Couple forced to cancel dream Highland wedding tie the knot on Zoom call

Instead of a Highland Cathedral the couple took part in the ceremony from their London conservatory 600 miles away.

A couple who were forced to cancel their dream Highlands wedding due to the coronavirus crisis have had a special online ceremony- from more than 600 miles away.

Scot Amy Dickenson, aged 32 and fiance Lloyd Dias, aged 36, who had planned to tie the knot at Dornoch cathedral held their hand-fasting ceremony via Zoom from their London conservatory.

Wearing their best wedding finery, the couple had only one witness in their home-  their beloved cat Rothko, who wore a bowtie for the occasion.

The pair, who have been an item for eight years, held hands and exchanged rings as more than 100 people across the UK and around the world watched online.

Primary teacher Amy said: “It was a memorable day and the perfect way to bring everyone we love together into our tiny home to watch us commit ourselves to each other.”

The couple cancelled their May 25 wedding at Dornoch Cathedral, which was to be conducted by the Very Rev Susan Brown who is the minister.

They decided just a week before what should have been their big day to hold an online ceremony instead.

Amy, who grew up in Dornoch and has known the minister for many years, said: “Susan will marry us outdoors in elopement style as soon as it was safe to do so.

“But we thought this would be a good way to celebrate on the day that we were supposed to get married.

“She suggested a handfasting ceremony, an ancient Highland tradition, but in the end we realised we could not tie hands with only two people present so we just exchanged rings and put them on our right hands.

“The ceremony meant a lot to us and to have everyone there to see it happen.

“We ended up holding hands throughout the service, with Rothko at our feet, and Susan incorporated the original readings from the day and words about handfasting.”

The couple hope to legally marry as soon as possible and will swap their rings onto their left hands.

Londoner Lloyd, who works for an electrical distribution company, said: “It was the best way of making good a horrible situation.

“People who weren’t able to get to Dornoch originally were experiencing something that they had not experienced before like our grandmothers who are in their 90s.

“They got the chance to see us together and there is an intimacy when you see someone on a screen that you would not see from the back of a church.”

The couple filled their conservatory with flowers foraged from a local wood and from a local florist, a friend made them a cake and they had a first dance in front of their virtual guests, many of whom looked smart on their top halves but were wearing shorts.

Two “best people” delivered speeches, their meal was a home delivery from a local Vegan restaurant and they had a Zoom after party as well as a socially distanced photography session in a nearby wood.

The minister said: “A wedding is such a big day in a couple’s lives – a door opening day onto a different future.

“For Amy and Lloyd, it wasn’t about a lot of people coming but marking their love for each other."

She added: “They really wanted it to happen so it seemed like a good way to do it because handfasting is an ancient Highland tradition.

“So it seemed like an opportune moment to revive something from history and put it to good effect in the 21st century."