning up in person, she had cutouts created of the whole family sent instead.
She said: “On the day we had to cancel our flights to New Zealand, I knew we had to do something to make up for not being there.
“We wanted to find a way where we could be part of the day, and to make my brother and sister-in-law feel like we were with them even though we couldn’t travel to be there in person.
"There was me and 20 other family members who couldn’t make it to the wedding due to Covid-19 border restrictions, so I ordered life-sized cardboard cutouts as a surprise.
“And it meant we could be in the wedding photos.”
David met civil servant Kaye through their church after moving in 2018 to find work.
Lainy, of Invergordon in Easter Ross, got Kaye’s brother to hide the cutouts until the big day.
She added: “After the ceremony we received videos of my brother and his wife seeing the cutouts for the first time, their reaction made everything worth it.”
The couple plan to hold a second wedding in Scotland next year.
Telecoms worker David said: “It was an incredible surprise for us both.”
