AN ARDROSSAN couple have tied the knot after 23 years together… in their back garden.

Gary, 47, and Wendy Stevenson, 48, who met at school, had planned to marry in the Town Hall in April but that was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Despite the setback, the couple were determined to have the ceremony as soon as possible and decided to have it in the unique setting of their own garden in front of a small group of family and friends, as well as fellow sheltered housing residents.

Wendy said: “The day was fantastic and it certainly made up for the three

months of worry and disappointment.

“One of my big concerns with having a garden wedding was the weather but it was great. Five minutes into the ceremony the sun came out and lit up the garden – it was lovely.

“We stay in Montgomerie Court in Ardrossan which is sheltered housing operated by Hanover Scotland and because the garden is big we were given the go-ahead as long as the council carried out a risk assessment.

“However, we were only given the green-light to go ahead with the wedding a week before so that was a bit worrying waiting to find out if it would happen or not.

“It was a unique setting and the first wedding to be held in Montgomerie Court.

“We are the youngest residents in the residential unit. A lot of our residents have been shielding and that’s been tough so they were all looking forward to the day and it gave them a boost.

“We had set out seats that were socially distanced as a lot of residents can’t stand for too long and some were watching out from their windows.”

Wendy explained the disappointment that she felt when she first found out the news that her initial wedding date of April was cancelled.

She said: “When we found out our wedding had been cancelled due to the pandemic I was gutted because we were all organised for that date – it was a real comedown.

“However, we were determined that coronavirus was not going to ruin our special day and having the wedding in the garden surrounded by family, friends and fellow residents was great and it actually worked out better than what we had originally planned.”

The happy couple are now enjoying their honeymoon.