IT was during a visit to Western Australia, that Sonia Stephen and Stuart Lumsden got engaged. “We were over visiting Stuart’s auntie who emigrated to Perth when she was young,” says Sonia.
The couple were married by the Reverend John Gow who is the Church of Scotland minister at The Auld Kirk in Cullen, of which Sonia, a primary school teacher, provides a fascinating history lesson: “It is a beautiful church. It was founded in the 13th century, dedicated to St Mary the Virgin, and is the burial place of the entrails of Queen Elizabeth De Burgh, second wife of Robert the Bruce, who died in Cullen in 1327 after falling from her horse.
“Robert also pledged the venue an ‘eternal’ bequest. The 14th-century royal decreed that the sum of five Scots pounds be given to the church for the generosity the congregation showed after the death of his wife. This sum is still paid annually to this day.”
Sonia, who teaches in Cullen, on the Moray coast, was delighted that her Primary 5 class sang to the congregation.
READ MORE | Shona and Scott's stunning Ayrshire wedding unveiled
And there was a nod to their Down Under engagement during the ceremony when two of her pupils played Waltzing Matilda, the traditional Australian song, on the violin.
“I’ve been a primary teacher in Cullen for many, many years. I adore my job, so it was so special to have the children included in the service,” she says.
As Sonia explains about the run-up to the wedding: “We did lots of the planning ourselves, to save money really. I wrote a poem, and we had both horseshoes – one from Myreside and one from Meikle Beggshills. It was really important to us to incorporate both our family farms’ histories into the wedding. And thankfully no hiccups – we’re both too well planned for that!”
The couple were delighted to be surrounded by 80 of their closest family and friends on their special day with their reception being held at The Seafield Arms Hotel in Cullen.
Stuart and his brother, George, wore their traditional Lumsden tartan kilts.
Afterwards, the couple went for a ‘mini-moon’ to North Berwick in East Lothian where they enjoyed ‘amazing weather for lovely walks along the beach’.
Both grew up on the family farms. Sonia’s mum and dad, now retired, have farmed at Myreside for 57 years and rent the ground out to neighbours, the Greenlaws at Sheep Park Farm, while Stuart, a joiner to trade and a lecturer at Aberdeen College, is also strongly connected to the land as his mum and dad are still farming at Meikle Beggshills, Drumblade.
Share your wedding photos with us for a chance to appear in our online wedding gallery and in-paper.
Email a photo of the happy couple to: weddingphotos@thescottishfarmer.co.uk with the couple's name, wedding location, and photographer credit (if applicable)
Check out our wedding albums here
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here