Scott's Story
Claire and I first met at Christmas in 2016. I was visiting from Wales and we had both been at a mutual friend's Christmas party. I must have made an impression as it only took until June 2018 for us to start dating! Luckily for Claire us Lauder men do not give up that easily.
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Claire is a friend and colleague of my sister-in-law and had previously met my family prior to meeting me, so it's fair to say that Claire had been a part of my life even before I knew it.
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We met again at a BBQ at Stewart and Claire’s after Stewart and I had been out all day watching the world cup and the girls had been having a day out of their own. By the time we got to the BBQ, there were a few of us that were ‘well-oiled’ which for those who know us, is typical for a Stewart and Claire BBQ!
I was feeling particularly confident that evening - maybe from the aforementioned oil - but I made the decision to ask Claire out that evening - and she thankfully accepted.
What is not known is that on our first date I blew Claire out due to being ‘unwell’, when, in fact, I had had one too many the previous evening and could not face the prospect of a first date on a monster hangover.
Thankfully, Claire gave me the opportunity to take her out again and the rest as they say… is history.
In the three years that Claire and I have been together, we have been on many adventures, had many laughs, lots of fancy meals, hundreds of awkward selfies, and a few tears along the way too.
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We even bought a dog!
Our love has gone from strength to strength and we've been through a lot together in such a short time which has only strengthened our bond.
If being stuck at home for 12 months during a worldwide pandemic does not break us nothing will!
In all honestly it has only reaffirmed how much we love spending time together. We have been lucky enough to have found each other and we just wish we had known earlier that our forever love was hiding in plain sight.
We fell in love in Hvar, Croatia and grew our love in London and during the lockdown, and we share that love in Farnham.
We look forward to welcoming many of you to Farnham Castle on 20 May 2022 and celebrating into the night.
The Proposal
So, the proposal... In 2020, we all had an awful year. Claire and I had been stuck indoors for six months and we made a last-minute decision to go to Santorini in September as we had a window of opportunity due to the break between lockdowns one and two.
This was my opportunity to spring the surprise and to do something spontaneous. So, I had four days to buy the ring, set up the proposal and of course ask Ian and Lesley for their permission. Thankfully, with the help of others, I managed to get it all in place and was ready to surprise Claire.
The hardest part was smuggling the ring onto the plane and hiding it on the other side, a process which caused much stress. Thankfully we made it to the other side with no issues and I had a day to wait until I could put my plan into place.
The hotel helped me with setting up their wedding area for the proposal where Claire and I would have a champagne and a three-course meal after I took the plunge and got down on one knee. I had a photographer in place, the music set, and a beautiful area set up on the cliff face overlooking the caldera.
I am not ashamed to say, I was an emotional mess and just managed to pop the question before I was overcome with unbridled emotion. The whole evening was perfect and one which Claire and I will never forget. Relive it here for yourself!
Claire's Story
If I could rewind time, I would have 100% said yes back in 2016. I couldn’t see what was in front of me back then and I am thankful that Scott didn’t give up.
Fast forward to today and I can’t believe I am about to marry my best friend.
After a few dates in the UK, we took our first holiday together in Croatia. After this, I knew I never wanted to let him go and Scott moved in shortly after.
Our holidays included going to Amsterdam, Brighton, Mauritius, Manchester, Valencia, Cyprus, Portugal, Scotland, Berlin and many trips to Wales in between. That’s a lot places in such a short space of time!
Our love during lockdown just grew and I am so excited to be sharing our wedding day with our families and many friends in May 2022.
The Proposal
I had no idea our holiday to Santorini would make me the happiest lady alive! It was all so last minute - being proposed to was the last thing on my mind!
It was our second night on the island and Scott had told me he had booked a restaurant in town. We left our room and started to walk up the 130 winding steps to the street. It was about 7pm and the sun was beginning to set over the caldera – I couldn’t take my eyes off it, it was stunning. Half-way up I was taking photos and annoying Scott for yet another selfie.
Then I noticed the wedding terrace had been set up. Still no clue, I said to Scott ‘oh look they’ve set up the wedding terrace for someone, its beautiful, quick lets get a selfie with it in the background’.
Scott let me take a few more selfies and then whispered in my ear ‘it's for you’. Still, I had no clue. He led me down the pretty path to the magical terrace, the doors opened and the view just took my breath away...
I honestly still didn’t really clock-on what was happening until Scott started to get emotional which then set me off – we were just two fools in love standing on a magical terrace, tears in our eyes, letting ourselves get carried away in the moment.
It was the best day of my life - a perfect setting with the perfect person.
The champagne started flowing and we sat down to a romantic meal just the two of us, looking out on the caldera, watching the sun go down with fireworks in the background.